Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation is a game released in 2012 for the Playstation Vita portable handheld device. The game features Aveline de Grandpre as its protagonist, a young woman of French and African descent, and is set in New Orleans in the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War. Aveline is a unique protagonist as few games feature a singular female or black protagonist. Upon release, AC:L received mixed to positive reviews, currently holding a 70 on Metacritic (http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-vita/assassins-creed-iii-liberation). The game was praised for its portrayal of race relations in the time period and Aveline was a well-received character. Unfortunately, the game mechanics, while praised as well made, proved to be a hindrance more often than not, with reviewers complaining that too much time was spent in the restrictive “Lady” persona.
The game mechanics are a very important element of the game’s portrayal of race and gender in the time period. The game lets Aveline “adopt personas that give her varying abilities and constraints. The ‘lady’, who dresses and acts like the wealthy free woman that Aveline is, can fool men by charming them… but she can’t climb building and is weak in a fight… The slave can infiltrate areas under cover of labor. And the assassin persona is, well, less concerned with the historical basis of double consciousness.” (Suellentrop)
Works referenced:
Chris Suellentrop, “Slavery as New Focus for a Game: Assassin’s Creed Liberation”