Game: Rainbow Six Siege

Rating: 9/10

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Rainbow Six Siege was released Dec. 1, 2015. At the time, bad reception from players and critics dropped its sales dramatically. The game was a fun, but buggy mess, and after a week the average price of the game dropped from 60 bucks to 40 bucks. I saw this as an opportunity, and since I enjoyed the open beta* I picked the game up.

Now we are here, and I have clocked nearly 400 hours into the PvP (Player vs Player) mode alone. Constant support from developers across all platforms has driven this game to be one of the most successful games ever made. So, being as experienced as I am with Siege, I will be breaking my review into four categories: Content, Community, Glitches/Bugs, and Why you should/shouldn’t buy it.

Content: Siege revolves around a destruction based “tactical” shooter game mechanic. In this game, players can blow up nearly the entire map using special equipment and gadgets. This can be used to your advantage. Guy below you destroying your team? Blow up the floor and shoot through the now destroyed wooden floor. See someone on a camera who’s behind a destructible wall? Ping him and shoot through the wall for an easy but beneficial kill. This aspect really changes things up.

Another interesting mechanic is the “Operators” used in Siege. These operators create unique tactics and can be used to counter others. Reinforced wall? You can use a charge from Thermite to blow it open. But Bandit or Mute have abilities that can counter that. But Thatcher’s EMP grenades can counter that. You see what I mean?

The last thing in terms of gameplay is the headshots, which are one-shot kills with any weapon (Except Caviera’s Pistol). This creates the tactical gameplay because you can’t go in guns blazing; but you have to take your time.

Community: Siege has a very healthy community. The player base is constantly growing, and I still play with many people I met throughout 2016. While there will always be blemishes in a group, this game has a very good community.

Bugs/Glitches: This portion of the review is the only thing holding Siege down from being a 10/10. The Bugs are really annoying, and each time one is fixed, another one pops up. Hit Registration (A mechanic used to tell whether your shot hit your target or not) is a big issue due to the not-so-great servers used by Ubisoft. Some of these bugs are game breaking, and can make you win or lose entire matches unfairly.

To buy or not to buy?: This game is a good fit for anyone who loves teamwork and playing with friends. While the game lacks a good story mode, the multiplayer is very addicting and engaging. The higher up in the skill tree you go, the better wins feel to you. Understanding this game is an accomplishment itself, and with the game mechanics used, no round will be exactly the same.

*Beta refers to the “Beta” build of a game. This is basically the stage where they let players play the build, take feedback, and then improve the experience for the release.