Game review: Rainbow Six is a multiplayer challenge

Rainbow Six is a five-vs-five contest that’s entertaining to watch and play. Ubisoft / AP Photo

Rainbow Six

Ubisoft

Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC

Dh220

Three stars

The world of online video games can be a nightmare, an every-man-for-himself, kill-or-be-killed wasteland that brings out our most nihilistic impulses.

Big publishers are hoping to change that, or at least offer an alternative, with more games that force us to work together – particularly as they try to invent multiplayer competitions that will appeal to the ever-expanding audience for e-sports.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is a five-versuss-five contest with some similarity to one of the most popular e-sports titles, Valve's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It could prove to be an audience hit – I found it almost as entertaining to watch as to play – but it needs a bit more variety to really stand out in the saturated multiplayer market.

You can either play as a terrorist or a counter-terrorist commando. In a typical scenario, the bad guys have taken over a large building, and the commandos need to bust in and “neutralise” (in other words, kill) them.

There are a few variables: The commandos may need to rescue a hostage or defuse a bomb, and sometimes the roles are reversed, with the attackers storming a building in which the commandos are protecting a human “asset”.

At the beginning of each mission, you and your teammates have 45 seconds to prepare. Defenders can erect obstacles and set traps, while attackers can send reconnaissance drones into the site. This is followed by a few minutes of mayhem.

It sounds simple, but the large environments offer a wide variety of approaches to the task. As attackers, do you want to rappel up the walls and bust through the skylights, or sneak in through the garage and try to take your enemies by surprise?

If you choose to be a commando, do you want to hole up in one room or aggressively hunt down the invaders? You can also choose to play as one of 20 different operatives, who bring different weapons, traps and skills (such as healing or the ability to sense enemies through walls) to the mix.

You acquire those operatives by spending in-game currency, which you earn by completing matches or playing through the solo “situations”.

Even if you’re itching for multiplayer, it’s a good idea to run through these situations, which give you a solid grounding in the techniques you’ll need to win.

There's also a "terrorist hunt" mode, in which between one and five operatives can fight off waves of computer-controlled bad guys. These aren't as satisfying as the epic solo campaigns offered by previous Rainbow Six games, so if you're a lone wolf, you'll be disappointed.

Indeed, I’ve already heard from franchise fans who are angry that it has veered so dramatically into online multiplayer. You’ll get the most out of it if you can team up with four players you trust – but this can be a tall order for even the most sociable gamer.