To begin I'd like to say, I personally have almost 700 hours on this game and feel as if I can give a review as a player who was there at the release in late 2015.
What is Rainbow?
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is a tactical shooter developed by Ubisoft Montreal that is only playable in first person mode. Like other FPS's it has "classes" but with a unique spin, instead being called operators. At the time of the being written it is currently Year Three Season Two with a grand total of 40 different operators, from 14 unique countries/regions.
Gamemodes
- Situtations-Essentially a tutorial for new players, however it in my humble opinion is outdated and does not reflect the current Rainbow we know, however I still recommend playing it to get a grip on the game.
- Multiplayer-The core of Rainbow, there are two differing modes (and custom games) that will be mentioned later, allows players to jump into a match along with four pre-made or random matchmade teammates based upon skill, against five other players, where they get to test their skill in three modes that will be explained later as well.
- Terrorist Hunt-The player can go into a match alone or up to four others in order to complete a random mission on a random map against terrorist AI.
Modes (multiplayer)
- Hostage-Two teams are pitted against each other, one on offense (attack), one on defense (defending). The objective for offense is to either eliminate everyone on defense or extract the hostage before the time limit hits. As for defense, the goal is to either eliminate all offensive players or make sure the hostage is safe at the end of the time limit. If the hostage is injured, the team that injured it must revive it before the hostage dies or else the round is automatically forfeited
- Secure Area-This time both teams have essentially the same task, to hold or take a set area in a map before time, or eliminate the opposing team.
- Bomb-Unlike the previous two modes, this one has two objectives, much like CS:GO there is also a defuser which must be planted and the protected before time expires or the opposing team is eliminated, vice-versa for defense as they must defend the objectives or eliminate all offensive players.
Casual and Ranked
- Casual
- Four Minutes
- Players can be voted out of match (besides match point)
- First to win three rounds, or four if it goes to overtime
- Can be joined whenever (except when it is match point)
- Includes all maps except for Favela (currently being redesigned)
- Can play no matter what level
- No voting for objectives (defense)
- Cannot pick spawn positions (offense)
- Ranked
- Three Minutes
- No voting out players
- Play 10 "placement matches" for base rank
- Specific Map pool
- Can vote for objectives
- Can select spawn position
- Once started, cannot have new players join
My Experience/View
I originally picked up Rainbow Six Siege on Christmas however did not play much due to poor design and taste at the beginning. I personally started to play actively starting from Operation Skull Rain which introduced the Brazilian operators. From then on, I've been Platinum in ranked up until the current season, I am currently at 693 hours and level 186 on console. As an avid player and IGL of my group playing CS:GO I found Rainbow highly enjoyable as it was a tactical shooter that unlike FPS juggernauts like COD and Battlefield required high awareness and a lot more focus, as there is no respawn and many strategies that would work. Rainbow has allowed me to make new friends and teach them all I learned. Eventually however I burned out like many other players who play any game for too long. I took a break and went to League of Legends. However recently came back to play this, to introduce R6 to my PC friends and teach them how to play in hopes they'd love the game like me. I feel Ubisoft has done a wonderful job updating this game such as dedicated servers in custom games and balancing broken operators such as Blackbeard, Jackal, Ela, shotguns in general, etc. In full, I love this game and recommend this to everyone whom reads this.
Verdict
This game isn't a game for people who casually play FPS games as it requires some time to learn and also has a very steep learning curve learning callouts and more. However if you up to the task, then I highly recommend this game, something for me, has given me friends to play with, something to have fun on, and finally a community of people who share my interests. Try this game out and join the R6 community!