Rainbow Six Siege
For: PS4, XboxOne, PC
From: Ubisoft
Rating: (R16)
Three stars (out of five)
I spent much of that time playing Rainbow Six Siege.
This is a thing you will want to consider before going online, that's for sure.
Rainbow Six Siege is effectively an online only game.
It has single player scenarios, which are effectively tutorials on the various aspects of the game you'll need to know about in order to succeed online.
Once you've grasped the basics of the game, you can then choose to play Terrorist Hunt (a mode where up to five friends take on the AI in various game modes), or play multiplayer online (playing those same game modes except against the online masses).
Pretty much everything in the locations you play is destructible, that is, it can be destroyed.
While the wire frame of the house remains intact for gameplay purposes, almost everything else not nailed down can be blown up or shredded.
It looks incredible, and adds so much to the strategic element of the game.
It's hands down the best part of this game.
Whether in Terrorist Hunt or online, you can choose from several operatives for when you're on offence and defence.
Each operative has one unique ability, and choosing one that suits your style of play is absolutely imperative to success.
If you've got a squad of five people, having operatives that complement each other is the key to victory.
All right, so before I mentioned that Rainbow Six Siege is aimed at the hardcore.
Playing Terrorist Hunt on realistic difficulty (or even just hard) is one of the more difficult experiences I can remember in modern gaming.
It's absolutely ruthless.
You need reactions like a steel trap, and even then sometimes it's not enough.
It's brutal, but I like that - it's learning the hard way.
But if you thought that was hard, going online is another next step up.
Because it is eSports focused, there is no room for casual players.
The people you play against are ruthlessly efficient, and you'll need to be on top of your game to even stand a chance.
It's not like Halo or Call of Duty where a lobby might have one or two great players - here everybody is really good.
So if you're decent at FPS games, you'll get a kick out of it.
If you just play them every now and then, it's going to be slaughter.
Why only three stars out of five then?
The problem doesn't lie in its concept or its execution, but in its longevity.
Games get very "samey'' after a while, and there's little to no variety.
Even with objectives, online is almost exclusively just a free for all.
There's no difference.
Once you've played 10 or so games, you've seen all there is to see.
While those 10 games might be absolutely brilliant, there's just no legs in this game.
If you're really into strategy-based FPS games, it's great.
But it's extremely difficult to recommend otherwise.
- Simon Bishop
