Assassin's Creed 3 trailer shows off AnvilNext engine

Swish technology doesn't make a game, but it can make it awfully pretty to look at. Luckily for us, everyone likes to show their tech off in the hope of inspiring gushing and swooning in polygonphiles. Which is a long-winded way of saying, here, come watch a trailer about Ubisoft's AnvilNext engine, which powers Assassin's Creed III.

For a trailer dedicated to showing off an engine, it's disappointingly tech-light, but it does offer facts and figures to make enthusiasts nod in approval and say "Big numbers, yes, that's good."

For instance, AnvilNext will let AC3 have 2,000 non-player characters gadding about in a single scene, while murderstar Connor has over 1,000 animations himself. Big numbers, yes, that's good. It also simulates wind and sea for the oceanborne sections, and has dynamic weather conditions for each of the four seasons on land.

Assassin's Creed III is coming to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 30. The PC edition, which will surely be the prettiest of all, is due some time before Christmas, and Ubisoft has yet to date the Wii U version. The Vita's getting its own dedicate spin-off, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation.