Rainbow 6: Siege Review

A new age of cat and mouse

By Daniel Venegas

After seven long years and some false starts, Ubisoft has finally returned to the fps genre with its Rainbow Six franchise. In that time period, shooters have changed dramatically. Call of Duty has gone from a WWII Axis shooter to a futuristic, WWIII, robot zombie shooter. Battlefield was just introducing destruction on a large scale, and is now the premier massive scale fps shooter. Yes, the kings of FPS shooters have changed drastically in that time, improving and refining the things that make those franchises successful. A tall order then, for Ubisoft to bring back its darling franchise in a genre that has elevated its game so much since 2008.

Yet somehow, Ubisoft has found a way to break new ground and dry walls (more on that later) to create one of the most tactical shooters I have ever played in my entire life. The game is not without faults. But on the whole, the franchise has returned to show there is still room at the top for one more shooter.

Rainbow Six: Siege takes its tried and true tactical formula and cranks up the intensity dial to 11. Ubisoft has decided to do away with the standard single player campaign that most have come to expect from a FPS, and instead decided to focus on a mostly multiplayer aspect.

I say mostly, as Siege wisely does not immediately throw the player head first into the multiplayer with the sharks, but instead allows you to learn the ropes by playing a mode called situations. In situations, a single player is dropped into a different mode that highlights various new mechanics found in the game. There are 10 situations in total, each highlighting the different maps and game modes, all while letting the player acclimate themselves to this different tempo of shooter.

And acclimate you must. This is not your average run and gun shooter. As is explained ever so well by Mr. Elba in the promotional material, bullets and reflexes are not the keys to victory. This is a game that forces you to think and adapt on the fly. Think of it as a wild game of cat and mouse, but with bullets and explosives.

It is in this logos that Rainbow Six: Siege shines. Instead of taking ques from the big names like COD or Battlefield, Ubisoft instead decided to double down what Rainbow does best. And what Rainbow does best is, create a tense game of cat and mouse with two teams using teamwork and tactics to edge the other team to defeat. Rainbow accomplishes this by focusing only two multiplayer modes, terrorist hunt and multiplayer.

I know, this sounds bare bones. And to a degree, it is. Ubisoft has put all its eggs in two baskets to carry a $60 game. Whether that a wise design choice is debatable. What is not debatable, is how well each mode plays.

Terrorist hunt mode is just as fun and rewarding as it has ever been. A team of 5 is sent in to accomplish different objectives against waves and hordes of entrenched ai controlled combatants. These objectives can include goals like disarming two bombs in a timed limit, or rescuing hostages, or just straight up eliminating enemies. There are three levels of difficulty in this mode. While normal is ok, it is recommended you play on hard or realistic difficulty for these. These latter two difficulties really test your tactics and decision making. And while you can decide to go it alone in this mode, it is also recommended you play with a group on higher difficulties.

The ai in this mode is very punishing as they will also use tactics to adapt to your play style. They also employ traps and explosives to corner you into making a mistake that will cost you and your team the victory. Word of caution, look out for those C4 and suicide bombers on the board. They can be a real dozy.

The multiplayer mixes elements of terrorist hunt, but really shines as it pits two teams of five against each other with do competing objectives. Regardless of the objective, one team begins inside a building, using all the tools at their disposal to stop the other team from completing their goal. The second team always starts outside, using their smarts, tools, and teamwork to overwhelm the other team and complete the objective. What allows the game to create a well balanced game without giving one team or the other an overwhelming advantage is the classes.

Siege does an about face from its Vegas predecessors by doing away with a singular visually and equipment fluid character, and instead lets players unlock specific characters that are in a class of their own. These classes are representations of some of the best law enforcement and counter terrorism groups in the world such as FBI Swat and Spetsnaz. They are then split down by attack or defenders depending on which side your playing at the moment. Each character has their own unique ability and weapon sets that are introduced in a neat intro video that is demoed when you unlock one.

No one character stands above the other, as each do something that another character can counter. It is a constant challenge trying to figure out which class works best for each situation. Do I bring someone like Twitch who can scope places out and create a safer entry with her drones and traps, or do I throw caution to the wind and bring someone like Sledge, who literally burst through walls using a sledge hammer. The choices are always important, and choosing the right character can add a balanced attack or defense for your team.

Siege adds another element new to the series, destructible environments. Sure your could burst through a window in the previous games. Now however, you burst through so much more.The destruction in this game is a thing of beauty. Now as a player, you have to pay attention to the surfaces around you. The game allows bullets and explosives to show their true destructive nature by creating a more accurate depiction of what happens to different surfaces when they are shot or exploded. Walls with certain material such as dry wall or wood now serve more as suggestions that an actual route.

If you know an enemy is on the other side of a wall, why go in through the doorway when you can blow a hole in the wall right next to them? Do they have all walls reinforced and windows with guns pointed at them? I bet they forgot that attic entrance that's right above their heads. Who needs doors when when you can rappel up the side of the building and blow a hole in the roof to fall right on their heads. This game offers no shortage of destructible surfaces to create your own path to victory.

The sound design accompanying all the destruction and mayhem is unparalleled. The sound bullets make when exploding from the barrels is equal to the guns recoil animation. The sound makes you believe that your gun would do that when you pull the trigger. The boom of walls crumbling and floors breaking from gunfire and explosions also adds to the crazy orchestra that is a Rainbow Six: Siege match.

The visuals, however, leave a little bit to be desired. While the textures are admirable, it is not the kind of fidelity you have come to expect from other FPS of this console generation. Reflective surfaces look flat while the grass and other foliage look previous gen. The guns are probably the best looking things in the game with the characters right behind. But maybe a premium was not placed on the visuals as the players are just going to blow the environment all to hell anyways.

You soon forget the visuals though when you remember the high stakes environment your in. That sense of high stakes creates a rush I have not felt from a game in a long time. The fact that there are no re-spawns combined with tight, destructible environments creates a sense that any moment could be your last. There is danger around every corner, and you don't have the luxury of running around like a headless turkey with a gun. Run n’ Gun tactics need not apply, as this type of play could cost your team the game.

A game with this much pressure creates amazing moments that other shooters just can’t recreate. Just watch this video below of a match where the game was on the line and I was the only one left.

It is moments like this that stay with you for a while afterwards and keep you wanting to come back for more. Should there have been more content included for the price of this game? Maybe. Is it the prettiest shooter on the market? Not by a long shot. What isn’t up for debate though is that this game is unlike any other shooter on the market. This is a game that does not ask you drop out and shoot mindlessly, but instead asks more of the player. It asks you to think before you shoot, look before you leap. If you seek a shooter that is much more cerebral and tactical than the standard fair, then this Rainbow Six is ready to give you a complex, pulse pounding siege.