Following E3 Controversy, New Assassin's Creed Unity Trailer Shows Off Female Character

In Ubisoft's upcoming free-running game Assassin's Creed Unity, you take control of an Assassin named Arno. He fights in the French Revolution against tyranny and, of course, the Templar organization. But the newest Unity trailer published today suggests that Arno's motivations aren't nearly so clear, and that he seems to be involved with a Templar woman.

In the trailer, Arno races through the streets of Paris to a city square where an execution takes place. He's too late to rescue all of the victims, but that seems to not be the point: the Assassin cuts through the French soldiers guarding the guillotine and reaches the last person in line. This person is a woman, who we know is named Elise. She will be featured prominently throughout the story as a main character.

Most notably, however, is that she wears a Templar cross. Arno collaborates with her, fighting against soldiers who encircle them. According to a press release, Elise is "an independent young noblewoman [who] 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."

This trailer and the announcement of Elise follow several weeks of controversy after an Ubisoft developer stated that making female playable characters would have doubled the workload. Ubisoft later clarified this, explaining that everyone will play as Arno and that there would be strong female characters in Unity.

Recently, Ubisoft said that Unity will be the "best entry point since Assassin's Creed 1." A previous trailer also showed off the revolution and Arno's motivations for joining the rebels. The game launches on October 28 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

What do you think about this friendship between a Templar and an Assassin? Let us know in the comments.