Previews

The first-person shooter genre is a bit oversaturated. With franchises like Call of Duty and Battlefield on annual or near annual release schedules, gamers have been looking for something new. With Rainbow Six Siege due out 13 October, they're about to get their wish.

Tension

The Rainbow Six franchise has a rich history, but in recent years a few top dogs took over. It's for this reason why Rainbow Six Siege must form an identity that is more than run-and-gun, respawn and repeat. There has to be a hook that allows gamers to get something different from the experience, and so far all signs indicate this will happen.

For starters, Rainbow Six Siege will not allow you to respawn in multiplayer matches. The developers at Ubisoft Montreal said this is aimed at promoting tactics, teamwork and tension, the game's three main pillars. It's also something largely missing from most of today's first-person shooters.

As bold as this design move may seem, it's a stroke of genius that will provide players with rewarding experiences. It causes gamers to treat their (video game) life with value. You can't rely on reaction speed to put you at the top of the scoreboard. Planning, communication, teamwork and execution are just as important, if not more so. Few games create healthy stress in players that gives them a sense of accomplishment when they win, and Rainbow Six Siege will do just that.

Teamwork

Co-op in Rainbow Six Siege will allow you to enjoy the single player campaign with friends, but again you will only have one life per mission. It's also worth mentioning actress Angela Bassett plays the role of Six, which lends genuine talent to the story. If you don't believe us on that one, watch some of the trailers and you'll see what we're talking about. This trend where video games feature actors from Hollywood is a big step in the right direction.

Rainbow Six Siege will also see the return of scenario-based missions. We're looking forward to the teamwork and communication benefits of co-op, but the campaign was designed with individual play in mind as well. If you don't have some friends to tackle this with, you won't miss out on the full experience. In fact, playing through once alone and then with friends adds to the replay value, an important factor when deciding whether or not to buy a game at full price.

Tactics

Visually the game seems to be on track, but that is something you can't really know for sure until you see it displayed on your system of choice. With YouTube compressing video and Ubisoft the masters of trailer hype, what you see now may not be a fair representation of the final product. It is worth noting, however, that Ubisoft games tend to look really good. There are the never-ending concerns of a possible FPS (frames per second) cap on PC, but that won't impact console players.

Another large gameplay mechanic is destruction, and this is where Ubisoft Montreal took a page from the Battlefield playbook. To paint you a picture of how it will play out, imagine some enemies have a few hostages in a room on the first floor. Your team can move to the second level and blow out the floor, attacking your foes from above. Where Battlefield tends to have things blow up simply because it looks cool, Rainbow Six Siege will allow you to create opportunities by altering the environment. It's one more element that gives players something other popular titles won't.

As a final note about the gameplay, Rainbow Six Siege will allow players to choose from various nationalities when selecting their operators. We saw British representation, which quite frankly is refreshing to anyone outside of the United States. Most of the world doesn't know what it's like to play a game and wear their country's colors, but luckily Rainbow Six Siege will correct this, at least a little. Even if your country isn't featured, it will be nice to see variety.

Debriefing

From what is out there so far, all signs point to Rainbow Six Siege being one of the best first-person shooters to come out this year, and that's saying something with Star Wars Battlefront inbound, as well as the yearly Call of Duty. We have faith it will be fairly well polished since it's already endured an alpha test, and will proceed with a beta in September. More details are sure to follow in the lead up to its release, and we'll be sure to stay on top of them to keep you informed.

If you're looking for an alternative to the regular first-person shooters this fall, Rainbow Six Siege might be just what you need.