Doth my eyes deceive? Is that, perchance, a female assassin I spy in the latest Assassin's Creed Unity trailer? It is, it is indeed. Following a rather large controversy in the wake of E3, Ubisoft has taken steps to correct the course by introducing us to Elise, one of the playable assassins in the upcoming game.
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Given that the title takes place in the aftermath of the French Revolution and the bloody Reign of Terror, where the declaration of rights of man were being etched out in ink and blood, it only makes sense that a woman should be playable. They have just as much skin in the game as the other 49%.
Now the question is: does this help? Ubisoft got into hot water in June when it said that making female characters was just difficult to render. And now almost two months later, a triple AAA title, which is due out in October is releasing a trailer and assets featuring a fully playable female character? Either some poor dev team is fueled by little more than cocaine and caffeine, or someone rightly screwed up in the PR department. New characters do not just "appear" out of thin air, not in that timeframe and not for something like this.
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While the addition of Elise is sure to help quell the protest, the way in which she is introduced will leave a sour taste. In the trailer, she is set to be executed and lo and behold, it's a man, the main character Arno, who has to come and save her. While it looks like she can handle herself as the guards swarm in around the pair at the end, a little more capability and less damsel-in-distress would help.
Divorced from the controversy, the trailer is actually an excellent little exercise in tension. Arno races across rooftops, hoping to get to the guillotine in time and we're not sure if he's going to make it. It's tense and strangely romantic.
Elise is described "as an independent young noblewoman, Elise is determined to secure her place in the Templar dynasty amidst the chaos of the French Revolution. Her quest leads her to cross paths with Arno and establish an unlikely bond with him."
She is getting an action figure as well, called Elise: The Fiery Templar, which is simply more degrading if you think about it. She will join the long line of almost every single supporting female character in an action story or game or film who 'doesn't take any crap from nobody' and probably has some wounded past and is there basically to inspire our male hero. Hopefully, the new novel, based on the game and following Elise's perspective, will help give her a more rounded, developed nature.
Assassin's Creed Unity is out for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PC on October 28. The novel hits in November and the figurine will drop on October 14.
Check out Arno and Elise in the trailer below!
