The debut trailer for Assassin's Creed III has been released, officially kicking our hype glands into overdrive. Though the trailer appears to be pre-rendered and clocks at under two minutes, there are plenty of references to new features that have already been confirmed for the game.
As such, it's a remarkably informative insight into what we can expect from the finished game, so we've broken down the trailer shot by shot to suss out every last gameplay feature, clue, and historical reference on display here.
The trailer kicks off with a shot of a bald eagle flying over the snowy wilderness, accomponied by a tag of the location and year: Mohawk Valley 1777. The bald eagle is, of course, the national bird of America, so the symbolism is immediately apparent.
The Mohawk Valley, named for the tribe of Native Americans that inhabited the region, is located in upstate New York, near the present-day settlements of Utica and Rome. Thanks to earlier leaks, we know that the game's protagonist, Connor, is half-Mohawk, so this seems a fitting way to introduce him.
The end of Revelations also hinted at a mysterious and important location in upstate New York, so the region may be just as crucial during the present day segments as it is during the historic ones.
A British Union Jack and tricorner hat are covered by snow. We know that snow will play a crucial role in the game, affecting the way characters move and interact with the environment. Could we also see objects being covered by snowfall in real time?
Connor looks out at a British patrol from within the woods, holding his trademark weapon, a tomahawk with a blade in the shape of the Assassin emblem.
The wilderness portion of Assassin's Creed III, known as the Frontier, will play a crucial gameplay role, spanning an area larger than all of Brotherhood's Rome. Odds are good we'll have to do a lot of stalking in the vein of what we see here, tracking our targets through the forest and using the brush for cover.
Two British soldiers lie dead in the snow, accompanied by the remnants of a battle. In Assassin's Creed III, battles will change the game world, leaving equipment and encampments behind as a reminder of what took place. This might be a glimpse at what that might look like.
Connor takes out two Redcoats in one fluid motion. This could be a shot of the game's new double counters, which allow you to effectively take out multiple enemies at once.
Wolves scavenge from the bodies of fallen soldiers. Assassin's Creed III will feature a full ecosystem of wildlife, including bears, deer, elk, and wolves. As in real life, predators will be attracted to the scent of blood, and you might find yourself fighting off animal attackers if you get too close to their intended meal.
Dual-weilding his tomahawk and a small knife, Connor forces a British soldier down onto the barrel of his flintlock rifle, then uses it to shoot the poor fellow in the chest. Looks like a new counter move to use against gun-toting enemies.
Connor dives onto a British scout who's riding by on horseback. This type of assassination isn't new to the franchise, but it still looks cool. It's also worth noting that Connor isn't using his hidden blade, but the tomahawk to pull off the maneuver.
Connor deftly moves between tree branches with all the finesse we'd expect from an assassin. The team has gone to great lenghts to ensure that the trademark gameplay will transition well into Assassin's Creed III's more naturalistic locales, so expect the forests and cliffsides of the Frontier to be bursting with opportunities for this sort of fluid movement.
In the background, we hear a speech begin to play, but more on that a bit later.
We see our first close-up of Connor's face. It's half-covered by darkness, but we can definitely see some distinctly Native American features, though they're not nearly as dramatic as in the first leaked concept shots.
We can shee that his hood is actually a modified version of a Continental Army coat, and he's got a traditional Native American bow and arrow slung across his chest.
Connor looks out over a massive battle that's mounting below. Thanks to its greatly improved Anvil Engine, Assassin's Creed III can show thousands of characters onscreen at once. Expect this to make a huge impact on battle scenes like this one.
True to history, the British forces, seen here on the left, are in strict formation, while the much less experienced Continental Army is in comparative disarray.
If you look closely, you can spot a city in the background. The timing of the battle doesn't match up strictly with any historical event, making it unclear where exactly this is supposed to be taking place. To date, only Boston and New York have been confirmed as ctiies you'll be able to explore, so this is likely one of the two.
Finally, we see George Washington rallying the troops before the battle, backed by the first American flag, allegedly designed by Betsy Ross in 1776. This flag was well in widespread use by 1777.
The speech George Washington delivers at the end of the trailer is actually an abbreviated version of one he gave before the Battle of Long Island. It's inclusion here is a rather glaring anachronism, as that battle occurred on August 26, 1776, not in the Winter of 1777, as is being portrayed here.
The reference is still an interesting one, though, as the Battle of Long Island was actually the largest battle of the war and a decisive victory for the British troops. If Ubisoft intends to include it in the game, it's quite clear they're looking to tell a historically grounded story, rather than one where the heroic Americans rally to an easy victory.
And that's it, for now at least. Expect to hear a whole lot more about Assassin's Creed III in the months leading up to the game's October 31 release on the 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
