“Rainbow Six Siege” gives players a unique and potentially rewarding tactical shooter despite times of painful grinding throughout gameplay.
It gives players thrills to talk about for days, but has some sporadic grinding to unlock operators.
It is recommended players complete the Situation levels to earn in-game credits called “renown.” This can later be used to unlock a variety of special-forces operators for the multiplayer game modes.
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The operators come from all over the world including the American FBI, Russian Spetsnaz, French GIGN and British SAS. Every operator has their own personality which gives “Siege” a unique feel compared to other major titles that seem to continually have cookie-cutter protagonists going through the stereotypical ups and downs of a hero.
The Situations are a subpar filler for a real campaign as the game focuses its energy on the multiplayer modes. This creates problems when players don’t have internet access or Ubisoft’s servers crash and players are left to either twiddle their thumbs or replay basic missions against the artificial intelligence of the game.
The antagonists in the Situations are part of a group called the White Masks which have the potential to be put into a rich, thrilling story that “Siege” missed.
“Siege” more than makes up for this in its two multiplayer modes.
Players can attempt to disarm a bomb or protect a bomb from the White Masks in Terrorist Hunt.
They can play with a team of up to three other people or attempt the mission alone as an unlockable operator from more than five special-forces units across the world. The variety of enemies in this mode offer a new challenge each time as they range from simple grunts to an armored suicide bomber. Scouting out the map using the player’s drone helps to identify these enemies and develop a strategic plan of attack.
Successfully completing a Terrorist Hunt mission can take painstaking amounts of time, but provides a feeling of joy rivaled only by the other multiplayer mode. Players can also compete in a five-versus-five objective-based team deathmatch attempting to either defend or extract a hostage, defend or disarm two bombs and even defend or attack a room.
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This mode can be played in casual mode, where wins and losses only count for pride. If you’re feeling lucky, you can up the stakes by competing in the ranked mode. Communication between players in both modes is crucial to winning as teammates can offer key information about the opposing team such as their level of health or locations.
Winning games gives players more renown than losing. If you do win, you’re granted a spin on the wheel for an Alpha Pack, which contains a possible character item like a gun-camouflage pattern. This can be the cherry on top of the sundae when players win consecutive matches and win an Alpha Pack.
None of this would be possible, however, without unlocking several of the beginning ten operators and customizing their loadout, which can end up costing high amounts of renown. Players are then put into a vicious cycle since renown can only be earned through the Situations or playing multiplayer modes.
They must struggle to learn the game with the few operators they have until they earn enough renown to purchase another operator, continuing this cycle for quite some time.
Purchasing the year-one and year-two operator packs can alleviate some of this pain as the operators come unlocked and only need their weapons customized, but this costs real money and may not be an option for every person. Players can choose to unlock those operators using renown, but this costs a substantial amount more than unlocking the starter operators.
Players can play on the new maps when released, which allows the game to stay fresh. This helps keep players coming back as it rewards them for their loyalty, not for the size of their wallet.
It is rewarding at times to have the abilities of the yearly operators. They are superior to the basic operators as they can lose their novelty and usefulness after a while. Zofia, a GROM operator released in the year-two pack, seems to have an edge on Ash, a base-game FBI operator. Both can shoot explosives that destroy barricades, but Zofia can also shoot concussion grenades using her grenade launcher, which can significantly help win matches.
These bumps are not enough to ruin the entire game as the multiplayer modes truly shine and the yearly-content packs add challenges as players learn how to use and defend against the new operators.
The game shines when playing with a group of friends, but playing alone is still amazing, which is why it is your weekend entertainment and earns a four out of five.
