VIDEO GAME SPOTLIGHT: TOM CLANCY'S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE (2015)

A fun and engaging multiplayer tactical shooter, especially enjoyable with friends! August 23rd, 2018

This game has been on my radar for a very long while. It has immensely favorable reviews from just about everywhere, and is one of the few games to ever only grow in player size and mature with age

I was never the best at first-person shooters back in my younger days playing Call of Duty on Xbox, let alone while trying to adjust to keyboard & mouse in my recent jump to the PC world. However, this game allows for players of all skillsets to jump in and make a considerable effort to help their team. Furthermore, that's what this game is all about: teamwork. After the decade-long trend of FPS games being oriented on arcade style shooting (CoD, Medal of Honor, and even Battlefield at time) this title takes a hard right turn. Running-and-gunning is actively discouraged, and close communication and thinking with other players is required to do well.

Another extremely unique aspect is the absence of "classes," instead favoring individual operators, each with special skills, abilities, and even personalities. One might focus on breaching into reinforced walls, while another can deploy drones that destroy enemy equipment and can even damage hostile players. The developers are constantly improving the game, too: they patch bugs, improve map balance, and release new operators and adapt older ones so that the game is always fresh, and there is always a new way to improve.

In addition, there have a short singleplayer "Situations" game mode to help ease players into the games tactical style, and provide fun challenges to verterans attempting to improve. "Terrorist Hunt" is another featured PvE mode, but allows for friends to join and fight off waves of AI fighters while completing an objective. While not as impressive, there are also in-depth options for custom games, allowing for fun alternate ways to play with friends.

I find the game immensely fun, but one must also take into account the availibility of playing with friends. Solo queueing is fun, but is a recipe for rage as you battle extremely coordinated five-men squads talking and calling out vulnerablilites to each other. However, with a group of three or more buddies, this game allows for hours of fun and a ranked mode to prove oneself against the legion of die-hard fans online.

Recommended?: YES, but try it out on a free-weekend or play at a friend's house before you buy, and try to get it on sale

Happy hunting!

Aidan