The last major release of Ubisoft last year comes with the label of Tom Clancy. Just around the corner, action and military tactics are inherent in Rainbow Six Siege, a first-person shooter mostly focused on multiplayer. It was one of the most anticipated of 2015, despite the range of choices that year. It assumed the risk from the beginning, as an attempt to move away from the monotony of the genre. In this sense, Siege was able to stand out for the most part.
Thus, the multiplayer is the soul of Siege, where we take the role of a special intervention agent, forming an alliance with four more players. However, in a first phase, the user is advised to undergo a test of 11 situations that can be found in the online aspect of the game. These scenarios, executed in the offline mode, are used to adjust to the weapons, maps, classes of operators and devices that make up the backbone of the game.
In this first contact, we will notice that in Rainbow Six Siege we will have to slow down the game, leave the adrenaline aside and opt for a much slower approach to tackle each game. With three degrees of difficulty, this single-player mode has a very spendthrift AI, with delays in detecting our character, hitting everything on the wall before pointing at us. Another of the information that is given to us, and that escapes the most futuristic shooters, our health does not regenerate.
In these missions, we have only three main objectives (to disarm bombs, to rescue hostages, to kill all enemies), which turns out to be a hard nut to crack, not only by the often unjust and badly calibrated peaks of difficulty, but also by repetitiveness situations and the lack of a narrative that guides us a bit through the circuit.
These missions are necessary to gain the necessary points to level up and unlock the operators (20 in total) and the few weapons at our disposal. However, and perhaps not surprising to many, playing Rainbow Six Siege alone does not make much sense; does not imply that it is an experience to be avoided, but it is past hours without the least emotion.
Fortunately, Siege does not stick to the single player, focusing on a more compelling multiplayer experience. Not for the diversity of goals (which are exactly the same ones mentioned above) or for the number of maps, but for the experience of team playing with four more elements, giving more meaning to the title. Still, the slow pace and tactical side of the game makes communication with the other elements a near-obligatory requirement.
The fact that entering the online strand and continuing with the habits of the single player (read lack of communication), will not only make Siege a short experience, as each game will take a few seconds, and since there are no respawns, it results in constant frustration, without any kind of willingness to play again.
This is all for fairly obvious reasons. In the role of attacking team must weigh every move made in an attempt to coordinate the various gadgets and unique weapons of the operator. At the beginning of each match, and with the knowledge of the map structure, you can explore it with small drones to see where the bomb is planted or the location of the hostage. From here, the team takes on an attack position, be it in conjunction with the bursting of a wall and subsequent flashbangs, or the division of the team into five points of entry, through the roof, upstairs windows or the basement.
The accomplishment of the various tasks without communication is practically impossible, and the same goes for the team of defenders, who have one minute to fortify the building before starting the game, as a defense maneuver and a way to hinder the attack of the attacking team. Coordination plays an increasingly important role as the game progresses. Surviving for more than a minute proves to be a daunting task if each team member stands at random.
The various gadgets should also be used with minimal coordination. Each class has gadgets and unique weapons, and even at this stage of preparation for the departure a little communication is needed. Unlocking all classes takes immense time, and each team can contain only one of each in its composition. The existence of a problem of equilibrium is well established, since there are classes that are much more powerful than others.
Another of the limitations, which stains the tactical part of the title, is the inconsistency of the goals. Although there are three, which are already limited in themselves, most, if not all, matches will focus on just one: kill all enemies. There is a lack of interest in rescuing the hostage or disarming the bomb, these two targets being just the point of reference of the enemy.
The option to rappel to invade a building was very well implemented, but the low verticality of the maps makes it very little used. There is also a small limitation in the defensive team, since they can not leave the building, nor to mount a simple trap. As for matchmaking, despite the server's stability (I have not had any disconnect), the time it often takes to find a match is over.
On the other hand, they can always choose a server and filter the type of maps they want to play. Taking an example, they may want to play only on Air Force One, or simply exclude it from the list of possible maps. However, the wait time can turn out to be greater, since the preferences of other 9 players are at stake. In the case of custom games, the choices are more precise and personal, but in this case, they will not be able to acquire the reward of Renown (the game currency).
Rainbow Six Siege delights in its graphic component. The environments are too naked, without great detail and low lighting. These are notorious, especially compared to the announcement of E3 2014, where the downgrade suffered as well as the abandonment of certain options that would make the game more dynamic.
Finally, with regard to longevity, this is automatically related to the time players will invest in the multiplayer component, the soul of Rainbow Six Siege. There is room to improve, especially with the inclusion of new content, always being on the side of the player the decision to acquire it.
-> VEREDITO
It is not easy to judge a title as elitist and particular as Rainbow Six Siege, a shooter that requires a lot of dedication, coordination and will on the part of the player, in a title that lives almost exclusively of the multiplayer. There are many things to improve and correct, but if FPSs are your beach and the ability to cover up multiple elements (such as single player component and graphics), the result is quite satisfactory. Ubisoft risked, did not hit the exact formula and only time will tell if it will be there.
