Why You Should Play - Rainbow Six Siege Now

Rainbow Six Siege deserves your attention. The competitive multiplayer FPS has surprised critics by becoming one of the most-played titles even two years after release. In this article, we'll be looking at why R6 Siege is such a good title.

But before we get into that, let's address the elephant in the room. 

A lot of people hate on Ubisoft for unpolished titles that feel way too similar. Think about it. What comes to your mind when I say open world, lots of map markers to explore, towers that you need to capture in order to reveal more map markers, uninspiring world design? Assassin's Creed? Far Cry? Ghost Recon Wildlands? That's how easy it is to generalise these three games which are supposed to be drastically different from each other. Despite releasing these all-too similar games in recent years, R6 Siege has stood out to be the exception. However, it is true that the FPS genre is highly saturated and with the "Battle Royale" genre coming up strong in terms of popularity, how does R6 Siege manage to stay relevant? 

The Operators

The operators in Rainbow Six Siege are pretty much 50% of why the game works so well. Each operator has their own unique weapons and special gadgets. They also have speed and armour ratings which determine their role as a holding operator or a roamer or a rusher. The special gadgets keep the game from feeling like a run-of-the-mill shooter. Jackal can find the position of enemies by analysing recently made footprints, Jäger can use his Active Defence System to intercept any sort of grenade thrown in its general direction. Sometimes, describing these abilities might seem like they are overpowered but I was amazed as to how well the balance in this game is handled. Every operator can use their gadget a limited number of times, and there are counters to every operator. So, anticipating your opponent picks and then counter picking, or building a good team composition so that everyone's abilities complement each other become paramount when you're choosing what to play. 

The Maps

The maps in Rainbow Six Siege are incredibly detailed and it shows that a lot of thought was put into the layout when you're playing. No two locations feel the same, there are a multitude of locations ranging from the Brazilian Favelas to a derelict ship stranded on an icy island in the North Atlantic Ocean. The various points of entry and defensible chokepoints keep the maps from being unfair to either attackers or defenders. Learning the intricacies of each map, the camera locations, breakable walls, and various angles is what Siege is all about. Know the maps, and you will win a significant portion of your matches. 

The Gameplay 

Honestly speaking, I've seen very few shooters get gunplay right. Most of them either have highly exaggerated recoil or no recoil at all. In most games, the guns even sound like pea shooters. The Battlefield series got really close to finding a perfect balance between realism and fun but Rainbow Six Siege nails it. One headshot kills can be achieved with any weapon. Recoil patterns are not frustrating to manage but they are punishing if you merely want to spray and pray. It is incredibly punishing and equally satisfying at the same time. I think the best way to describe R6 Siege would be to call it the Dark Souls of the FPS genre. Yes, there is a steeper-than-average learning curve, yes you will get frustrated a lot, but once you start getting the hang of it, you'll learn to admit your mistakes and take corrective measures. It's a thinking man's shooter. Fast reflexes and pinpoint accuracy are a must, yes, but you also have to anticipate enemy positions and take note of every single corner. R6 Siege is the kingpin of tactical shooters.

The Competitive Scene 

Surprisingly enough, Ubisoft has been supporting the competitive scene of R6 Siege fairly well. With detailed plans for each year, new operators being added every 3 months, new seasonal rewards, and new ways to incorporate the non-professional gamers into the global tournaments. R6 Siege never showed the potential to become so big during its release, but it did. Who knows what growth it'll experience in the future?

R6 Siege is available to buy on Uplay and Steam. Avoid the starter edition, if possible, as you will have to grind a lot to buy operators with in game currency. The standard edition is the one you want to get as it will allow you to unlock operators at a much speedier rate. 

Shahrukh Ikhtear is a sub-editor at SHOUT who stresses himself out while trying to learn marketing. Send him pictures of Philip Kotler as blessings at fb.com/sr.ikhtear