Rainbow Six: Siege review

When Ubisoft presented Rainbow Six: Siege at E3, I was a little skeptical on how the game would actually turn out.Would my teammates play the same way as demonstrated? Would they not rush like call of duty? Would the map design suit the game play developers want to us to play? Would my teammates actually play the game as it is meant to be played? Would there be one overpowered operator that exploits the game? Would the servers hold the game strong?It is difficult to make a game like rainbow six siege where the most important aspect of the game is to have patience. Gamers don't really have the patience to wait and be tactical most of the times.So I considered this game a big gamble for Ubisoft. Thankfully, the developers were able to make sure that all that they promised actually turned out in the game just fine. Rainbow six siege is one of the most innovative first person shooter in recent years. It's a game which requires you to be patient, be calm and be innovative with your strategies. No match ever feels the same thanks to some great choices with the making of the game. The only disappointment that comes from this game is lack of a proper single player game mode. Still, I would consider no campaign over a mediocre campaign any day in my life.

#1 Situations

The first and foremost game mode is the “Situations”.

10 training missions which allow you try out almost half of the operators. These training missions are good, but they aren’t really all that helpful. One major reason behind this is the fact that you can only play them solo.

Since the game relies too much on teamplay, training missions don’t really help the cause. When you do complete the 10 training missions, however, you will get yourself a nice little cutscene before a secret mission unlocks. This 11th mission tagged “Article 5” almost feels like a teaser.

In this mission, a squad of 5 operators are assigned to defuse two bombs in a college campus. Now this mission does not feel different from the many terrorist hunt missions, but it does have a bit of story which makes this mission nothing more than a teaser.

Apart from that, Situations also help you earn a lot of renown tokens which basically act as currency in this game. You’ll be able to buy almost half of the operators with the renown tokens you get after completing situations.

#2 Operators

One of the major aspects of this game are the different types of operators you can use.

There is a total of 20 operators (10 attackers and 10 defenders) for you to try and experiment with. Credit has to be given where it’s due and I think the developers nailed it in making sure that each operator feels a little different from one another.

Each operator is assigned with a special skill which are equally important. Trust me, when I say that no operator feels overpowered or underpowered, it means that the developers were able to achieve what they aimed for. Your playstyle will majorly impact your choice of operators.

Are you the aggressive kind who doesn’t feel the need to wait around? Well you can probably use BLITZ who has a special riot shield which stuns nearby enemies.

Are you the overprotective defender who values his life more than anything in the world? Well, you can go with DOC to make sure that you are able to revive yourself and your friends at the right time.

Each operator feels different from each other, thanks to the assigned special skill and the choice of weapons they provide. It will probably take you around 20 hours to unlock all the operators, but to master them will take you mere 50 hours for sure.

#3 Terrorist hunt

Terrorist hunt is a game mode where a squad of 5 battle against A.I opponents.

Now the worst thing about this mode are the framerates. The game drops to mere 30FPS from 60FPS(Multiplayer) and the transition for the player is difficult. This sort of ruins this game mode but it is still fun to play when you need a break from multiplayer.

There are multiple objectives based missions on the 11 maps that the game provides. Normal difficulty is sort of a misnomer as the mode is super easy to beat on normal difficulty especially if you are playing with a squad.

Jump up to hard difficulty and you are up for a nice challenge.

Objectives such as defend the hostage, rescue the hostage, defuse the bomb, kill the terrorists etc are all fun to play, but they get repetitive way too soon. It’s a good game mode to try out the operators and learn how to use them along with learning how to work as a team, but it’s a game mode which gets boring after a little while.

The reward isn't that good either so there arent really any reasons to play this game mode for a long time.

#4 Multiplayer

“The star of the show”. Multiplayer is where its at.

The multiplayer of this game is astonishing. It’s one of the most competitive balanced tactical first person shooters that I have played in recent years. The map design is nothing short of excellent, and the way the game encourages you to play as a team is just remarkable.

Before the start of each round, there is a preparatory phase in which the attackers are supposed to locate the objective using drones and the defenders are suppose to reinforce and barricade the area.

It might feel repetitive after a few games, but trust me it is very important. Sometimes the result of the round totally depends on the preparatory phase. After the phase, the attackers are supposed to breach in and complete the objective while the defenders are given the task to hold them off.

There three game modes here but they all feel the same, except for the hostage mode where an actual human involved. I am disappointed by the fact that these objectives don’t really mean much as most of the rounds end up being one team killing the other team.

Each operator feels useful in multiplayer. Need to breach a reinforced wall? THERMITE has got you covered. Just like that, each operator is assigned a special skill and they all count in the battlefield.

No operator feels useless in this game and that is the best part of it. Each operator is also assigned a different set of guns which make them unique from one another. I would have liked a bit more freedom in choosing my arsenal, but it seems alright that the developers gave balance more importance over freedom.

Apart from that, there is customization for various guns which i found to be fairly limited. Honestly, for a game that relies so much on playing as different operators, It seemed a bit lazy that the developers didn’t actually put much thought into customization for guns and gears.

#5 Replay Value

This is where the game feels short. Lack of campaign seriously destroyed the image of this game among gamers and most gamers ended up neglecting this game completely.

The situations and the terrorist hunt mode will get repetitive in a few hours and if you don’t find yourself liking the multiplayer of this game, you’ll find nothing to play here after 10 hours or so.

Personally, I don’t mind a multiplayer focused game. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, no campaign rather than a mediocre campaign is always better for me. But that should not how the industry should work as the lack of campaign really killed the value of this game.

If you do like the multiplayer, however, you are in for a treat. The multiplayer will keep you hooked for hours and mastering all the operators will take a lot of time. Apart from that, there is a ranked playlist which gives this game a competitive edge.

The developers have also promised free downloadable content in future which is a nice incentive.

#6 Overall rating

Rainbow Six: Siege is one of the best first person shooter games that I have experienced in recent years. It’s a game which requires you to be tactical and show teamwork in order to succeed.

Lack of campaign did hurt this game real bad but that should not stop you from at least trying out this tactical first-person masterpiece. It’s definitely the biggest surprise of this year.

+Operators

+Excellent map design

+Outstanding sound design

+Engaging as well as tactical gameplay

+Relies on teamwork

-No campaign mode

-Situations

-Lack of customization

OVERALL RATING:- 8/10