PS4 Review: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege

Does the Rainbow Team still have what it takes?

It’s been quite a while since we had a Rainbow Six game, the last being Vegas 2 back in 2008 (As long as you don’t count 2011’s Android/iOS outing “Shadow Vanguard) After such a long time away, can the series still have the impact it did back in the day?
rainbow1
Siege doesn’t have a campaign as such, but it does have 11 single-player scenarios which pit you against AI to complete objectives. These vary from breaching buildings to wipe out the terrorists, rescuing hostages and defusing bombs. The locations also vary, one even takes place on a landed plane with a lot of tight quarters to be gunned down.

You always have plenty of tools at your disposal, these vary from breaching charges to remote-controlled cameras that can tag enemies’ locations before you decide to breach. Siege isn’t like your average shooter, you don’t have regenerating health for a start…once you hit 0, you are dead. You will need to be patient and choose your plans carefully, but it’s even more vital you communicate with your teammates if you have any chance of overcoming your rivals while playing online.
rainbow2
Online lets you play as either the Rainbow Squad or the Terrorists, the latter have a certain amount of time before the game begins to start putting in defences like barriers, barbed wire and a chance to scout the area, while the former gets a chance to use the remote-controlled cameras to tag whatever enemies they come across before the game begins. It’s fun playing as both, there is a huge emphasis on strategy over just your standard run-and-gun shooter like COD or Battlefield. This really does sort out who really is the smarter shooter.

There’s an online co-op mode to boot, which is also a nice addition as you try and overcome the AI in certain situations on higher difficulties, which can be brutal. One mistake and you’re likely to be done and dusted. Besides that, there isn’t anything else…yet. There is a Season Pass as you would imagine, so plenty of DLC on the way which will likely include new scenarios, maps and different character classes.

It would have been nice to have a story other than just one cutscene at the beginning with Angela Bassett (ER, American Horror Story) explaining the plot. It seems like a missed opportunity to revitalise the series after such a lengthy hiatus. But maybe it’s building to something further down the line, who knows? Visually though, the game is impressive and it runs at a solid pace. Matchmaking has a few hiccups now and then, but overall I didn’t come across half as many issues as I had heard about.

The Verdict

Rainbow Six: Siege is a breath of fresh air compared to the likes of COD. There’s more emphasis on just going in guns blazing, there’s patience and strategy…something that has been lacking from today’s modern FPS. I would have liked to see more of a story in there, but Siege does more than enough to entertain and prove that the series is still relevant. Welcome back Rainbow Team, we’ve missed you.

Score: 9.0