A very exciting day for all competitive Pokemon players, the format for the 2016 season has been released. This format change begins on January 1 meaning all events taking place after that, from Premiere Challenges to the Nationals will use the new format. The format remains largely the same with one massive difference, up to 2 powerful Legendary Pokemon are allowed to participate on your team now! The full rule set is below.
Only Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Game Cards or downloadable versions are permitted for use.
The battle format is Double Battle.
Players may use Pokémon from the National Pokédex, from No. 001–720, that are caught in the game, transferred from a previous Pokémon title (e.g. X & Y), or received at an official event or distribution.
The following Pokémon may not be on a player’s team: Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Deoxys, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus, Victini, Keldeo, Meloetta, Genesect, Diancie, and Hoopa
Teams may have no more than two of the following Pokémon: Mewtwo, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde.
Pokémon must be placed in the Battle Box.
Pokémon are allowed to Mega Evolve.
Pokémon may not hold the item Soul Dew.
Pokémon above Level 50 are permitted, but they are auto-leveled down to 50 for the duration of battle.
Players may use Pokémon with Hidden Abilities.
Players may use items that have been officially released via Pokémon X, Pokémon Y, Pokémon Omega Ruby, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, the Pokémon Global Link, or an official event or promotion.
The Pokémon must have the Blue Pentagon proving that it was caught or hatched in 3DS Games Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire. No transfers from Black and White or previous games.
As a well established competitive player I believe we can expect to see a lot of Geomancy Xerneas, Rayquaza and the two Primal Reversion Pokemon Groudon and Kyogre, particularly the last two as their Primal Forms do not count as Mega Evolution, meaning you could run 3 very powerful Pokemon on the same team when paired up with any other Mega not on the legendary list. Happy soft resetting to all my fellow Pokemon Trainers and be sure to let us know what you think of the new format in the comment section below. You can check out a full rundown of the Championship Points distribution for 2016 right here.
XSEED Games has release some details about the North American release of Senran Kagura: Estival Versus. They have announced that a limited retail release called “Endless Summer” will be released sometime in Q1 2016 where it will be priced at $59.99 on the PlayStation 4 and $49.99 on the PS Vita.
Those who wish to simply pick up a digital version can do so at the same time for $10 cheaper. Those who want to pick up the Senran Kagura: Estival Versus Endless Summer edition will find themselves obtaining a copy of the game, an art book full of artwork from the Senran Kagura series, a 2-disc soundtrack, and a randomly chosen set of 2.5” by 3.5” collectible “pin-up cards” featuring a selection of buxom beauties from the game.
Now that the sixteen characters that will be included in Street Fighter V when it is released on the PlayStation 4 and PC on February 16th have been completely revealed Capcom has released a nearly five minute long trailer that spends a small amount of time showing off each of the characters’ fighting styles and appearances in the game. As for DLC, currently Ibuki, Juri, Guile, Balrog, Alex, and Urien have been announced for release throughout 2016 with players either being able to buy them outright or earning them with in-game money.
Capcom also released a trailer showing off the alternate costumes that will be available, called “Battle Costumes” for Ryu, Chun-Li, Cammy, and M. Bison and you can find that video below, though it is worth noting that since these are Japanese trailers, a few names might be slightly different.
Overview In many forms of entertainment there are certain “flags” that can be raised. These flags are usually a pre-cursor to certain events that will happen down the line thanks to certain things that are said or actions that are taken by the characters in a series. While many viewers can usually tell when a flag has been raised, what happens when a character in the series itself can tell? Well with the release of If Her Flag Breaks (Kanojo ga Flag o Oraretara) by NIS America, we have an anime that explores that idea.
Story On a standard day a group of businessmen and students are gathered at a crosswalk waiting to head towards various destinations. To pass the time one of the businessmen talks about how if his deal is successful, he will be proposing to his girlfriend. As many would suspect, this leads to a terrible situation where the dreaded Japanese truck swerves out of control and is about to crush those standing at the crosswalk. At the last moment, a boy whispers in the businessman’s ear and all disaster appears to be averted.
One of the students that was spared a brutal death happens to be Nanami Bladefield, the thirteenth princess of a small principality in Europe. With a desire to leave no mystery unsolved, she quickly finds that that mysterious boy who seemingly saved their lives has transferred into their school and is named Sota Hatate. Being a fairly attractive and mysterious transfer student, Sota attracts all kinds of attention from the class as some try to invite him to their club while others simply try to be friendly. Despite this attention Sota bluntly turns down everyone that approaches him.
After pursuing him during a break, Nanami learns that Sota has the ability to see flags in the world. This means that he is capable of seeing when someone is trying to become his friend or even when they are about to die as there can be flags for every type of occurrence. He gained this ability after being the lone survivor of the doomed Premium Ambriel cruise ship and has since prevented himself from allowing anyone to grow close to him.
You see, although Sota may have the ability to break flags and save the lives of others, he keeps secret the fact that he has his own giant swirling death flag that remains unbreakable. However, once arriving at the school and meeting Nanami, he learns that there may indeed be some hope, though this hope means he must gather many different characters, all of whom happen to be girls of course, in order to unlock the truth of the world in what becomes an incredibly rushed series that completely jumps the shark near the end.
If Her Flag Breaks feels like a standard harem series with the twist of being able to see the flags of potential love interests when everything begins. The series follows a fairly predictable formula throughout the first half of the series as numerous girls are introduced, a handful of which happen to know Sota from the past and others that simply take an intense liking to him as soon as he meets them, and then dealing with a certain challenge that is thrown their way in order to “complete” a route or “advance the story” as some flags clearly state.
This formula starts to fall by the wayside due to the nature of If Her Flag Breaks attempting to force eight volumes of light novel content (at the time of the anime’s airing) into a twelve episode series and finding its own resolution. As the series progresses we barely are given any details about the lives of some of the girls that come into Sota’s life, with at least three of them choosing to help out of practically nowhere once everyone gathers together for the finale. In fact, the only characters that do receive any major development happen to be Sota himself and Nanami as they play the central role while the rest of the cast simply serves as their support and to add extra humor to the series.
Thankfully, the humor and the character types in If Her Flag Breaks happen to be some of its best elements. While the story may leave something to be desired, especially once things start going off the deep end once Sota’s flag abilities start to grow too powerful, the various girls and one excellently handled trap makes that ride a bit smoother. While they may fit into the various archetypes, such as the tsundere, childhood friend/obsessed older sister, the rich girl, potential yandere, and many more.
Through the flags that constantly serve as amusement throughout the series these characters are all handled in a manner that makes these familiar archetypes feel fresh and make If Her Flag Breaks a very humorous series that is rather surprising at times, especially since the rushed story raises the stakes immensely and throws plenty of random twists at viewers in an attempt to bring things to a close in a rather weak manner.
Visuals Animated by Hoods Entertainment, If Her Flag Breaks was created using a pastel color arrangement that gives the series a unique feeling to it and a little extra flair to the designs of some of the characters. The animations are handled rather nicely with a wide-range of flag appearances and character expressions, though some later action sequences do appear rather simplistic in nature despite the wide-range of classes being presented at the time.
Now some of the character designs are rather unique looking and the cast of course features a number of adorable girls, however a number of the main characters are presented in fairly generic fashion, with the only major standouts being Kikuno, Ruri, and Megumu. The latter of those characters is actually one of the best trap characters I’ve seen in quite some time as his appearance is of course used for plenty of humorous gags but he also tries to at least act like a man at times, even if it simply results in laughs or the rest of the cast forgetting that he is a guy entirely, leading to some great facial expressions.
Audio NIS America is releasing If Her Flag Breaks with only the original Japanese voice track. This works well however as the cast of characters handle their roles quite well, with Nanami’s voice actress Ibuki Kido handling her character archetype in a way that I’ve only seen performed in such a great manner that I nearly mistook her for Rie Kugimiya at first.
As for the soundtrack, the series features plenty of fluffy tunes with a smattering of more dramatic themes when necessary. The opening theme “Cupid Review” is performed by the Japanese voice actress for the last girl introduced in the series and while it is fairly forgettable, it does have a certain charm to it, while the ending theme “Kanojo ga Flag o Tateru Wake” is performed by Yell, which is made up of most of the female cast and is accompanied by some outstanding artwork.
Extras It is worth noting that although If Her Flag Breaks has been given the Premium Edition treatment, that this release does not contain the Christmas OVA that was released separately from the main series. That being said, the series has been given the same special treatment that NIS America has been giving all of their series over the last year by releasing a DVD-height large chipboard art box containing both Blu-ray cases as well as the hardcover art book for the series. The on-disc extras for the release feature clean versions of the opening and ending themes, trailers for the characters, commercials, and Japanese promotional videos.
As for the physical bonuses, the heavy chipboard art box features colorful artwork on both sides, with one side focusing primarily on the girls that are introduced and spend most of their time in the series while the other side is even more colorful and features the entire cast with both images set against a flag filled backdrop. The hardcover art book actually has been given something of a twist this time around as rather than spend a number of pages providing basic episode descriptions, NIS America has created a “Guidebook” as it is called that contains artwork and introductions for each of the characters, a number of the colorful eyecatches found throughout the series, mini-omake panels for the recording sessions, and a large number of extended interviews with the original cast members that goes above and beyond what we’ve seen in the past for these artbooks.
Overall If Her Flag Breaks presents itself as a harem series with a twist and it works well in that regard by providing plenty of humor and a great cast of characters that really shine past their generic archetypes with the help of the flag dynamic. The plot does begin to move quite quickly throughout the second half of the series, so much in fact that it becomes rather clear that some elements were crammed in in an effort to rush the series to a conclusion that will leave many wondering exactly where the story was meant to go originally, but despite this lackluster ending fans of the genre will find If Her Flag Breaks to be a humorous and unique offering that contains some rather surprising twists. Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
The second and third chapter of the 2.5D Assassin’s Creedplatformer will finally launch in early 2016. Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Chinalaunched in April 2015 and focused on the story of Chinese Assassin Shao Jun in her quest to rebuild the destroyed order in China. The next episode stars Arbaaz Mir and is set in India in 1841. The country is embroiled in a war between the Sikh Empire at the British-owned East India Company and Mir is on a mission to recapture an Assassin artifact from the Templars. Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India launches on January 12, 2016. Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia launches on February 9, 2016. The game stars Nikolaï Orelov’s last mission for the Russian order. It’s 1918 and the Bolsheviks are taking over the country. Orelov must break into a Bolshevik safe house to rescue Princess Anastasia and a powerful artifact.
The games will be available on their own or as part of the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Trilogy Pack for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, and Windows. The trilogy pack launch will coincide with the February 9th launch date of Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia except for PS Vita, which will launch on April 5.
When Need for Speed 2015 launched last month player’s were promised a fair portion of free downloadable updates and man are Ghost Games delivering. The Legends update 1.03 brings with it new missions centered around Need for Speed Underground 1 and 2, new vinyl packs consisting of the entire blacklist from Need for Speed Most Wanted, nostalgic music from each of those games and other past tiles and more!
Full update feature list includes:
Brand new progression thread unlocked at Rep Level 25. Eddie and Melissa are back and ready for a new challenge in Ventura Bay. 15 new events with a great reward at the end
Unlock Eddies Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (1999)
12 new Donor car collectables hidden around Ventura Bay
10 Urbex spots – Collect interesting spots around Ventura Bay
113 New customisation items for a selection of cars
New screens in My NFS to track new collectables and progression
Rep Level has now been increased to 70, each level unlocking new decals for the Wrap editor
3 New Achievements & Trophies
New Daily Challenges and new rewards
Hundreds of new decals so you can make your favourite Need for Speed cars
20+ Pre-set Wraps from Most Wanted, Underground and Pro Street
A selection of new music tracks to remind you of the old days
Ability to mute new phone calls
Phone call improvements
You can now customize brake discs and calipers!
Improvements to AI
Various bug fixes and stability improvements
You can get even more information about this update from the official Under the Hood blog and don’t forget to check out the trailer for this new content below. The patch should be available to download sometime today if not tomorrow. This update follows on from two smaller updates which added a couple of features like decal mirroring, A.I re-tuning and a refined colour picker among other things like new achievements/trophies. In a time where nearly every improvement or add on content in a game is sold to us at an additional cost, all I can say is you’re doing well Ghost Games, keep up the good work!
You can check out our full review of the game here. The game is available now for PS4, Xbox One and coming sometime in the U.S. Spring for PC.
ASSASSIN’S CREED® CHRONICLES: INDIA AND ASSASSIN’S CREED® CHRONICLES: RUSSIA TO RELEASE EARLY 2016
Complete Trilogy Coming to Consoles, Windows PC and PlayStation®Vita System in 2016
London, UK — December 8, 2015 — Today, Ubisoft® announced Assassin’s Creed® Chronicles: India and Assassin’s Creed® Chronicles: Russia, the final episodes of the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles trilogy, will be available for download respectively on January 12 and February 9, 2016, on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and Windows PC.
The Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Trilogy Pack, which includes all three episodes, will be available as a digital store bundle on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and Windows PC starting February 9. The Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Trilogy Pack will also be available at retail stores on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One starting February 9. The Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Trilogy Pack will be available on the PlayStation®Vita system on April 5.
Developed by Climax Studios in collaboration with Ubisoft Montreal, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles brings the thrill of being a Master Assassin to 2.5D. Players journey to three distinct civilizations and time periods throughout history, including the Ming dynasty at the start of its downfall, the Sikh Empire as it prepares for war in India, and the aftermath of the Red October Revolution. Each chronicle stands on its own with a unique setting, art style, story and Assassin, but they are all tied together narratively. Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China, the first episode, released in April 2015.
The second episode, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India, throws players into the tension between the Sikh Empire and the private armies of the British-owned East India Company in 1841. When a Master Templar arrives with a mysterious item that used to belong to the Assassin Order, Arbaaz Mir must discover why the Templar has come, steal back the item and protect his friends and his lover.
The final episode, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia, takes place in 1918 when Assassin Nikolaï Orelov must complete one last mission for the Assassin Order before he can leave with his family. His mission: infiltrate the house where the Tsar’s family is being held by the Bolsheviks and steal an artifact that has been fought over by Assassins and Templars for centuries. While too late to save the Tsar’s entire family, he manages to save the princess, Anastasia, whom he must protect as he escapes the Templars with her and the artifact in tow.
Founded in 1988, Climax is an independent video game studio staffed by a team of around 100 dedicated and experienced professionals, with most of the senior management team having worked alongside each other for over a decade. Since its inception, the studio has shipped over 60 products and well over 100 SKUs across all major platforms. Widely recognized as one of Europe’s leading independent studios, Climax is a licensed developer for current and future platforms.
About Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a leading creator, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and services, with a rich portfolio of world-renowned brands, including Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, Tom Clancy’s video game series, Rayman, Far Cry and Watch Dogs. The teams throughout Ubisoft’s worldwide network of studios and business offices are committed to delivering original and memorable gaming experiences across all popular platforms, including consoles, mobile phones, tablets and PCs. For the 2014–15 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of €1,464 million. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.
I don’t think there is any refuting the fact that we live in a digital age. As the world around us is more reliant on computers, smart phones and the Internet, the ability to write code and create programmes becomes ever useful. Thankfully, organisations like Code.org are ensuring that the kids of today are not only equipped with this increasingly vital skill, but are done so at an early age so that they can really foster and develop it.
Today Sydney hosted the first of this year’s Hour of Code events that aims at getting kids involved in the magic that is software coding. Teaming up with Disney, and utilising popular Star Wars characters, the organisers set up shop at King’s Cross Library and set to teaching a classroom’s worth of kids how to make their own game with the new Star Wars themed lesson – Build a Galaxy With Code.
While I didn’t get to make it into Sydney from the event, I cannot speak highly enough of Code.org or any of its partners for making this a reality. Already 10,000 children across Australia are using the online-based lessons and tutorials to take their first steps in software development. Thanks to the likes of Code, Disney and others these kids will no doubt have a huge step up later in life.
Make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the latest updates on current and upcoming Hour of Code events, and in the meantime make sure you head over to Code.org and check them out because they really are doing awesome stuff.
We knew there was a big announcement on the indie side of Nintendo due to rumors, but Ninty have now let the cat out of the bag, confirming that on December 17th (one day later if you live in Australia/NZ) you be able to finally download and play Minecraft for the Wii U.
Yes, now even Nintendo consoles have this generation’s biggest hit, and that is good news to those who have wanted to play on the Wii U gamepad, but have not had the option as of yet. You should also know that this version will be a bit more pricey at $29.99 – but comes with the following skin packs to get players started:
Battle & Beasts Skin Pack
Battle & Beasts 2 Skin Pack
Natural Texture Pack
City Texture Pack
Fantasy Texture Pack
Festive Mash-up Pack
The following packs will also be available via the eShop – sold separately:
1. Festive Skin Pack
2. The Simpsons Skin Pack
3. Doctor Who Skins Volume 1
4. Doctor Who Skins Volume 2
5. Star Wars Classic Skin Pack
6. Star Wars Rebels Skin Pack
7. Star Wars Prequel Skin Pack
8. Mass Effect Mash-up Pack
9. Skyrim Mash-up Pack
10. Plastic Texture Pack
11. Candy Texture Pack
12. Cartoon Texture Pack
13. Steampunk Texture Pack
14. Pattern Texture Pack
15. Greek Mythology Mash-up Pack
16. Halloween 2015 Mash-up Pack
So there you go, go get Minecraft again as Nintendo themed skins are “COMING SOON!”
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six is a franchise in motion. Originally a hyper realistic tactical shooter, the series saw a makeover with Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield that saw some of the more realistic gameplay features dropped in favour of greater accessibility for the average gamer, a trend that continued over the next several games. Then the series went quiet after the 2008 release of Rainbow Six: Vegas 2. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Patriots was caught in development limbo for several years, until finally being taken behind the house and put down for good. Out of the ashes of Rainbow Six: Patriots rises Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege, a multiplayer only shooter with a focus on destructible environments.
Story
A new terrorist threat called the The White Masks has risen and Rainbow Six is reactivated by Six (Angela Bassett). Recruited from the finest counter-terrorist units from around the world, the new Rainbow Six team must fight against a new shadowy terrorist organization that seemingly has no goal. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege’s story is more a rough explanation on current events than an actual plot. The Situation mode serves as an extended tutorial than an actual campaign mode. Article 5, a special story mission is available after all Situation missions are complete, and it is the only story mission there is in the entire game. It is a crying shame because Article 5 is an excellent teaser to a good plot that left me wishing for more.
Gameplay
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege sits on the higher end of the realism spectrum, though it is not a full blown tactical simulator. The damage is high enough that a well placed high calibre round to the upper chest is a one shot kill, though a character can usually absorb two or three bullets before being downed. Unless struck in the head, players are downed and can be picked up by a teammate, which makes the game a little more accessible to the Call of Duty generation. The game is still short of the realism level compared to the original Rainbow Six games, but I think it has hit a happy middle ground.
Destructible environments are the big draw in the latest iteration of Rainbow Six. Walls made from dry wall or similarly flimsy material will let bullets through. Smart players can punch holes into walls and barricades ahead of time to line up a small firing hole or shoot careless enemies through the wall. Destructible walls that are supported by wood framing can be destroyed completely, opening not only new lines of fire, but also a new entrance point. Defenders can try to control the flow of battle by installing reinforcements on destructible walls, but are limited to two plus one for each time they go through the lengthy resupply process. While the destructible environments do not exactly reinvent the wheel, it helps cut down on the repetitiveness found on traditional maps.
Ubisoft Montreal has decided to buck the trend when it came to designing player characters. Instead of giving players a blank canvas and thirty to forty guns to choose from, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege takes a more MOBA type approach that is a nod to older titles. In the early days of the series, each playable character in the game had a name and a small backstory, often taken from the Rainbow Six novel. Siege takes the idea of actual characters, called Operators, one step further by giving each one a unique skill and a limited number of weapons. Operators are split up into two groups, attackers and defenders. Currently, the balancing for skills is decent, though there are definitely certain operators that are much more useful than others. For example, Jäger’s anti-grenade capabilities are a must have for any hostage defense mission in terrorist hunt, while Thermite’s ability to break through reinforced panels is necesssary in any multiplayer scenario.
There are two main modes in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege. Multiplayer is the game’s main 5 vs 5 PVP mode that pits players in three different game types. Teams will rotate between attacking and defending in secure the area, hostage rescue, and defuse the bomb. The first team to win three rounds wins the game. Rounds are short, with only a minute in the prep phase and a few minutes of action. There is only one death per round, which makes the atmosphere extremely tense. Terrorist Hunt makes its return as the game’s co-op mode. There are four modes. Terrorist Hunt Classic has the team attempting to kill all enemies on the map. Bomb Defuse will have the team attempting to defuse two bombs on the level, with the attackers becoming the defender for short bursts. Protect the Hostage and Rescue the Hostage are self-explanatory, though Protect the Hostage happens to be the only mode where Defenders are available for play. Terrorist Hunt has three difficulties, with standard normal difficulty posing a good challenge for an uncoordinated group of strangers and realistic difficulty requiring a full team of coordinated players using microphones.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege has little to offer to single player gamers. Situation mode provides the only real single player action, and frankly it is half baked at best. It serves as an extended tutorial for the game that overstayed its welcome by around seven missions. For a game that emphasizes so heavily on teamwork, dragging out the Situation mode as long as it did without any real plot is pointless filler. The only good thing that came out of Situation mode is Article 5. It is the only real story mission and, unfortunately, it must be played with random players. Article 5 is probably one of the best missions in the game, which makes its existence all that more disappointing. I believe the Article 5 mission proves that Siege would have benefited from cutting out a good chunk of the Situation mode missions and replaced them with a short series of co-op story missions.
The game is packed with eleven maps and the promise that all future maps will be free. Instead of a traditional Season Pass format, Ubisoft has opted to provide all future maps and operators free. While maps are provided to all for right from the start, future operators will cost 25,000 Renown points. In comparison, the base operators only cost between 500-2000 Renown to unlock. Season Pass holders get to jump the line and get their operators unlocked 7 days early for free, along with Renown boosters, premium credits, and weapon skins. The current maps are well designed for multiplayer mode. Defender spawns are randomized and tend to favour the more balanced spawn points. On the flip side, there are a few maps that have a spawn or two that can easily funnel Terrorist Hunt enemies into two or three spots, making things a little too easy.
Realistic FPSes and their control schemes have always been a hot topic. Some games prefer to go the full sim route, with enough keys to make a flight sim gamer feel at home. Others prefer the tried and true simple FPS controls. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege strikes a pretty good middle ground by taking the classic modern FPS controls and adding a lean function. The lean function works in all three stances, including prone. The controls are simple enough to let veteran gamers move around with a familiar movement set, while still being able to maintain the realism of squeezing oneself behind cover and providing as small of a target as possible to the enemy.
The weapon balance is good, though shields are a still a work in progress. The series of closed and open betas for the game has changed how the shield handled and the accuracy of the paired pistol quite a bit. Even on release, Ubisoft has yet to find the right balance for the piece of equipment. It is an improvement over the beta period where shields were too overpowered, but it seems like the pendulum has swung a touch too far in the opposite direction now. As it stands, shields are focused purely on absorbing a majority of bullets and players cannot hit the side of a barn with the paired pistol, even with the laser sight attachment that is supposed to improve hipfire.
The game is still a bit on the buggy side. Server issues are probably the biggest problem right now, with some people disconnecting from party or not loading in at all. A distracting physics glitch that causes dead enemies to vibrate uncontrollably on the floor popped up several times too. The bugs are slowly being stomped out, but at time of publication, there is still room for improvement.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is a brutally difficult game that relies on good communication and teamwork. Between friendly fire, one life per round, and high levels of damage, teams who fail to communicate over voice chat and work together lead to extremely frustrating experiences. If you can bring friends, the focus on teamwork makes for great fun, but solo players who aren’t willing to initiate some sort of teamwork over VOIP may struggle with the game.
Visuals
I am pleasantly surprised by Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege’s art direction. These days, it is very hard to tell special operations units apart. Even Russian special forces units have been spotted with the seemingly standard Multicam pattern uniform, MOLLE plate carrier, and ear protection compatible ballistic helmet. Instead, the team at Ubisoft Montreal opted for a retro look with a few modern sensibilities to create five distinct counter terrorist units. It’s a great idea that gives the game a unique flavour. The animations are excellent. I am particularly pleased at the attention to detail. For example, operators automatically opt for a traditional prone position or the urban prone position depending on their position. The models and textures look nice, though a modern video card with more than 2GB of RAM is needed beyond medium settings.
Audio
The music is solid, which is to be expected of an AAA title. The voice acting is excellent, though Angela Bassett’s much touted role was much smaller than expected. The sound effects are really important in a tense and realistic type shooter as being able to hear the enemy provides a huge tactical advantage. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege delivers not only excellent sound effects, but also a very good sound stage. Directionality of footsteps can be easily picked out with headphones and rustling of equipment can be heard through window barricades, giving defenders a few seconds to prepare.
Overall
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is not reinventing the tactical FPS wheel, but it is making some intriguing changes to a very tired genre. The game is a boot in the right direction for the long running franchise, but considering how long we had to wait for it, I think it would have been okay to wait a little longer. There are some bugs that need to be ironed out, balancing that still needs to be done and more content that needs to be added before the game feels like a complete AAA title, all which could have been addressed with some extra development time. With friends, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is an absolute blast, literally and figuratively; however, it gets much harder to recommend as a solo player considering its flaws. Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
