Rainbow Six Siege is the second game I’ve played in a month that doesn’t have a campaign but instead lets you train in a variety of single player situations where you can hone your skills and learn about everything you can do, and then jump into multiplayer to try and win the day and beat a team of randoms.
Loading the game up for the first time is a treat, as you’re welcomed by one of the best looking intros you’ll see in a game so far. It’s very realistic, with full performance capture of the lady who’s briefing you and scenes that make you question whether the scene has been filmed or captured. I think it’s graphics all the way through but to be honest, looking at these images, it’s hard to tell and sets the scene very nicely. Basically, the bad guys are threatening to do lots of bad stuff so you have to stop them with as much force or even more!
This game is also extremely hardcore. You can set the difficulty to normal, hard or realistic and playing on the harder difficulties is extremely unforgiving. Don’t check a corner or clear your lines and you will die very quickly. This is more sim than action run and gun. Walls, floors and ceilings are also destructible so you can shoot through them or take a shot to the back from someone else when you’re not expecting it, and you can use breach charges to blow holes and stun people on the other side. There are also many other gadgets at your disposal as well. You can rappel up and down buildings, throw mini floor cams on the ground, which you can drive around to go on an impromptu recon, put down temporary shields, throw barbed wire on the floor to slow people down and even smash through walls with a massive sledgehammer. These skills come with different characters from various special servicemen and all have names as if they’re in the TV series Gladiators! Thermite, Thatcher, Sledge and Pulse are all fairly amusing names but it’s not funny when one of them knocks a hole in the wall and shoots you dead.
Situations you’ll find yourself in include disabling bombs, rescuing hostages or wiping out enclosed areas. When playing online you take it in turns to defend and attack, either planning your attack or barricading the room so your aggressors can’t get in. Game chat is also open by default to encourage communication with others but to be honest, unless you’re playing in a squad of 5 with people you know, games are usually still rather quiet and this isn’t how it’s meant to be played. I can see this game really working with co-ordinated groups and judging by the on-screen displays, it’s plain to see this game has been made with eSports in mind. Great for teams who talk, not so good if you’re trying to matchmake with random gamers around the world.
Rainbow Six Siege has great potential but for solo gamers, it’s not really enough to not have a campaign and have a multiplayer mode that’s so hardcore. If, however, you’re really into this kind of thing and have four mates who are committed, you’re sure to rise through the ranks quickly and have an absolute blast. Rainbow Six Siege gets 7.5 out of 10.
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