When the new Rainbow 6 drops sometime in 2013, it will have been five long years since the last entry in the tough but generally fun tactical shooter series was on shelves. That's nearly half the lifespan of the current console generation during which this particular type of stop and pop shooter has gone all but unrepresented by most developers, who've stuck with either the cover-based third-person action shooter or the first-person action shooter. Strategy has become what kind of bullet you want to put into the opposition.
Here's the official pitch from the folks at Ubisoft:
Team Rainbow faces a new and very real threat called the “True Patriots,” a highly-trained, well-organized group of militias. The True Patriots are capitalizing on the growing sense of frustration and anger in a modern day America that they feel is irrevocably corrupted by greedy politicians and corporate special interests. Lead by a calculating figurehead named Tredway, this grassroots, homespun, terrorist organization will stop at nothing to overthrow the government and financial institutions to reclaim their country. Capturing the reality of modern-day terrorism, players will take on the role of a new Team Rainbow member as they face critical scenarios that will require them to make tough ethical decisions in order to stop this new breed of terrorists.
UNPRECEDENTED NARRATIVE – Patriots’ storyline explores an ultra-realistic what-if scenario inspired by real events and characters. The game will allow players to experience events from multiple perspectives creating an unprecedented level of immersion.
A NEW THREAT FOR A NEW TEAM - Terrorism has evolved and Team Rainbow must face an organized militia of home-grown insurgents. As the leader of a new squad, players will wrestle with difficult ethical decisions and determine if the doing-whatever-it-takes mentality is needed to stop the enemy.ENHANCED SQUAD MANAGEMENT - At the press of one button, the Rainbow squad will perform the most efficient and deadly tactic given the context of the situation. When extreme measures are required, or when players call for it, you can take full control of your squad to plan the perfect assault.
EVOLVED COMBAT – The game’s combat techniques have been pushed to the next level with cover and weapon systems redesigned to accommodate every combat situation. New Rappel and Breach mechanics are now enriched with multiple new techniques including Wall & Ceiling Breach, Fast Rope Rappel, inverted ‘Aussie Style Rappel’, Infiltrate & Subdue, just to name a few.
INTENSE MULTIPLAYER EXPERIENCE - Players will be rewarded for working as a team and mastering the game’s new features that enhance communication and tactical execution between teammates. Once such feature found in the pre-game online lobby is the Sandtable, a holographic display that helps acquaint players with the level maps before they jump into the action. This will help players strategically coordinate attacks and add a new dimension to squad tactics.
SURPRISE AND OVERPOWER ENEMIES – Utilize the game’s new Scan mode to strategically breach and infiltrate areas. This new tool will provide a thermal read on the situation, allowing you to determine the squad’s best course to overwhelm and defeat enemies.
So the question then becomes what kind of shape will R6 Patriots take? The press release for the game--which was announced earlier this month, but is now getting a bit more detail along with some concept images--provides a few interesting tidbits as to what the team at Ubisoft Montreal has up their sleeves for the game, including ethical decisions during gameplay, and what sounds like a simplified scanning mechanic for reviewing the situation in a room before breaching it, while still bringing back the rappelling and team management from previous games.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6 Patriots is due sometime in 2013 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.
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