Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege Review (XB1)

  Rainbow Six: Siege has one mode and playlist that's worth diving into: five on five Ranked versus multiplayer. There are other additions included in the game, but make no mistake that Siege is meant to played online in a competitive setting. Yep, this is a full priced release in an age of free-to-play online competitive games, and surprise... “the internet” has been quick to pull the Bitch card and cry about it. The internet is retarded. Siege is well worth the price and then some.

  The modes surrounding the main Ranked list aren't awful, they're just either training tools or clearly haven't had the love and attention the versus has. The game encourages you to start out playing single player “Situations”; static levels populated by fairly poor, robotic AI in which you control a predetermined Operator (a player character with unique weapons and special equipment) and must achieve a goal like defusing a bomb or rescuing a hostage. These Situations will net you some easy Renown (the game's currency used to permanently unlock Operators or equipment), and can be replayed for the sake of optimization and getting more stars for whatever reason. They're really there just to teach you the basics in a low consequence environment and introduce you to the maps and Operators. The final Situation is a matchmade online co-op level with a high production cutscene and a unique biological weapon/gas filter effect. It's kind of cool, but only worth playing once.

  If you're still not ready for the real game you can jump into Terrorist Hunt. I've heard some people claim this is their goto for Rainbow Six games. Not me. Terrorist Hunt is a kind of enjoyable break from the stresses of Versus mode, but the AI is kind of wonky and the difficulty is all over the place. You have no control over what type of objective you'll be tackling, and some are quick and easy (Classic Terrorist Hunt where you just have to kill a set number of enemies) while others are near impossible (Bomb Diffusal where enemies pour into the room... and you're expected to do it twice...). You have no control over what objective you'll be tackling, so it's a crapshoot as to what to expect. You can search for three different difficulty settings, but that's about it. Again, it's a fine mode to dick around in, but it feels half-assed and the maps are the same ones you'll be seeing in Versus. So it's more training at least.

  When you feel comfortable or brave, just play the fucking Versus mode. It's truly fantastic. You are smartly blocked out from playing proper Ranked games until you reach Clearance Level 20 (again... double and triple checking to make sure you're ready) so entering the main mode ensures you're matched with players with at least a minimal amount of experience. The unranked version of Versus is appropriately titled “Casual”; you're matched with players of random skill, can drop in and out of games with no penalties, and the matches are determined by the first team to win three rounds rather than the standard five. This is your introduction to the badassery of Rainbow Six: Siege. Every second is intense, death can come from any angle, and the best laid plan is just tilting the odds in your favor, but can and probably will fall apart at a moments' notice.

  Standard online shooter skills will certainly give you an advantage in Siege; quick, precise aim will drop an enemy with a single headshot, knowledge of the level layout is key, teamwork and communication will win over lone wolf heroics... but on top of all this Siege adds layers upon layers of complexity and depth and gives you the monkey wrenches to throw into the opposing force's machine to turn their world upside down (sometimes literally). You can pick from about a dozen different Operators on either the attacking or defending side and they all bring unique tools to the table. It's not (thankfully) exactly rock-paper-scissors, but the gadgets you bring into the game definitely add wrinkles to how you play. On defense: Rook simply drops an armor pack for his team that gives them a bit of extra protection from bullets, Castle can reinforce doorways with heavy duty plates that can only be breached by high explosives, or Kapkan can booby trap entryways with tripwires that aren't particularly difficult to spot but can slow down the attackers. Attacking: Blitz has a shield that can project a flash charge to blind enemies, Thermite can use a burning charge to cut through the heaviest defense, and Twitch can deploy a drone to disable enemy electronics or even shock players and damage them. That's just a small sampling, and more Operators are promised to be added in the future. I've gravitated toward certain ones that suit my playstyle, and none seem particularly over/underpowered compared to others... just different.

  The small differences between the Operators aren't the core of the game, however; you'll be sweeping and clearing rooms and trying to complete the objective regardless of your choice. This is where Rainbow Six: Siege really shines. I've never seen environmental destructibility used so centrally to the gameplay. It's not just flash, it's a key component to navigating the levels and setting up lines of sight and chokepoints. Different surfaces have varying properties of destruction. For instance: a standard wooden barricade can be hit three times to completely destroy it, or you can make a small window to see in/outside by hitting it once or twice. You can place a breaching charge on most floors to allow for sightlines below, but can only make an entryway on certain softspots (which can be reinforced by the defensive team). Wooden walls can be struck or shot to create death hallways, which makes a shotgun both a great close range weapon and a useful tool for making bowling ball-sized windows. Hear someone walking above you? Go nuts with an LMG if you want. The levels feel so malleable and unpredictable that nowhere is ever truly safe, and it never gets old experimenting. That's assuming you're lucky enough to make it inside the levels proper of course, since taking potshots from inside the defensive structures or shooting in is a valid, risky, sneaky strategy. Stay away from the windows...

  As you play any of the modes you gain level up and gain Renown to unlock Operators, attachments for your weapons, and skins for your guns. It really doesn't take very long to unlock what you truly need (a few Operators for both sides and a couple scopes for your weapons of choice), and even starting out fresh you could just pick a classless, generic Recruit and be fine. Death comes so quickly and unpredictably in Siege that customization is just that: gearing up to specialize in a playstyle, not giving players an undeniable advantage for playing longer. That fancy scope, camo, and pistol grip means nothing when a single headshot will drop you and you and the enemy are blindly spraying through thin cover at each other. The unlock system feels like yet another layer of training, forcing players to pick an Operator and actually use and learn them for some time rather than throwing everything at them at once. It's also a bit of a carrot on a stick, too, I guess, as really unlocking everything the game has to offer would be a giant feat.

  I love Rainbow Six: Siege. In a year of some truly brilliant online shooters it manages to carve out it's own niche. That niche is pretty hardcore, though still accessible and intuitive. It's oppressively stressful, unpredictable, and to be honest I'm not that great at it and often get pissed while playing. It's great.