Rainbow Six Siege is something of an anomaly in today's gaming market. Instead of doing everything in its power to make each player feel like an unstoppable juggernaut, Siege constantly reminds players that they are simply part of a team - and trying to go out on one's own is only going to end with defeat.
That being said, creating a fair and balanced multiplayer shooter is not easy. Many games fail spectacularly, while others choose to use a simpler system in order to keep things fair.
Rainbow Six Siege, on the other hand, has created an incredibly in-depth system designed around playing as a highly-lethal squad - it's a far cry from the arcade-like style of something like Halo or Call of Duty.
On top of all that, Rainbow Six Siege is focused almost entirely around multiplayer, meaning that the game's balance could fundamentally affect its success. So, after three weeks on the market, is Rainbow Six Siege's multiplayer a mess, or did Ubisoft actually manage to pull off tactical online warfare?
The Maps
Of course, a multiplayer game can only be as balanced as its maps: if one team can simply put their backs against the wall and wait everything out, it doesn't matter how well-balanced anything else is. Most multiplayer games solve this issue by making a large number of their maps perfectly symmetrical...but Rainbow Six Siege simply doesn't have this luxury. The asymmetrical nature of the game's modes could have easily resulted in one team rolling over another - thankfully, Siege's gameplay and level design manages to keep the multiplayer modes from falling into such a trap.
With so many different ways to get into any given room in a map, it's impossible for the defending team to completely protect themselves. Sure, you could cover the doors, but what if the attackers come up from the floor, or down through the ceiling? This design not only emphasizes teamwork between the defenders, it highlights the versatility of each and every map.
On the other hand, attackers have a wealth of different options to choose from: depending on the map, there can be a half-dozen different entry points to any given room. However, entering a room is noisy - no matter what, defenders will always know if someone's banging down a door or breaching through a wall. The options are still there, but it's not something that the attackers can abuse: if you choose to run headfirst into a fight, expect to sit on the sidelines more often than not.
Map balance isn't just about the level design, either: Ubisoft was wise to remove the voting feature from pre-game lobbies as seen in early beta tests. Instead of choosing one easily-defended location again and again, both defenders and attackers will have to account for a randomly selected location - meaning that both teams will have to adapt new tactics to be successful. It's a small change that ends up making a big difference, and the game is better because of it.
Guns And Gear
The other half of the balance equation is the player's arsenal. Again, Rainbow Six Siege has it tough when compared to other games: instead of just balancing a limited number of weapons, Siege has to balance guns, gear, gadgets, classes and a wealth of different attachments all at once.
When it comes to firearms, it's easy to assume that shotguns would reign supreme: most of Siege's maps are cramped and claustrophobic industrial buildings, and combined with the shotgun's ability to shred the environment, it could have easily become an overpowered wrecking ball. Gamers will be happy to know that's not the case: while there are plenty of shotgun users in the game, it's not as if Siege has suddenly turned into Gears of War. Assault rifles and pistols appear more frequently than some might expect, and the shotguns that do appear are realistic: yes, you won't last long against one at close range, but they're not very effective otherwise.
Gadgets are similarly balanced: players might expect grenades to completely annihilate enemy teams in such close quarters - but limited supplies and long fuses ensure that grenades are something only to be used when the situation calls for it, not something to be lobbed randomly. The same thing goes for breaching charges, jammers, drones, you name it - Siege could have been a mess of random explosions, but Ubisoft did a great job of limiting players and their supplies without hindering their tactics.
Plus, since all guns and gadgets for any given character are unlocked right from the start, it doesn't feel as if dedicated players have an unfair advantage over new players. Even those playing as the recruit (the game's vanilla class) still have a fair shot at getting kills, even if they're not as tricked out as the game's unique characters.
Class Warfare
Speaking of unique characters, if there was one single thing that could have destroyed Rainbow Six Siege, it was the Operator system. It basically works like most class-based shooters: pick a character, get a unique ability. The caveat here is that each Operator can be customized by the player - considering how hard it can be to balance so many characters without customization, nailing two separate systems at the same time could have been a nightmare.
After playing a few rounds, it's easy to see that the Operators aren't just well-balanced, they're individual parts of a larger machine. Even with different customization options, each Operator has a strength and a weakness: for instance, Tachanka can lay down a heavy turret, but he's left wide-open. Smoke can lay down remote poison gas chargers, but the area of effect is small and can cripple or kill friendly soldiers. Sledge can break through just about anything with his hammer, but he can't use a weapon while doing so. On their own, the Operators are no more powerful than one another - but, when a team is working in sync, they're unstoppable.
It's amazing to watch someone with a ballistics shield absorb bullets for someone using a turret, or to watch two people breach two separate windows at the same time and clear a room in seconds - such intricate displays of cooperation are rarely seen in multiplayer gaming. It's the sort of gameplay that Rainbow Six Siege could have very easily missed - lucky for us, Ubisoft clearly knew what they were doing.
Rainbow Six Siege is a game that's centered around a very delicate set of checks and balances. The Operators, their guns, the gadgets, the maps - everything comes together in a way that compliments itself. That may not have been the case, as many multiplayer games have tried - and failed - to craft a similar experience. At the end of the day, Rainbow Six Siege is one of the most well-balanced multiplayer shooters in recent memory.
In all honesty, Rainbow Six Siege isn't a perfect game - the single-player experience is right on-par with Star Wars: Battlefront, and the graphics don't exactly push the genre forward - but when it comes to the gameplay side of things, it's hard to argue that Rainbow Six Siege is anything less than fantastic.
For anyone who wants something a bit more tactical with their multiplayer shenanigans, Rainbow Six Siege is available now.
