In today's high-octane video game market, few would expect a slower, more tactical shooter to gain any real traction. After all, gamers have been hooked on Call of Duty and Halo for the past decade. While those games aren't bad by any means, few would claim that either requires any deep, complex tactics to succeed.
Rainbow Six, on the other hand, is almost unplayable without a well-coordinated squad — a scattered, ill-equipped team can be torn apart in seconds, and the thrill of actually working together with other players is one of the reasons the series was so popular — at least it was before taking seven years off.
After the middling success of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and Rainbow Six Patriots' cancellation, Ubisoft wisely went back to the drawing board... even though it meant the series going into hibernation.
Thankfully, it looks like the wait was worth it. Rainbow Six Siege is a tightly-focused, incredibly tactical shooter with a huge emphasis on teamwork. The game's Closed Alpha back in April was a great preview of what's to come — but players want to know when they can get their hands on the final product. As it turns out, the wait until release day isn't all that long...
As it stands, Rainbow Six Siege's Oct. 13 launch date will put it up against Microsoft's Halo 5: Guardians — the Xbox One exclusive will launch two weeks later, on Oct. 27. It's a wise choice: while it's easy to assume that Halo 5: Guardians will eventually outsell Rainbow Six Siege due to name recognition, putting Rainbow Six ahead of Microsoft's shooter gives it a few weeks for it to spread by word-of-mouth.
Hopefully, Rainbow Six Siege will have its moment in the spotlight. The Closed Alpha was a genuinely fun change of pace, with gameplay far removed from the twitch shooters that dominate the current market. It's definitely not a game for everyone — but those looking for a bit more strategy in their shooters should definitely get excited.
In case you forgot already, Rainbow Six Siege is set to hit store shelves on Oct. 13.
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