It might have received our exalting Best in Show award at this year’s E3, but Ubisoft knows it’s going to need a stout marketing campaign in order to sell Assassin’s Creed III to record-breaking European audiences, particularly in the United Kingdom.
While cultures on both sides of the Atlantic are comfortable with the real-life history of the Revolutionary War – America’s winning of independence from their perceived tyrannical rulers, the British Empire, in 1783 – a distinct sentiment among some gamers is that the developer is exploiting the period, advertising its events as a way to “just kill a bunch of Redcoats.” Ubisoft found themselves on the defensive just this June, a writer having to publicly state that Assassin’s Creed III isn’t anti-British.
Enter “Rise,” the latest Assassin’s Creed III live-action trailer composed specifically for the European market. Released just days after the “Independence” trailer, eight 10-second vignettes shot on a high-speed camera depict the kaleidoscope of pro-American personas involved in the American Revolution, from a young soldier in the Continental Army to a British politician in Parliament to a defiant American schoolboy.
It’s clear the trailer wants to show what calls these characters to the cause of revolution – what galvanizes a farmer to burn his crops, a young mother to take up an axe against pillaging British soldiers – all the while staying grounded with solemn, subdued patterns of inner dialogue and background action. In other words: European viewers get a break from the previous controversial fare, like, you know, Connor shooting a rope dart into a British soldier’s neck and slinging in him up on a tree.
But will the stunning cinematography, the dramatic tales of strife and struggle, and the gripping orchestral soundtrack provoke an equally rousing response among its target audience? For many fans the politics are a non-issue; Assassin’s Creed III is a game, a work of fiction, and shouldn’t be subjugated to such intense does-Ubisoft-hate-the-British scrutiny. And yet it’s no coincidence that the developer released a more subtle trailer to coincide with America’s Independence Day – the observance of July 4, 1776 as the day the United States declared itself a sovereign nation (even if, technically, Congress passed the vote on July 2). There has to be that message stating, “Here’s how you, too, can take satisfaction – pride, even – in a game that shows your country humbled and crippled in defeat.” Bombastic battle sequences. Brutal assassinations. George Washington’s inspirational battle speeches. They just don’t have the same vibe.
Ubisoft doesn’t, and shouldn’t, feel obligated to placate its European audience by tweaking the narrative or softening the violence (we still haven’t seen evidence of Connor fighting against the Americans, as many think the developer has hinted at). At the same time, though, “Rise’s” muffling of the nationality issue – frivolous as that issue may be – is audible, especially when its body count is juxtaposed against that of the cinematic AC III trailer from E3. It leaves us to wonder where the overseas ad campaigns begin to head from here, less than four months shy of Assassin Creed III’s release.
Assassin’s Creed III releases on October 30, 2012 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC; a Wii U release is expected to follow shortly after. Be sure to check out our recap of the game from E3 as part of our E3 2012 awards list.
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I dig the trailer. The notions of freedom mentioned actually do apply to more than just America/Britain. Very cool.
OMG
How can they make a trailer directed at us in the UK and still give off a Pro American vibe to it
they’re still making us look evil
Why are Ubisoft bullshitting that Connor is netural and they arn’t making one side look evil when they are. They show RISE as Connor has just slaghtered a ton of redcoats.
I’m so glad you made an article on this, it’s not fair that when it comes to anywhere else but America nobody seems to care how bias a developer is especialy to AC where “Nothing is true, everything is permitted”. From what they told us in past AC games it would of made more sense for the British to be Assassins trying to liberate America from templar controler.
Hell even Connor is wearing Blue representing the American army.
How can they BS us and then not show any gameplay footage of Connor doing a British mission.
I agree with you 1000% Mark. I saw that trailer and thought to myself ” how does this help the perception of Anti-British bias.”
Well Connor is a Native American/British Colonialist. We could get into a long and uninteresting debate about just how different that is from an American or British subject, but the facts are facts.
The American Colonists were somewhat mistreated by the monarchy, a civil war broke out, the Rebels won, and a democracy was put in place. All of the claims made in that trailer are, from the perspective of the Americans, factually accurate.
If winning World War II meant the British get to be the good guy in every movie and game, that’s not really fair. And it’s a war, you’re clearly going to have to be on one side, not the other. It’s a bit hypocritical to say that picking one side isn’t fair game.
I Couldn’t agree with you more Andrew. Why is everybody getting so upset by this. How ridiculous. I am British and I can accept that my country has done, currently is doing and will do in the future deplorable things against other nations and people. Its the nature of humanity, every nation is guilty of atrocities, or at least the people in positions of power are.
This is a moment in history that shows the British in a negative fashion. Get over it. Would anybody read a history book and get offended that it showed their nation in a negative way? Do you think the Germans/Japanese get offended everytime they pick up a gamepad and play a WWII game?
Four words with a very British theme: Storm in a teacup.
we (brits) at the time were evil, lol and this is a fitting historical reference. but its ok because as modern times have progressed us and america are now both evil. only people who are pissed about it are people that dont really understand history.
trailer looks dope as hell though!! cant wait for this game!
Well why do you Englishmen hate Americans so much? Every Brit i’ve ever came into contact with hates Americans. For no reason. Call us names, talks s*** about our culture. So why not? Why can’t i play a game where i’m slaughtering the English. I mean that’s kind of what the Revolutionary War was. We fought for our freedom, and now we have a game that shows it, Now sure, we should be killing both sides, But i kind of like the Anti-British theme. I mean i like Englishmen, but you all have to act like dicks towards us Americans. So frankly you shouldn’t be complaining. I mean you WERE evil back then towards us and i don’t see why it should be fair. I mean how many games make america look like s***? A good lot. So i think maybe another country should take a blow for once and not complain, but no, we can’t have that can we?
We act like dicks to americans because your people come to england expecting to be treated like royalty.
I’ve never gone to England to be treated like royalty. I went to enjoy the sights and sounds, hell i love England, but you all act like assholes to any american regardless of what they do. I treat the English like any normal person so i expect the same treatment. That’s the problem in this world, Half your country acts like you own the world, but your just like everyone else. Not every american is fat, or a hick, or stupid, or self centered like your country puts us out to be, Just like your country isn’t full of fancy, tea and crumpet eating gentlemen who talk about cricket and football all day like our country puts you out to be. It’s ridiculous.
@Ian:
This.
Not all Brits hate Americans. I myself find Americans to be far more friendly than my countrymen and less permanently miserable. You also speak better English than many of the ignorant plebs in this country.
We weren’t evil back then to you though, and in fact the war was primarily down to a lack of compromise between both the British and the colonists, both of whom were far from innocent. The Americans couldn’t accept that they owed the motherland something for facilitating their growth in the new world while the British couldn’t accept that the colonies needed and enjoyed room to breathe and a less uncertain future.
I like Americans and would not want to take any side in the revolution, whether it be killing loyalists or revolutionaries. It’s one of the few wars in history which I absolutely refuse to take sides on, and that’s why the setting and advertisements upset me. They only show one side of the war to be “good” whereas i’d rather see both sides having equal “good” or none being an ally to the main character at all.
Also you’ll find that those of us who do eat scones, drink tea and speak in the Queen’s English tend to be less prejudiced against Americans anyway, as we are comfortable with our own culture alongside others. The BNP succeeds in deprived areas of the country for a reason.
@ Max
Proving to be an actual awesome Englishmen, makes you F***ing cool. I’m glad to know that you actually like us for who we are just like i like you for who you are.
You’ve won =D
Lol americans gave themselves them fat, hick stereotype not us brits
Americans have no culture, and thats a fact lol
@ Tesfan
No it’s you ignorant assholes that make your whole country look bad. Not everyone in America is fat or a hick. You wouldn’t know that because what you see is probably all on T.V.
And speaking of T.V. i seem to recall a lot of Health shows on a network call Discovery Health having overweight people in them, weighing 6-700 pounds. Most of them, were british. So before you call the Americans fat, look around your own country first, instead of making yourself look like an ass.
You must be talking about the fat hick americans in the discovery channel. Lol havnt seen a fat british person in 7 years
But since your one of those ignorant american rednecks. I wouldnt expect you to understand anything other then where ur dick goes. Power to ya mate. Lol
Lol ian and havr you ever watched the english version of hells kitchen or master chef???? Nooooo fat brits. But on the american version the contestants are 3/4 all fat. Lol so nice one. Maybe if you actually pay attention to your countries eating habbits then you would see thats its YOUR people that are fat. YOUR people are hicks. YOUR people think their better then every other person in any different country. YOUR people seem to think its alright to invade othrer countries because its in their “National interests. Its YOUR people that are to scared to say anything or to do anything against your government. That OBVIOUSLY thrives off of your peoples misery, and the misfortune they cause on foreign countries. Amecia supplies the world with 3/4 of its drugs. YOUR people are the obvious ones with the major problems.
There are plenty of fat brits. And do you really think that what the Government does is what everyone wants? What the government does with wars is what the Government wants. They don’t line up the voting polls and say “Alright vote yes or no to invade” and we thrive off misery? that’s why when a country like Haiti, or India, or Japan have a disaster we send all we have over to help. and 3/4 of the worlds drugs? More drugs come out of Mexico, Columbia, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Panama, than America ever. We aren’t the ones who make them. See you know nothing of America. You treat Americans badly but when you come to the US we’d treat you as an equal.
Do you have no life? Your comments make it seem so…
Such an arrogant american. Think your beyter then everyone else haha such. If you didnt read ians comment .he was first to mention his countrrymen being fat. And if you are denying it then your a hypocrit.
When did I deny that? You clearly have no life, stalking these forums, making comments that mean nothing. You missed/dodged my point meaning you are insecure about having no life and would rather turn on me instead. What’s the point of being a troll when you fail at it in the first place? Also, when did I say I was better than you? You’re absolutely mental…
Grow up. It is a video game. Take your whining else where.
Well Im from Ireland so we have a similar relationship with the British. Mark you should stop getting angry about an historical event in which your country was clearly on the wrong side. If you say you weren’t you are clearly in denial. AT THIS TIME in history your country was evil and imperialistic, but may I stress the phrase “AT THE TIME”. I find it funny that the people who will agree with you’re silly point are the same people will say the Americans are doing the exact same thing. Policing the world, invading sovereign nations blah blah blah. The bottom line is the British did invade and take over countries they had no rights too including America and Ireland. We fought you guys back we won. Thats history. Let to go and stop being sore about fact. It was 200 years ago in America and even less here. Let it go. I don’t have an issue with English people at all I’ve dated many English girls with out bias or stereotyping. I may take issue with the Royal Family but thats my business. PLUS Ubisoft is French company not an American s how could be “American Propaganda”. PS, If they Russian’s don’t whine about their recent appearances in the COD games you shouldn’t be complaining.
American gamers have been playing war games that make America look like s*** for quite some time now, and eagerly so. I’d honestly be surprised if any Brits played this game and got their feathers ruffled. It’s just as unreal for them as it will be for us.
Exactly, look how Americans are portrayed in the GTA franchise, and we Americans love that game.Brits need to get the hell over it, even if the game does portray them as tyrants, it wouldn’t be the first time in a work of fiction.Ever see The Patriot?Compared to that movie, AC3′s portrayal of the British is pretty tame I would say.Brits burned down unarmed civilians in a church in that movie, we haven’t seen anything like that in AC3 so far, don’t think we will either.
“Brits need to get the hell over it”
I’m a Brit and I haven’t spoken to anyone who cares.
And weren’t the Crusaders British also? So technically, that would mean they’ve already been the antagonist of the series in that way.
I’m pretty sure given the amount of wanton slaughter the germans have faced in media; monarchist Britain can take a hit for fairness.
Ummm, the crusaders were made up of knights from more or less every catholic nation, thats not really an issue of nationality.
Personally I don’t care that they are making it anti-British (I’m from there) but, I do think it is silly Ubisoft are denying the fact that it is in fact anti-British. If you’re saying that only the British were aligned with the Templars although the nationality may not be the reason for why they are getting killed at least admit it you are saying that British are evil and that the other side are the good guys.
I would hope that any middle eastern person doesn’t feel offended that we kill them in video games, so I don’t see why anyone would be offended of Connor killing British.
I think it is funny people are complaining about this. All the trailers show that in the middle of a war Connor hunts Templars. I think it is safe to say in this war one side wanted a revolution and the other to suppress it. Connor has officially not taken sides and if killing is choosing a side, than a few other countries and a religion should be complaining to Ubisoft.
Fantastic comment Chris, completely agree.
you british are so touchy feely, and hypocritical. When you play a game that lets you slaughter german soldiers, thats alright because they invaded your land and burned and bombed your homes a long time ago. well a longer time ago you did the same thing to us americans. get over it and stop trying to be offended, its a video game made for entertainment purposes just like any movie or book out on the market.
The Germans didn’t invade. Get your facts right before spouting off.
If he is talking about WW2, he’s technically right in that they bombed Britain and attempted to invade.
Completely incorrect, Germany wanted to work with us to rule over the world including USA and Japan which we could have achieved but our morals were just. Germany invaded Poland & Holland and attempted to invade other countries whilst all the time saying that us Brits were a force to be reckoned with and Germany would not go to war with us. And all those spouting off about games that depict Brits killing German soldiers, I think you will find most of those games are US soldiers killing Germans. Apparently, we had nothing to do with that way and the US won it all by themselves – that’s the media for you I suppose. I have no problem at all with this as our predecessors and ancestors have done some pretty terrible things in the past and we know it.
Well wasn’t there a thing called “the blitz” in which the Germans did bomb London while Churchill and the Queen were all snuggly safe in a bunker ? Yes Yes Yes I seem to recall that in history class. Before you spout off and call me a stupid American and how I need to learn my facts or what ever Im from Ireland, just across the road from you guys and I know you guys got bombed by the nazi’s because we did too when you implemented your nation wide black out of lights all over the country at night time. so the first lights on the surface they saw was ours and bombed us by accident. Just sayin . . . . And by the way Im not a Irish Republican who hates the English or anything. I have great time for you guys. Im just telling fact.
This trailer actually made me hate the concept of the game more than any of the others. There are perfectly good responses to all of their statements (ie. British history relates MASSIVELY to American history, as they’re basically the same thing until the Mayflower arrived in America – why do British students learn Roman history might be a similarly justified question. Also, the farmer feeds the Empire because the empire protects him and allows him trade routes where he can source non-agricultural items such as cutlery, pottery and weapons, among other things).
Ubisoft, I was considering buying your game on a steam sale as you said you “were not taking sides”, but now it’s clear that by that you simply meant you would try and make British citizens see it from the American view, hence leaving only one side to take.
Well i’m sorry, but you failed, and by jingo I hope your game flops spectacularly in the UK.
Lol at all the crybaby British butthurts crying all over the place like “OMG NOT FAIUR DE KILL REDCUTS WAAHH WAAH BOYCOTT BOYCOTT 0/10 GAME MUZT FAEL!!” do me a favour butthurts and please shut the hell up!! And keep your “feelings” to yourself will you!? Its just a damn video game…pathetic really..at least tesfan put it right..
And don’t buy this game then and cry harder wishing that this game fails which it(unfortunately) won’t…and if you quit back and buy this game..you’re a looser…and I BET you’ll buy it anyways..
If we were crying, then surely we’d be responding “wah wah….sniffle…wah wah waaaaaaaaaahhhh…..hic….sniffle”, and not structuring valid reasons for why we are opposed to what seems to be the attitude of the game. I know it’s not going to fail, and I accept its appeal to the American market. I just find it offensive that Ubisoft has the nerve to try and sell this in the UK without at least throwing us a bone somewhere.
Fan responses helped very slightly change mass effect 3 for the better, and I simply hope that in the future, Ubisoft try and make it up to the UK with a theme showing our island in a positive light. No, I don’t really want to be killing Americans, because I think of your country as friend, and not foe.
Genuine British subject on British subject set in Victorian London would make up for things though, and would cause no controversy. I have a feeling that fans are going to miss sprawling European cities anyway after they finish AC3.
No Ubisoft are not obliged to “make it up” to anyone, per se, but then neither were Bioware. I just hope that disappointed fans will encourage them to appeal to Brits again in then next entry, but also that sales of AC3 are high enough to warrant an AC4.
I hope AC3 sells very well in America and most of Europe. We Brits, however should show just a bit of patriotism and delay buying it at launch.
It’s not jingoistic if it’s fiction about a time that occurred HUNDREDS of years ago, between two countries that have been good allies for longer than most members on here’s entire lifetime. It’s not real, Ubisoft is not American, and WHO CARES!
Lol yeah, im british and i can say we all need to stop complaining. Its kind of pathetic. Its a video game. Get over it.
It’s history! Get over it! lol
And also the american people of that time were no better. If i remember correctly during the war of 1812 america invaded canada while it was under british control in order to liberate the american people living there but turned out to oppress them by looting and pillaging their homes.
That’s nothing, look how we Americans treated Native Americans when we first came to the country.We forced them off their land, got them addicted to alcohol so we could make money by selling it to them.Look up the “Trail of Tears” on wikipedia if you want to see what I mean.But personally, I think every nation that’s had enough power has committed atrocities at some point or another, it’s almost inevitable.People aren’t perfect, a lot of people are easily corrupted by power and abuse it, this is true with every nation.
As a Canadian, I’ll point out that the Americans lost the War of 1812 actually. Canadians marched into Washington D.C. and set fire to the White House.
But I bet if we made a game about that people would be up in arms in the States. Considering Ubisoft Montreal is making AC3, that’s actually them making the OTHER guy look good, if you think about it…
Canadians are cool, from England – I have Canadian family and they are real nice
Actually, it would be the first time anyone here talked about it for more than five seconds, so I think it’d be interesting.
The americans technically called it a victory for them. Which it wasnt. But yeah brits burnt down the white house. Lol only time in history americas capitol was occupied by a foreign power.
Americans lost the War of 1812? How did they lose if they didn’t lose any territory or assets? Sorry Dyce, but it was a lame stalemate that the Brits didn’t even seem to care too much about as they were dealing with Napoleon at the time.
Never heard that Canada sacked Washington, though. I suppose that some Canadians may have been part of the forces on hand, but credit is typically given to the British for that feat. The city had already been abandoned by that point, and it was merely payback for the sacking of York (now Toronto). Militarily, it was a pretty unimportant target. The same British force then was promptly repelled when it tried to take Baltimore.
Much of the British forces from that battle then received the biggest ass-whooping of the war in New Orleans after the Treaty of Ghent was signed.
In the end, the Brits stopped harassing the US and kept its colony intact, and the US got the Star Spangled Banner, Andrew Jackson, and an Era of Unity and Expansion. The Native Americans were the only real losers of that war.
Typical American rhetoric
I’m pretty sure that both Canada and the Americans see it as the first time they felt equals, and not like one could take over the other. The ‘British’ who fought in the war were largely from Canada, so they were as much ‘British’ as the Americans fighting the War of Independence.
Bottom line: America pushed for reasons that weren’t really worth getting into a war over (flexing their muscles a bit, possibly, and who could blame them) Canada pushed back, set fire to Washington D.C., and proved they weren’t having it and could put up a fight as well.
Just nice to know that Canada, at one time, did show that it wasn’t getting messed with. I think the fact that we ‘repelled’ and American invasion was voted one of our distinct national points of pride. So we took plenty out of the war too.
The war started when America declared it, sent forces to attack Canadian territory, were held back, invaded, occupied, pushed back, then came truce. I could claim that picking a fight and then calling a truce is losing it in a way….
Can we just agree it was the war equivalent of a bar parking lot fistfight that one side started and then got broken up by people much more level-headed? Also, that French douche that started smashing car windows kind of seemed like a more important thing to stop at the moment.
Ammurica!!!
Doesn’t much of Canada not care about the War of 1812? I recall reading somewhere this war was more of an Ontario pride deal.
I’m just giving you a hard time, Dyce. Based upon the constant theft of Canadian resources by the USA (i.e. comedians), I think it turned out pretty well for us.
I don’t know anybody who is annoyed at the actual prospect of the British being killed. But some are a little baffled by the bizarre marketing strategy, and it’s starting to feel a little like a special club we’re not invited to be in, because all the phrases like ‘Pledge Your Allegiance’ and ‘Declare Your Independence’ don’t mean much for the British like they do for those in the USA.
These people saying Ubisoft is anti-British is just as stupid as it would be to have people yelling at CoD because they killed Germans in a WWII game. (Anti-German??) I’m sorry, but those people are being stupid. It has nothing to do with hating any group of people… just the fact that this is the course history took. Excuse Ubisoft for being accurate to it!!
In terms of the history, most of the scenes shown so far in trailers don’t even contain Americans. Besides Connor, anyway. Even Lead Writer Corey May said in an interview that in his story, there are no Americans, just British who are loyal and those that chose to rebel.
Either way, I didn’t hear anyone complain when DC got blown to hell in Modern Warfare 2, and that wasn’t based on historical fact.
Americans are hypocrites, I bet if a game was made where you played as terrorists blowing up the civilians, you would be the same. Also medal of honor multiplayer 2010 complaints just proves my point.
Also as historians say; history is written by the victors.
And “The Most Ridiculously Stupid Comment of the Year” award goes to you, good sir.
I respect your opinion, but several things are wrong with it. (#1.) Playing as terrorists and blowing up civilians is controversial and would be frowned upon universally. (#2.) We’re not playing as terrorists in AC3. We’re playing as a Native American Assassin during The Revolutionary War. The Americans won. The British lost. Get over it. It’s history and it happened hundreds of years ago; no one gives a damn anymore. (#3.) I fail to see why you’re taking this to heart. Yes, this game seems to be pro-American. And? Are you going to run to Parliament and beg them to boycott the game or write an angry letter to the US President and express how angry you are that the US are being portrayed as the “good guys” when this game is being developed by a European company? Didn’t think so.
Have a nice day.
I have no problem with brits being the bad guys, favourite films include braveheart. It’s the fact that the ads are showing a very biased story. I mean the colonists were wiping out the natives and then moan about being unfairly treated. By the soldiers who protected them. The game is showing the main character as only killing soldiers and no templars seem to colonists.
Although I have a feeling they will only show americans being templars after independence
First off, the colonists were “wiping out” Native Americans due to the fact that those Native Americans were attacking the colonies, so the colonists asked the Brits to help, which they did, and then those same Brits used that power to enforce laws that oppressed the colonists, such as the Quartering Act and the Stamp Act, which led to the suppression of the colonists freedoms and etc etc etc.
Also, on the Medal of Honor note, that is significantly different from this situation. The Revolution happened in 1700s, the War in Iraq/Afghanistan against the Taliban was happening when the game came out, and I have a feeling that U.S. Soldiers have the right to complain about a game that lets you play and have fun as the group of people that those same soldiers are fighting and getting killed by at that moment.
Wonder how many kids that read that are gonna think it’s an original quote from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2…
Hey its a game. Its not like they just said ‘hey the US is better. Lets make them win. We did win. Its history. It actually happened. N they seemed to want their character on the winning side. Idk.
Why don’t they do the next one in the American civil war period?
That would be awesome. I hope they put the player on the side of the Confederates.
*slow clap*
Yes because enslaving people would seem so very Assassin as opposed to Templar in the game.
Have you even played AC?
It’s not the British themselves who were evil. The people were then as they always are and as they are now: just the people. We have no say, and we never have. It’s the governments who do the talking and make the decisions, with or without the consent of the people. Ironically, the Independence War was fought for that very reason and yet still, we the people don’t have a say in the policies our deplorable government passes. As for the “redcoats”, they were just grunts doing what they were told, same as today.
I never saw the Germans or Japanese getting pissed off when any WWII games were being released. Stop bickering. Connor is fighting for justice. All Ubisoft needs to do is put a trailer in that shows Connor killing TEMPLARS either American Colonialist or British Redcoat.
That’s because the Germans accept that they were genocidal brainwashed robots while you probably don’t read Japanese forums on which the focus is the war with the allies. I’m almost certain that in Japan, games where they are the enemy are not well received, as they are a proud nation, and that has not changed just because of WW2.
gamers don’t give a crap British or American no one cares….