In honor of Bastille Day, the day when the French proletariat rioted against the aristocracy which jumpstarted the French Revolution, Ubisoft has released two new trailers for the upcoming Assassin's Creed: Unity.
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The first trailer is a re-edit of the previously released footage of the Luxembourgh riot, wherein several assassins break into an aristocratic party and cause unholy hell. Pull quotes abound while a gravelly, deathly serious voice over speaks of freedom and justice.
The second trailer offers up some historical context for the event, which occurred today, July 14 in 1789. The Assassin's Creed games have been known for basing themselves, however slightly, in real world events. Several of the targets in previous games have been actual people who disappeared or died under mysterious circumstances.
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Maxim Durand has served as historical consultant for every Assassin's Creed game to date, offering his expertise as to traditions, locations and the people who have populated the game throughout the years. He is very excited for the series to be tackling the French Revolution, a period he says "beckoned an Assassin's Creed game."
"The French Revolution is a pivotal moment in history as it marked the beginning of a global movement," Durand says, "It inspired modern revolutionaries who patterned their own revolutions on the French model. But the principles of the Revolution - Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité - also laid the foundation of the political liberalism that we take for granted today. It was far more than a simple rebellion against an unpopular King; it was a total rejection of repressive feudal principles that had endured for centuries. The French Revolution gave the middle finger (and the guillotine) to anyone who supported the old social order of Europe."
He goes on to reveal several of the scenarios in the upcoming game, mapping out a timeline that mirrors the historical events of the Revolution: "The game will cover several major events that occurred during the French Revolution. From the Estate General which marked the rupture between the King and the people to Robespierre's arrest, the player will witness key moments from the French Revolution such as the Storming of the Bastille (as detailed before), the Storming of the Tuileries in August 1792 or the Prisons' Massacres from September 1792, and of course, the beheading of Louis XVI in January 1793."
Who said you can't learn anything from video games? Of course, all of this revolutionary mumbojumbo applies only to 49% of the population. The rest have to sit back and wonder why.
Get a little history lesson in the trailer below, and be sure to pick up Assassin's Creed: Unity on October 28.