Assassin's Creed: Unity sneak peek footage is "in-game," not a cinematic, according to Ubisoft

A big draw for the Assassin's Creed series has always been the setting. Whether in ancient Rome , Jerusalem, or the pirate-city of Nassau , the look of the world helps make the game's sometimes strange mix of alternate history and sci-fi a bit more comfortable. With the upcoming Assassin's Creed: Unity taking place in revolutionary France, it's a great to hear the game's first released footage is truly "in-game," according to Ubisoft.

The "sneak peek" trailer that appeared last week shows a desolate salon, a few empty street corners, and a looming cathedral. And naturally we also get a look at the iconic guillotine, which surely has an important role to play in whatever mischief the next assassin find him- or herself in. But it's definitely not a cinematic, based on a response to a question posed to the official Assassin's Creed Twitter account:

"In-game, but ALPHA... which means it's not final, we are still working on it," reports Ubisoft.

Alpha caveats aside, it looks fantastic for a work in progress, and with its smoky urban decay I think the next entry will likely carry on at least the high-quality design tradition of the series, even as we wait for other information to drop. If Unity can stage a revolution as well as Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag stages its darkly-funny and ridiculous interpretation of pirate life, I'll be satisfied.