Assassin's Creed III: Liberation coming to Vita

The first Assassin's Creed game for the PlayStation Vita will also be the first to feature a female assassin in the lead role. As detailed by Game Informer subscribers on NeoGAF, the newest issue of the magazine details Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, set for release alongside Assassin's Creed III this October.

Set around the mid- to late-18th century, Liberation stars Aveline, a mixed heritage assassin whose travels will take her from New Orleans to Mexico. Developed by Ubisoft Sofia (Prince of Persia Trilogy HD), the game will reportedly feature "true Assassin's Creed gameplay," with a focus on large gameplay areas free of loading screens.

The reveal of a female Assassin's Creed lead, especially one set around the same Revolutionary War time period as Assassin's Creed III, is surprising given >recent comments from that game's creative director Alex Hutchinson. In March, Hutchinson addressed calls for a female lead, saying, "It's always up in the air. I think lots of people want it, [but] in this period it's been a bit of a pain. The history of the American Revolution is the history of men… It felt like, if you had all these men in every scene and you're secretly, stealthily in crowds of dudes [as a female assassin], it starts to feel kind of wrong. People would stop believing it."

Expect more details on Assassin's Creed: Liberation to be revealed during GameSpot's live stream of Ubisoft's E3 media briefing Monday at 3 p.m. PST.