It seems that Ubisoft felt a little pressed for time during its E3 2015 press conference this afternoon. While the Ubisoft's press conference did contain a new cinematic trailer for the upcoming Assassin's Creed Syndicate and one lingering interview with a dapperly-dressed cosplayer, there was no actual gameplay footage to be had. Its absence was immediately worrying (no gameplay when we're four months away from launch?) until Ubisoft released a four-minute gameplay trailer on their YouTube page, alongside the cinematic trailer, with a fraction of the fanfare.
Odd choices all around, but thankfully that means we get a brand new glimpse at Syndicate's gameplay, with some fresh new pieces we've not yet seen. In this trailer, protagonist Jacob Frye pursues a Dickensian businessman named Robert Strain through Westminster, London, showing off how carriages will be used in a typical scenario. While he starts off simply driving the buggy, Frye's able to climb on top mid-motion and take out his enemies, with the vehicle following his target automatically. Not the most realistic move, but one that makes such chases functional, so it seems like a fair trade.
While Jacob eventually loses his target - which would mean mission failure in any other 'Creed - he's able to recover his target in the crowd and follow him onto a moving train. This is the first confirmation that trains will be an active part of the gameplay, acting as a fighting stage without the locomotion having any noticeable effect on the combat.
The final few seconds are when the trailer starts to get a little trippy, as Jacob begins to hear the disembodied voice of his freshly dead target echoing around him. While hearing the last words and/or watching your target's life flash before their eyes has always been a bizarre and not-entirely-logical part of the AC universe, this seems particularly weird, because even Jacob looks confused by whatever the heck is going on. Whether that accidental mind-reading was just a bit of flare for the trailer, or how last words in Syndicate will actually work, remains a mystery. Hopefully we'll learn more in the weeks to come.
And oh, oh! There's Evie, the game's other protagonist, perched on Big Ben and saying something cryptic - and she's gone. Damn. That girl is tough to keep an eye on, am I right?
