When you buy a Tom Clancy game, you can be pretty much sure of what you're getting. Like the novels, the games that hold the Tom Clancy name are usually filled to the brim with military themed espionage, thrills, and plenty of stealth. The Rainbow Six games, however, are usually a little bit different, as rather than following the adventures of a lone operative, they place you as a member of a special forces team, in a game that's all about the tactics. Tasked with taking down a number of terrorists, it's up to you to figure out the best way to approach - and clear - each room, whether you go in all guns blazing; make use of one of a variety of high tech tools at your disposal; or simply blow your way in through the wall. Imagine a game version of the SAS, and you're not too far off.
Since release, Rainbow Six Siege has come to be a little like Marmite - people either absolutely love it or hate it. On the one hand, the idea of a thinking man/woman's shooter, that steers away from the itchy trigger finger likes of Call of Duty is fun, and exactly the breath of fresh air that everyone needed. On the other hand, if you're familiar with the Rainbow Six series, you may not like how things have changed here. As for us? We're somewhere on the fence.
For those who remember the Rainbow Six games of old, there are some big changes going on here. For starters, the game box states that the game can be played in single player as well as multiplayer and online - and while this isn't exactly untrue, it is a little misleading. This is because the single player option of the game isn't actually all that expansive, and rather than having a proper story to play through, it instead consists of what it calls 'situations' - small, short challenges which each take around 10-15 minutes to complete. It feels a lot more like a tutorial to each aspect of the game and is nothing like a story mode.
On the plus side, the 'situations' mode does give you a chance to get to grips with how various bits and pieces of the game works before heading out online, giving you some much needed experience. And it's experience you'll need when you're first starting out, as the multiplayer mode comes complete with its own "vote to kick" option that other players can use to chuck people they think "can't play the game" from the session. Which DEFINITELY didn't happen to me when I pressed the wrong button and blew myself up by mistake… .
How will you choose to make an entrance?
The multiplayer and online section is what the majority of the game is centred around. Stepping away from the player vs player action of other games, the action here pits teams of human players against computer controlled opponents - in this case, the terrorists - as you work together to take down the baddies. If you're a quiet type, though, it's probably worth bearing in mind that you'll likely need to make use of your headset when playing this, as there are times when strategy is needed, and when you need to work together. You could find yourself waiting to be revived with nobody around you, or you might have to warn your fellow teammates to be careful of a room filled with explosives - or you could even ask for help if you're being chased by a terrorist with a bomb strapped to them. And how will anyone know you need help if you have no way of telling them? While a microphone may not be essential when it comes to enjoying the game, it certainly helps - it all depends on whether you're a lone wolf or like to roll with the pack.
There are a variety of modes on offer here, although each follows a kind of similar format. They all start in the same way - by giving you a rather rushed 30 seconds to pick which class you want to use, and which primary, secondary and special weapons you want to arm yourself with - an already tight limit that can be squeezed even further if the rest of your team click ready. On some game modes where you have to barricade a room, you only have around 10-20 seconds to prepare and get everything in order before the enemies start flooding in to the building. It all seems very fast paced to begin with, yet it can also become a waiting game depending on which mode you're playing. For example, if you're playing the mode that asks you to protect a hostage in a room, you'll have to set out traps and barricade yourself in, and then simply sit and wait for the enemy to find your hiding place - and because its artificial intelligence that you're against, it can seem like it takes forever! The only plus side to this is that you can choose to take control of the security cameras in the building to try and spot the enemy and pinpoint them for your teammates, which essentially gives everyone a heads up on where to expect an attack from and gives you an extra couple of experience points. Another irritating example of waiting around is when your health bar reaches 0, as it seems you can only be revived once - so if you die a second time you're left waiting for the game to finish, and just have to sit back and watch everybody else play - which can quickly turn into a snooze fest if you have a player who likes to sit and wait for the enemy to come to them! (This is where the 'vote to kick' section of the game comes in handy!).
Who will you choose to unlock?
As you go through the game you can earn in game credits to spend, which you can spend on unlocking new classes. Within each game session, there can only be one of each class, so if somebody has the one you want you'll have to decide which other one to use - or just be quicker on the button next time round! Each class has unique abilities, which, together with the max-one-of-each-class limit, really encourages players to work together, and gives everyone on the team their own jobs.
One of the things that can sometimes cause a lot of issues in Rainbow Six Siege is the realism. While waiting for a terrorist to find you might be realistic, it's not always that much fun - but perhaps the bigger issue is that friendly fire as always on. If you shoot, throw a grenade, or otherwise do anything that might damage or kill one of your team mates, it will damage or kill them, whether you did it on purpose or by accident. While on the one hand, this can leave you sometimes accidentally getting killed, on the other hand it does push the game towards more tactical territory, as you're forced to work together and plan where you're going to set up your traps…
Speaking of traps, you'd be surprised at how much damage a well placed bomb can cause. While the game's graphics don't appear that breath-taking, the detail's really there where it matters, as everything and anything is destructible. You want to go through that wall? Make it explode! You want to make a hole in the floor to burst through? Do it! In the same way that enemies can come from anywhere, so can you. Find your sneaky way in! Another sneaky aspect to the game (and a personal favourite) is the remote control cars that you can control. What these essentially do is let you drive in to the building and "tag" where enemies are, so that you have a good idea of where the danger zones are. It allows for tactical planning on how you'll enter the building and how to take out as many enemies as possible.
While there are a range of modes to play in, one of the bigger frustrations with the game is that everything is totally randomised. If there's a mode and a map you want to play on, there's no way of joining a specific game, as you just end up playing whatever the game thinks you should be playing. While this may stop people voting for the same maps each game, the lack of control also means you end up being flung into modes you don't enjoy, or maps you really don't like.
On a similar note, for a game priced around the £40-£45 mark, you really don't get a lot of content for what you're paying for. With a handful of modes and maps, it almost seems as if there is not that much extra than there was in the beta Ubisoft ran - and that was only meant to be a taster! It's a sign of a sad trend with the industry in general, as companies seem to be a lot more focused on downloadable add-ons than the actual base game itself - and lo and behold, Rainbow Six Siege has its own Season Pass available, which you can buy to get access to a number of downloadable expansions to be released over the next few months.
Take no prisoners as you tear down walls!
All in all, Rainbow Six Siege has done fairly well to compete against other first person shooters and has managed not to fade in to the background and be forgotten. However, the lack of a story mode campaign really lets the game down, and what's left doesn't appear to justify the price tag on it at the moment. Hopefully, there will be some free content added at some point and it won't all need to be paid for (*fingers crossed*), as Rainbow Six Siege is a game with potential, but a potential it doesn't quite capitalise on.
Format Reviewed: Playstation 4
