Not one to be left behind by the likes of EA , Ubisoft officially launched their uPlay client for PC today.
Like Origin, it acts not only as a storefront to Ubisoft's games, but also as a universal launcher for them. It also ties into uPlay's existing currency and reward features, and links a player's Ubi profiles across all platforms (consoles, Facebook, PC, and mobile) into a single app. Given how uPlay rewards accumulate across games, it may actually be quite handy.
Ubisoft has recently come under fire for a security hole that existed in the uPlay service. They blamed it on a "coding error" that allowed a browser plug-in to be exploited in such a way that remote users could access someone's PC. The faulty plug-in was patched shortly after it was discovered, according to Ubisoft. The company's PC support and DRM practices have also been widely unpopular.
To motivate gamers into having a look at the new and improved uPlay client, Ubisoft's plan is to bribe you with cheap games. This week, they're offering a series of $1 deals through the service's store: Tom Clancy's HAWX 2 today, From Dust on Friday, Silent Hunter 5 on Saturday, and Driver: San Francisco on Sunday. They're also throwing a big sale on a bunch of other games, with some fairly steep discounts. If you'd been waiting to catch up on the Assassin's Creed games, there could be worse times to get started.
And of course, uPlay for PC is also more than happy to point you to a number of Ubisoft free-to-play games, and places where you can redeem your reward points. You can download the uPlay client from Ubi's uPlay site, should you wish to give it a try.