Developers at Ubisoft are rebooting the Rainbow Six series with a “multiplayer first” approach and focus on smooth 60 FPS gameplay, said game designer Andrew J. Will during a recent gameplay Rainbow Six Siege live stream at their Montreal studio.
The multiplayer action first debuted at E3 2014 with a scripted 5 vs. 5 game of Hostage Rescue, a one-life-to-live game mode that tasks a counter-terrorist unit with breaching a terrorist stronghold while securing and rescuing a hostage and using the environment to their advantage. The match is split-up into two phases: the Planning and Action phases.
Will says the Planning stage in Siege pays hommage to classic Rainbow Six games like Raven Shield where hard decision making, scouting, and observing all play an important role in the experience. He added that that philosophy will carry over to both single player and co-operative modes, which the studio had no further news on.
During the live stream, two teams led by gameplay programmer Adam Crawley and lead level artist Chris Hendry went head to head in a full unscripted game of Hostage Rescue. Each match presented a look at some of the weapons, gadgets, gameplay tactics, and types of destruction that Siege will offer.
Will says destruction in Siege is categorized by material, meaning some surfaces will break down differently than others and in a realistic manner. Players will need the right tool for the right material. He added that the decision to go with no respawns was in an effort to add to the tension of each match and place more importance on every decision made and every team member.
Siege will offer a diverse range of gadgets appropriate to each faction, and along with weapon options like Assault Rifles, SMGs, and Pistols, the studio plans to introduce a few “throwback” to please veteran fans of the series. At the moment, the dev team is still tweaking the Siege’s gunplay to behave somewhere in between classic Rainbow Six games and more modern shooters. The recoil and bullets spread seen in the live stream are still a work-in-progress, according to Will.
But, don’t take our word for it, catch the entire live stream replay below, and be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments! If you missed it, you can also catch Rainbow Six Siege’s latest gameplay trailer right here.
Rainbow Six Siege launches on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, in 2015.
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