The Thread of Champions - FPS Games

Wytefang

Posts: 42   +16
So how does this work? This whole "Thread of Champions" thingy, you might ask?

Basically I'll be posting a series of these over time concerning various Genres and your job is to write up a good post that champions a game in that particular genre that you think deserves "championing." Maybe it got over-looked, maybe it's under-rated. Maybe it's actually somewhat successful and popular but you still want people to know about it and why it's great. That's what these threads will be for. :)

Next up after this one: RPGs, followed by a thread about RTS games, and others...

AND GO!
 
I'll start things off by championing a superb tactical, team-based shooter that's being growing its player base while still not seeing enough "love" imho. That game is:

Rainbow Six: Siege (PC version, for me, but this goes for all versions)

Siege released to not very much fanfare due to the turmoil around it's production process, that saw it change names (from R6 Patriots to R6: Siege) and gameplay focus (from a strong central SP campaign to a more focused, tactical MP shooter). However it's steadily grown its player base. In fact, the amount of players recently hit an all-time high for the game, which is nearly unheard of for any shooter (since their player bases usually die out over time).

I believe this has happened due to several factors:
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  1. Strong continued support, improvement, and development from the design team, which includes regular 3-month DLC releases that provide a free map and 2 new Operators thematic to the region that particular DLC is focused on (the most recent DLC, for example, was for Spain and Spanish Counter-Terrorism Unit Operators). Everyone gets the free map, thus keeping the community intact AND players who have not purchased the Season Pass can still easily earn the renown needed to buy the two new Operators without too much grinding. The dev team is constantly patching to fix niggling issues and listens carefully to the community via their own forums, twitter, and the R6 Reddit. While they still have a number of issues to address, things are getting fixed and are being improved constantly.
  2. It's simply a really good product offering a lot of value, even if you're not overly fond of the MP side of things. The game provides 10 different "Situations" or single-player missions for newcomers to get their feet wet, along with 3 different challenges to attempt in the process. Not only that but there's a Single-player or Co-op mode called Terrorist Hunt that allows you to kick back and play against a bunch of AI in any of the game's maps and using any game mode (of which there are three main types: Hostage Rescue (or Protection), Bomb Defusal (or planting), and Secure Area). This lets players learn the maps better while having fun and getting some practice in, also. AND the Terrorist Hunt mode allows you to grind for Renown, while playing it, too.
  3. There's a fairly active and growing community around the game AND the game lends itself very well to YouTube video watching and Twitch streaming.
  4. It's a really well-done shooter that offers a ton of maps, Operators, and unique gadgets for players to test out and master. This leads to replayability.
  5. The game smartly offers both a Casual MP mode as well as a Ranked mode, thus giving players an option to enjoy whatever type of experience they most crave (laid-back MP or more intense, challenging MP).
  6. In a gaming landscape defined by distilled versions of FPS gaming that lack real tactics and depth (I'm looking at you Overwatch), Siege provides a truly genuine team-based, tactical experience involving callouts, coordination, and combined arms to win the day. This isn't a frantic run around style of game like Call of Duty or Overwatch, this is a more thoughtful, clever style of game that rewards smart flanking, and quiet stealthy movements just as much as it does those moments where you have to out-twitch your foes. I've never seen the level of Microphone usage in a game as much as I have in this one and players genuinely benefit from using them.
  7. Siege provides some genuinely innovative ideas, primarily in the form of real environmental damage modeling (anything and everything is rated for destruction...if you dislike the objective room, blow out a murder hole to give you a nasty angle on the attacker or defender, if you hear someone running around below you, blast the wood off the floor to take a shot at them. Guns blow holes in things, explosives blow holes, and most Operators have a breaching charge or two to make a hole when needed.) This truly makes for a dynamic and sometimes unpredictable game environment that has never been seen on this scale. Battlefield has dipped its toes in the water to try and do this but has always done it in limited fashion. In Siege, environmental destruction is a way of life..and death.
  8. A couple of other innovative design decisions are: fully realized and helpful sound modeling that can be used to get the drop on an opponent who isn't being careful enough about sound propagation. Now you can't just race around a level because doing so will give you away in a heartbeat! While there are times you can move quickly - especially when a nearby firefight or explosions are rattling off - there are just as many times that require intelligent sound discipline. The game also models ballistic damage so that different weapons blow holes in the environment in different ways. I also like that the game allows dead players to use in-game camera feeds (every map has built-in surveillance cams that are usable if not destroyed by the attacking team) OR even watch the video feed from a specific surviving teammate and - this is the key point - allows you to communicate with your team while watching those feeds. This helps dead players to stay engaged with the action as they may have a tip that can help their squadmate.
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In conclusion, if you've not yet tried Rainbow Six Siege but love a good teamwork-based MP game, it's absolutely something you should by playing. You can buy the starter version for only $15. You can thank me later. ;)
 
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