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As October rapidly approaches, the hype surrounding Assassin's Creed Unity is growing faster than ever. Although the game had an impressive showing at E3 2014 and has hooked many gamers in with the promise of the biggest sandbox the franchise has ever offered, a large portion of the community is still disappointed that the game doesn't offer a playable female character.

Assassin's Creed has a history of being ahead of the curve in terms of gender equality and racial diversity, so it was more than a little disappointing for many fans to see the game put such an emphasis on four player co-op, without offering a playable female character model. The new trailer can't possibly offer answers to all of those complaints, but it does acknowledge that females exist in the Assassin's Creed world and that they can swing a sword with the best of them.

The new CG trailer may be titled "Arno Master Assassin," but after a full minute and a half of Arno free-running and stabbing, the focus turns to a new character. At the end of a daring (although seemingly effortless) rescue mission we see that Arno cuts loose a young female prisoner. Before turning back-to-back to face off against the incoming reinforcements, the woman's Templar necklace is revealed.

Thanks to a press release from Ubisoft, we know that the young Ttemplar is a character named Elise. We don't yet have any idea why Arno is teaming up with her, but we do know that she will be very important to the game's story.

"[Elise is] a character central to Assassin’s Creed Unity’s story. As an independent young noblewoman, Elise 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."

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Not only will Elise be central to the plot of the game, but it has also been confirmed that she will be the lead character in the upcoming spin-off novel. The novel takes place during the same time period as Unity and is told from Elise's perspective instead of Arno's. The book is written by Assassin's Creed veteran Oliver Bowden, so fans of past tie-in stories will know what to expect.

If you think Elise is particularly awesome, you'll be pleased to hear you can actually pick up a collectible figurine of the character. The statue "features Elise as she sets her sights on her target with her gun poised and sword sheathed at the ready on her back." Purchasing the figure through Uplay later this year will also give shoppers access to extra digital content. An Arno statue will also be available in one of the game's collector's editions.

Do you think the emphasis of Elise as a supporting character helps make up for the lack of a female playable character or is the damage already done on that front? Do you think she may become a playable character in a DLC pack? Let us know in the comments.

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Assassin’s Creed Unity releases October 28, 2014 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.