Rainbow Six: Siege ― The Decisive Argument

This article consists of two parts, differing in spirit and substance. The first part is dedicated to the unique features of the new tactical shooter Rainbow Six: Siege, with an unequivocal recommendation to all fans of the genre. The second part is a lament about "where the world is going." Once again, we are being offered a multiplayer product with a dozen maps for full price and immediately asked to spend a little more money — as if we've stumbled into a free-to-play game with its endless microtransactions. Therefore, if you are indifferent to the market situation, you can safely skip the second part. The shooter turned out excellent, albeit for a niche audience.

 

Ubisoft hit the nail on the head with the theme like never before. The topic of international terrorism is on everyone's lips right now, while competing studios are crafting shooters about the distant future, with lasers, high jumps, and wall-running. Among current games where police and terrorists settle scores, only the ever-young Counter-Strike comes to mind, but even that can get tiresome after 15 years, especially when you crave something fresh, unusual, interesting, and preferably realistic. And that's where Rainbow Six: Siege comes to the rescue!

 

However, the developers decided not to touch on sensitive topics, so the conventionally bad guys who planted a bomb or kidnapped a hostage are called "defenders," and the special forces units going on the assault are designated as "attackers." Terrorists can only be killed in the cooperative Terrorist Hunt mode and in ten single-player missions in the Situations section. There, dim-witted masked types, without distinguishing features, sit in corners and sadly await their fate. There are only two (!) types of them — simple shooters and suicide bombers with explosives. Their actions are predictable, following a straightforward script, so over time, it all becomes very boring. It's clear that this element was added to the game almost at the last minute. The lack of variety quickly kills interest, although it allows you to relatively easily earn a lot of in-game currency to buy your first Operators. 

 

Operators are one of the most interesting features of Rainbow Six: Siege. This game was created with an eye on multiplayer in general and esports in particular. It's hard to stand out in this field without offering a fresh idea, and here the game designers of Rainbow Six: Siege worked to their full potential. Like in the currently popular DOTA-clones, there are heroes here, also known as Operators. Each of them has a unique appearance, ability, set of weapons, and gadgets. And it is precisely they who bring variety to the established tactical schemes. 

 

Currently, there are 20 operators, 10 on each side (their ranks are promised to be gradually replenished). The defenders' abilities are aimed at reinforcing walls, creating barricades of barbed wire, tripwires, bombs, and radio signal jammers. Among the attackers are snipers, heavyweights with armor-piercing shields, guys with electromagnetic grenades, and steel-piercing explosives. The variety is great, there's plenty to choose from. Moreover, each operator comes with a biography sheet and an impressive CG-video demonstrating their distinctive ability. 

 

 

In total, five special services from different countries have united their forces to combat international terrorism. The Russian Spetsnaz also joined the "Rainbow Six" team. Our guys, by Ubisoft's will, have such expressive call signs as Glaz, Tachanka, Kapkan, and for some reason, Fuze ("flus"?). 

 

Frankly, there is no variety in game modes. Hostage rescue, secure area, and bomb defusal are not fundamentally different from each other. In any case, five people assault a fortified room in a large building where the same number of defenders are holed up. The differences are in the nuances. The hostage cannot be killed, one of two planted bombs can be defused, and to secure the container, it is enough to smoke out the defenders from the room and occupy it for a short time. In any case, the battle goes to the last blood. Unlike Counter-Strike, victory does not give an advantage in the next round, and defeat does not affect the initial conditions. 

 

Each round in a match is divided into two strict phases. Attackers infiltrate the building on nimble drones and try to locate the objective. Pinpointing the location is quite simple; just follow the sound of footsteps and hammering. Defenders, meanwhile, reinforce walls, barricade doors and windows, deploy traps, and take positions. It is important for them to destroy drones, as attackers can use them later. 

 

After reconnaissance, the assault begins, and here another feature of the game comes into play — freedom of movement. Attackers can use ropes to climb to any floor without needing to enter the building, and snipers keep windows under control. Defenders sit, control probable breach points, and listen — having good headphones is vital to determine the enemy's location, where they are going, on which floor, behind which window. Sometimes you can shoot them right through a wall. 

 

The active assault phase, executed by a good team, resembles hell for people trapped in one room. Suddenly, doors are blown open from different sides, flashbangs fly into windows, a few seconds of gunfire — defeat, and the next round begins. But if the room is held by experienced people, the attackers will face many surprises. Death can lurk around every corner. Tripwires are set not directly in front of an important room, but long before it, allowing for the elimination of one, or even two (I once saw three operators blown up by a single bomb) operators. Defenders have access to cameras in the building, so they have a rough idea of where the breach will come from. 

 

Game demonstrations might seem boring, but nerves are stretched to the limit, as one mistake means one less person on the team, and you only respawn at the start of the next round. Moreover, you can accidentally shoot (or blow up) your own colleague who carelessly poked their head out or stood up at the wrong moment. Additional difficulties arise from the fact that there are no safe places here. You can't hide in a corner, set up a metal shield, and think you're safe. Walls, floors, and ceilings can be shot through and breached, creating passages. 

 

 

Overall, the game is not designed for those who like to frantically rush through arenas and spray lead at everyone. We are given a chance to experience the work of special forces, albeit with many game conventions. We are shown how difficult it is to implement an operation to eliminate terrorists, how challenging it is to storm small rooms, and how dangerous it is to enter unverified rooms. It's a game of nerves, and victory, even if you didn't manage to do much during the round, brings great satisfaction. At least, at first. 

 

Yes, the creators meticulously worked out the mechanics, finely tuned the balance, devised harsh rules, and as a result, created a unique product of its kind. However, we all remember well how Titanfall and Evolve ended up, which also tried to capitalize on the uniqueness of their concept without offering enough content. In our challenging times, it's not enough to make a good game; you need to be able to attract and retain an audience. And this is where Rainbow Six: Siege completely fails — after reaching a certain level, the incentive to play further disappears.

 

In multiplayer, there are two, let's say, modes. One of them is called Casual, and players up to level 20 flounder in this pond. Here, starting points for attackers and defenders are chosen randomly, and you can calmly leave the game during a match — some newcomer will immediately jump into your place. The battle goes to three round victories, so everything is decided quite quickly. Only five minutes are allotted for one round (one for preparation, four for assault). 

 

When access to Ranked matches opens, problems begin. Firstly, it is not recommended to leave ranked matches — a penalty will be imposed. It is not recommended, but people still leave if they see the opponents' superiority. No one comes to help anymore, so the rest of the match turns into a farce. This is not a game where a lone player can take on an experienced team. 

 

Secondly, the element of unpredictability is lost. In ranked matches, you can choose starting positions, and in each building, there is a room that is easier to defend than others. Gradually, an ideal set of Operators emerges, whose abilities are clearly preferable. The reconnaissance phase turns into a drag. Attackers already know where the enemy is hiding, which walls will be reinforced, and from which side it is safest to attack. Surprisingly, simple "casual" matches are more engaging in this regard; they at least have an element of unpredictability. 

 

The progression system is very reminiscent of DOTA-clones. For currency earned during matches, we gradually buy Operators. By level 20, enough funds accumulate to collect most of the collection and modify weapons for particularly valuable heroes. Where to spend funds next is an interesting question. 

 

The only thing that can be bought with in-game currency is weapon skins, and the prices for some items are simply astronomical. For comparison, to buy 16 out of 20 operators, you need to earn 15 thousand, and this takes about a couple of dozen hours (yes, progress is very slow). And a top weapon skin costs 12 thousand — and it's not even the most interesting one. All the most beautiful and flashy items are only available for real money. Boosters that accelerate leveling and earning in-game currency are also only available for real money. Progress is slow even by free-to-play standards, and opportunities are even fewer. In fact, it's nonsense to sell such negligible content for exorbitant money in a game that already suffers from a lack of content.

 

And yet, there are hints that the creators of Rainbow Six: Siege had bigger ambitions than just drawing a dozen multiplayer maps and 20 heroes. One cooperative mission is preceded by an excellent CG-prologue and a superb CG-epilogue, as if they initially planned to make a single-player campaign (it wasn't for nothing that they came up with such colorful heroes!), and then the budget and deadlines were sharply cut, and the remnants of what they had already managed to do were crammed into cooperative missions. 

 

And now Ubisoft has two paths. The first is to let everything take its course, periodically release new maps, operators, and watch the audience dissipate. The second is to completely rework the progression system, stop annoying people with microtransactions, and expand the heroes' capabilities. But the most important step is to lower the price. For now, this is the main drawback hindering the game's spread. 

 

 

Without a doubt, this is an excellent, well-balanced, and unique multiplayer shooter that can be recommended to all fans of serious tactical action games. Here, realism is just enough not to interfere with the gameplay, the preparatory stage is of great importance, and the process itself is built on competent teamwork, not on a war of lone wolves. Rainbow Six: Siege has many interesting features that set it apart, and it will definitely find its fans.

 

However, the good foundation is spoiled, firstly, by the inadequately high cost of the product (Ubisoft would do well to look at Steam and see how much Counter-Strike costs); secondly, by annoying monetization; thirdly, by the monotony of modes and the meaninglessness of earning experience and in-game currency after reaching a certain level.

 

Pro:

Contra: