Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Review (PS4)

Review Context: I have played a plethora of FPS games. I’ve previously played Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on the PS3.
Date of Playthrough: May 2016

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is a hardcore first-person shooter that pits teams of five against each other to fight over an objective. Much like Call of Duty’s Search and Destroy mode, Rainbow Six Siege expands on the realistic shooting style and punishes the player for their mistakes. This is not just another run-of-the-mill shooter; Rainbow Six Siege takes the genre and turns it into the ultimate team-based hardcore FPS.

Siege takes place in our current point in time, and places individuals from all different branches of special forces into high intensity simulations. Some of these branches consist of the British SAS, the German GSG 9, the Russian Spetznaz, LA SWAT, and other equally capable military outfits.

Members of these units are picked by each player to face each other in 5v5 attacking/defending matches. The attackers must infiltrate a building and secure the objective within five minutes, while defenders must prevent them from completing their task. The objectives consist of rescuing a hostage, defusing a bomb, or just securing a designated area. Each match consists of a best of five rounds, and the teams switch sides between rounds. The maps contain one or two buildings, with the objective placed somewhere within. One of the best features in this game is the destructible environment. Unlike Battlefield’s destruction, which involves falling buildings or massive collapsing towers, Siege is more about breaking through a wall to create a route to the objective, or a small peephole to get sight on potential enemies. Attackers are also able to repel up the sides of the buildings to try and enter through windows. Because the maps have multiple floors, this allows more areas to start the infiltration towards the objective.

The rounds start with a 30 second preparation time, and this time is very important for both teams. The defenders get a chance to set up their obstacles and wall reinforcements, which will prevent easy access to the objective room and make walls nearly impenetrable. For attackers, this time is used to gather intel on what the defender’s location is with little controlled camera drones. These drones can be destroyed by the enemies, but can also be hidden for later use. It is a good idea to try and keep your drone alive, because you only get two, and you never know when you might need one later in the round. To balance the attacker’s drones, cameras have been placed in specific areas around the map for use by the defenders. The cameras are static, so each round they will be in the same places. As an attacker, you should try and remember the camera locations and try to destroy them. It is amazing how little details like that can create advantages for your team and ultimately help to achieve victory.

The gunplay in Siege, at first, is hard to get used to and is very unforgiving for those who try to spray down their opponents. Accuracy is everything, because of how few bullets it takes to kill someone. Three or four well placed bullets are better than twenty just thrown down range, especially since only one headshot is needed to get a kill. You must also be careful and know what you are shooting at because there is friendly fire. No one likes a team killer, and it puts your team at an instant disadvantage. As for how the guns feel when shooting, the recoil is noticeable, but very controllable. With just a little practice, anyone can get a good grip on how the gun’s recoil works.

As of the latest DLC, there are a total of 24 operators in Rainbow Six Siege, with 12 for the attackers and 12 for the defenders. Each operator has a special gadget that is unique to them, and if used correctly, can help the team win the round. Some can place traps that will kill an enemy, while others have better ways of breaching through walls, along with an array of other useful tools. The key is to know the best time to use your gadgets to get optimum efficiency. Many of the special equipment have limited use, so one must be careful not to waste them. Along with their own unique gadget, the operator’s weapon kits also differ greatly. Most have a choice of two or three primary weapons, such as assault rifles, SMGs, and shotguns, with a few choices in side arms as well. Some attacking operators do not use a primary weapon, but are instead equipped with special ballistic shields such as Blitz and Montagne. Shields block all incoming bullets and can be used as a safer way to enter a room the team is trying to breach. Weapons and the special gadget are not the only equipment that differ between operators, the secondary gadgets do as well. Each character can choose one of two other gadgets they can equip before the round. For defenders, it mostly consists of barbed wire, C4, or a collapsible steel shield. As for attackers, they can equip a breach charge, smoke grenade, flash grenade, or frag grenade. For balancing purposes, only defenders have access to C4, mostly to deal with those pesky shield bearers.

Unlike many of the major FPS titles like Call of Duty and Battlefield, Rainbow Six Siege focuses tremendously on minimizing mistakes and overall teamwork between your group of four other squad mates. One of the key elements to this game is that if you are killed, you are out for the rest of the round. This leaves your team at a major disadvantage, and trust me, there is no scarier feeling then being stuck in a 1v5 situation knowing that you are surrounded with little chance of survival. If you are killed though do not worry, as any of your teams drones or cameras that have not been destroyed can be used by deceased players. You are also still able to communicate with your team when you die, so be sure to place your drones down in advantageous places when attacking so you can relay that information to those still fighting.

There is a currency system in Siege that is used for purchasing new operators and weapon attachments. The currency is known as Renown and can be acquired a few different ways. For beginner players, there are ten missions called Situations, that show many of the basic mechanics of the game and completing them gives you Renown. The missions give you control of one of the operators and you must complete the objective, usually fighting through waves of bots. For those who are already passed the Situations, Renown is earned just through matches. The single player Situations are the only single player aspect of the game, but they are very challenging at higher level difficulties and can be quite enjoyable.

One of the downsides to Rainbow Six Siege is that there is no Team Deathmatch game mode, where you can just run around shoot people at will, like a Call of Duty, but that is what sets it apart from other titles. The game relies a lot on your ability to stay alive, and because of that the gameplay slows down. This can be viewed as boring, but the game was not designed as a run ‘n gun style FPS. The creators put a lot of detail in making Siege a slower, more methodical and tactical based experience. Which brings me to the largest downside to this game; the gameplay is greatly enhanced through communication, which means if you don’t have at least one other person in your squad with a mic the game does become less enjoyable. Communication is key. If a teammate is able to call positions of enemies to you, warn you about potential traps, or synchronize a breach, that is when Rainbow Six Siege is at its finest.

If you are looking for a hardcore, teamwork based FPS, with lots of destruction and high intensity moments, Rainbow Six Siege is the shooter for you. When played with a group of four other players that are communicating and working together, this game gives an experience like no other console shooter.

Similar Games Liked:
Battlefield 4 (PS4)
Battlefield Hardline (PS4)

Similar Games Disliked:
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4)