by Ubisoft has made a few changes in the branding of its hit strategic action game series, Rainbow Six; it is now Rainbow 6: Patriots, and the bad guys are a whole new kind: they are not necessarily guys from exotic lands with strange accents, but could very well be your friendly neighbors.
Patriots deals with deadly and well trained domestic whack-jobs who believe that the Government is run by corrupt politicians and corporations; they, the real ‘patriots’ are willing to do anything to ‘reclaim’ their country from these evil clutches.
The lure of the exotic locales is not easy to overcome, so you do have bits and pieces of the story happening outside of the States.
There is a certain amount of empathy for the antagonists of this game, with the narrative often compelling us to understand their intentions, in spite of the devastation they wreak on their quest. In this respect, the storyline is unique; never before has this much choice been offered to the players. Depending on what option you choose, the conclusion will change, as will the narration. This also means that you can go back and play the game choosing different options every time to come up with different endings.
The principal villain is Jonah Treadway, a fanatic who is ready to die for what he believes in.
The game narrative is presented in three acts. The stage is around California’s Salton Sea, Times Square and the waterworks underneath this iconic landmark. There is a greater domestic-international mixed action in the multiplayer mode.
The action opens with a couple in a romantic setting; they are interrupted by the bell, and terrorists enter with a bang and restrain the missus. Your character is then strapped with a bomb and taken to Times Square. The bomb carrier and captors are ambushed en route, on the Brooklyn Bridge, where a shootout ensues. The hostage is being shot at by the police now, so that’s an additional danger you need to look out for! Now you decide, if you want to off the cops or just shoot them in the leg and make a getaway.
There’s a thrilling shoot-as-you-rappel sequence following this incident. Inspired by the South Korean army, no less!
The game’s interface makes use of several single button commands without watering down the effects, which makes it so great really.
Then you have the big decision to make. Do you try to defuse the bomb on the hostage in the few seconds you have or say what the heck and just hurl him over the bridge and watch him go ‘boom!’? Intense! huh?
This is a game of evolving tactics and shifting perspectives. You will not see the usual gimmicks employed by shooters in similar games before. The developers claim they have increased the lifespan of the shooters. This should be good.
There is also the use of the see thru vision cam, pretty much like the full body airport scanners!
In the multiplayer mode, the levels are slightly different, yet with similar environments. Interestingly, you spend a good amount of time preparing your assault. You can analyze the environment and set markers to best exploit your squad’s proficiencies.
While there are a few shooter games in the market, none have exploited the theme of domestic terrorism like this one. The line between friend and fiend is dangerously thin here, and that makes the task of deciding from the given options much more difficult.
