Rainbow Six Siege (PC)

Man, Rainbow Six – I remember wracking my brains during the planning stage before each mission, the palpable tension of the campaign missions themselves, the whole thing topped off with a great multiplayer mode for 1998. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege from Ubisoft focuses almost exclusively on the multiplayer aspects, which places limits on the overall content it can deliver in comparison to previous titles in the series, which begs the question: Is it even worth it? We’ve donned our bulletproof vests and set out to answer that question for our readers.

Team Rainbow Become Operators

During gameplay, the operators form two groups – attackers, whose job it is to storm buildings and defuse bombs or rescue hostages; and defenders whose job it is to prevent the attackers from doing so. Operators are equipped in a variety of ways; for example, the attack-oriented operator “Blitz” has a special police shield that is modified to release a flash of light that blinds enemies. On the other hand, the defensive operator “Bandit” has a device that allows him to electrify metallic objects (such as barbed wire) to protect the team from attackers. Before each round, operators can also select two to three primary and secondary weapons, along with additional gear to take on the mission. You can customize weapons by equipping guns with different sights, for example.

While your team can be composed of operators from any of the five real-life special units, there can only be one of any given character at a time. This means that if all the currently unlocked operators have been taken up by your teammates, you’re stuck with a recruit, who won’t have any special gadgets to use.

“Renown” is an in-game currency that you earn by playing missions, and you can use it to buy weapons modifications and unlock additional operators. The catch is that each time you unlock an operator, it’s going to cost you more Renown to unlock the next one. However, the price increase only affects the purchase of other operators in the same special unit, so it shouldn’t take you too long to unlock your first five operators.

All this means that multiplayer no longer consists of law enforcement vs. terrorists, but offensive and defensive operators from the same five special units. Things can get a bit confusing, especially for beginners, as there are very little visual clues to help players distinguish between the two factions.

Multiplayer

Each round is broken up into two phases: in the 30-second preparation phase, attackers can send out a drone to scope out the area and locate any bombs that will have to be disarmed or hostages that will have to rescued, which will then be marked on the map.

At this time the defenders will attempt to shut down the attackers’ reconnaissance efforts and prepare for the offensive. Options include nailing doors and windows shut, as well as reinforcing walls to secure them against any attempts by attackers to break through. They can also put up barbed wire and place booby traps, and jam up drones that get too close.

In each four-minute round, the defenders lie in wait (cynics might say “camp”), hoping to intercept and kill the attackers. The attackers themselves will have to find a way to get into the building before they can carry out their mission, the easiest option being to break through a barricaded door or window. You can do this by shooting them up, blowing them up, or smashing them to pieces. And just so the defenders won’t have it too easy, you can climb up walls and at various spots, you can use ropes to swing headlong into the building.

You can also shoot through the walls and floors of the buildings themselves, either to create a shortcut to your goal or to take out enemies on the other side. The eleven maps currently available include ordinary houses, villas, government buildings, and even an airplanes. All of the locations are multi-layered and full of winding paths and hiding places. There could be any enemy lurking behind every corner, so you’ve got to be on your guard at all times.

These brief, but challenging rounds demand a lot more than a quick index finger; you’ve also got to have a good ear, and ideally, good team play skills (for which the game includes its own voice chat system). At any time, the wall next to you can go up in smoke, or you can be hiding behind what you think is a protective barricade, only to see it riddled with bullets. Each new operator you unlock comes with several new tactical options to experiment with. But after a few matches, you’ll notice that no matter what map you’re on, the basic gameplay is always the same, which really limits any long-term appeal the game might have, except for perfectionists. It doesn’t matter whether you’re supposed to be disarming bombs of rescuing hostages -- the actual execution is pretty much identical. The only real difference is that in hostage situations, attackers have to be careful not to accidentally shoot the hostages they’re supposed to be representing.

Single Player

The challenges are mostly useful for learning basic gameplay mechanics and familiarizing yourself with the various maps. Since the positions of the computer-controlled terrorists you’re supposed to take out never change, and since they always react the same way, the challenges don’t provide much replay value, and it shouldn’t take you more than a few tries to complete them, even at the highest difficulty.

Terrorist Hunt allows five players to play co-op, but there’s also a “Lone Wolf” option. In this mode, you play against tons of AI enemy terrorists, who have barricaded themselves up in one of multi-story buildings you’ll recognize from multiplayer mode. Your task is to take them all out.

You’ve got to be extra careful as a Lone Wolf, since you won’t have anyone to cover your back. A good eye and a quick index finger aren’t enough here – you advance, kill one enemy, then retreat to a secure position to plan the next few steps forward. You trick enemies into following you so you can take them out undetected, climb up exterior walls, and blow up barricades to create new ways in.

This is where the recon drone is especially helpful. You can use this little guy to investigate room after room, marking your targets. Then you park it in a safe spot so it’s not discovered and destroyed by enemies on patrol. After performing recon, it’s time to collect the fruits of your labor. Enemies stay marked for several seconds, so in many cases you can kill them without any putting yourself in danger by making direct physical contact. Toss a grenade around the corner or shoot through one of the walls or barricades, and you’re one more step closer to a successful mission.

But even with the best efforts to scout out the area, it’s still pretty easy to overlook an enemy in the labyrinthine interiors of the buildings, so you’d better make sure to keep your ears open. The sounds enemies make when moving around indicate whether they’re walking down a corridor, right around the next corner, or on the floor above you. And your listening skills are also useful for other purposes, since the terrorists will have set several deadly traps around the place, in addition to the barbed wire used to slow you down. If you listen closely, you’ll be able to find where these traps are placed, since the device makes a noise that sounds kind of like poor cell phone reception. Even if the AI doesn’t always put up too much of a fight, playing as a Lone Wolf can be extremely suspenseful.

Graphics and Sound

The sound design seems to be above average. It’s not that explosions sound so powerful – they’re relatively easy to place, and the whole effect is underscored by a slight shaking of the camera, which makes the effect feel even more authentic.

The sounds of footsteps and gunshots also sound different, depending on whether the other player is above you, below you, behind you, or to the side of you. It’s not all that uncommon to be able to hear enemies before you actually see them. Taken together, Rainbow Six Siege is a real feast for the senses.