Ubisoft just hopped on stage at Microsoft’s E3 conference to reveal some fresh things about their upcoming, next-generation Assassin’s Creed game. Assassin’s Creed Unity will be four-way co-op, set in Paris during the French Revolution and won’t shy away from plopping a few heads on spikes.
The brief demo demonstrated some lush lighting effects as the series becomes untethered from the technological constraints of old-gen hardware, allowing for thicker and more crowded crowds. While we also see flappier clothing and more detailed physics objects knocking about, perhaps the most important tech-leap is in the engine’s ability to go from outdoor areas to properly detailed interiors with no loading whatsoever.
In the short reveal we’re shown our protagonist inciting a riot among the plebs outside a royal palace, before infiltrating a soirée taking place inside. Here, three others players join in to despatch guards co-operatively, opting for noisy but swift attacks that scythe through a wing of the building. On a balcony above an opulent banquet hall sprawling with the rich and powder-wigged, the players take their positions. A woman who sounds like she deserves it gets a brick thrown at the back of her head before a big fight erupts and a man is chucked out of a window into the mob below.
Then we’re shown a first person cutscene in which said royal’s head is placed on a spike. It’s all rather grim, really, and very Assassin’s Creed. Expect to see more at tonight’s Ubisoft conference.