Tom Clancy was a writer we loved. We can say that we enjoyed playing the Rainbow Six games until 2008. However, after Vegas 2, Ubisoft’s transformation of the series into a multiplayer only became out of our interest. At a time when the popularity of online competitive games was on the rise, this was undoubtedly the right decision for the Rainbow Six series. Rainbow Six Siege’s popularity over the years is the biggest proof of this. However, we still wish there was a story mode.
We’ve never played the Rainbow Six Siege base game, but we’re pretty familiar with the mechanics and operators thanks to so many friends playing. We even took a look at the Outbreak mode, as we prefer PVE games more on the online side. We enjoyed the Zombie mode of Left4Dead, World War Z, Back4Blood and Call of Duty, and we can say that we enjoyed Outbreak as well. As soon as we learned that Extraction would be in this genre, we decided to give it a chance. After the game came out, of course, we spent a lot of work on it for a while. Now, let’s take a look at how the last game of the series was.
Rainbow Six goes from PVP to PVE
Ubisoft is a company that likes to follow the trends in the game world very closely, and it never hesitates to change its existing popular series to suit them. This is exactly the case with Rainbox Six Extraction. With the increase in the popularity of PVE games, the new game of the series was released in a way that fits the trends but does not fit the Tom Clancy brand. It now has PVE gameplay, not a PVP. To make a quick preliminary comment, we can say that it looks like a standalone DLC built on the foundations of Rainbow Six Siege rather than a new game. In fact, it is kind of a continuation of Outbreak, the mode of the previous game. Of course it is more comprehensive and there are some differences as well.
Story with cutscenes only
It was said that Extraction would have a story, but it was mostly in the form of short interim videos that appeared in the game during zone transitions or in a few different situations, and although it looks perfect, we cannot say that it is very deep. Let’s get to the topic: Outbreak, on which Extraction is based; It began during the Cold War era when the Soviet spacecraft sent by the USSR to the moon, which was under the influence of a parasite known as the Chimera, crashed in New Mexico. In this way, Earth came under an alien threat. With the repetition of events in other regions, an organization called REACT is established to fight the Chimera, and thus our story in Extraction begins. Our goal is to raid quarantine areas filled with humanoid monsters nicknamed Archaean and fulfill certain missions.
The game looks more like a standalone DLC
As we mentioned before, Rainbow Six Siege players will not be unfamiliar with the mechanics. On top of that, we don’t need to tell too much for those who have played Outbreak. But let’s briefly summarize for those who will play for the first time. The task of the players is actually quite simple, basically. Complete a series of three missions before evacuating on the map where you left off as one of a team of three Rainbow Six operators to choose from among the 9 initially active. If something goes wrong, you can leave the location at any time by going to the evacuation area. But of course, the goal for the most experience points is to complete all three. When you complete the first mission, you need to go to the gateway where you can reach another part of the map in order to complete the other 2 missions, respectively.
Of course, different Archaean species, which are getting stronger between departments within missions, interfere with the operators. In fact, they’re all in rest mode, patrolling the area, or asleep. So stealth tactical movement is still very important in this game. Let me also say that we lost our operator a few times, as our teammates, who played the game for the first time due to its similarity with Left4Dead, turned everything into a battlefield in this game. That’s why we recommend you to play with someone who knows or if possible with your friends. If an alarm is raised, of course you also have to respond to the attack. Complicating the quests is the presence of nests, which, worryingly, are producing more and more new Archaean all the time. That’s why it’s extremely important to stay hidden for as long as possible.
There are also familiar faces from Siege in the game
You can improve faster with side events
There are two types of progression in the game. The first is about account leveling up to level 30. Gradually, the player is able to use this progress to unlock additional regions, mods, customization items, operator sets, new equipment. The points you get as you organize raids and complete missions are used for this. However, to progress faster, our advice to you is to complete additional sub-quests in the regions. These can vary like killing a certain Archaean, using an ability, and they’re pretty simple. Completing them can also unlock new journal entries and customization items.
Protect your operators
The second type of progression is given to operators (maximum 10 levels). This allows you to gain new weapons and passive perks that make characters more stubborn, faster and more efficient. However, it is not that easy. Because playing back to back with the same operator is almost impossible. Because if he is injured and his health drops below a certain rate, he cannot be selected for the next mission and will need time to regain his maximum health. If an operator falls completely and his teammates cannot carry him to the evacuation area, he is declared as MIA, that is, missing in the mission, and next time you have to choose another operator and go on a raid mission just to save him. This system can be annoying, especially with long healing processes in the early stages where the warrior selection is limited to 9. Here is the game’s biggest difference with Outbreak. It is not always possible to choose your favorite operator.
The game is PVE but the tactical aspect still dominates
Extraction has a total of 12 maps divided into four regions. Although you may not feel it much in the first 3 maps, namely New York, the tactical component of the game still maintains its weight. Depending on the mission, players need to think through a plan of action. As we mentioned earlier, even on easy difficulty levels, players’ careless Left4Dead style game strategy is severely penalized. At higher difficulty levels, you won’t even be able to progress. Of course, it’s not really the fault of players who dive into Extraction that way.
The problem is, the fact that the game is offered for free on Xbox GamePass has led to the entry of many new players into the game, and the style described as PVE has led those unfamiliar with Rainbox Six games to see it as Left4Dead. So if you don’t have two friends to play the game with, you always feel like you’re on an “incomplete” team. To give a small example, in the task of installing tracking devices on Archaean nests, you should proceed silently so that the slots do not move, and they should not be exploded due to the limited number of slots, but your teammate Rambo-like can dive in and ruin the whole mission. Unfortunately, many players do not understand this.
It is also possible to play single gun
Quests are also ordered by difficulty. There are some very simple ones, like luring an elite Archaean to an evacuation point. There are also more complex ones, such as point defense, where players need to prepare a siege-style defense by setting traps, mines, fortifying walls, and barricading passages. The most difficult task is definitely hunting the Protean. Fighting this Archaean, which can copy the skill of one of the 18 operators, is no different from a full-fledged boss battle. But of course destroying it is rewarded with unique equipment items. Unlike Siege, it is also possible to play Extraction alone. In this case, of course, the number of creatures and difficulty are scaled accordingly. But this was pretty boring even for someone like me who likes to play alone. However, the solo mode can be used easily, especially for quickly rescuing operators and completing sub-missions.
With Maelstrom Protocol, the game is always on
The game does not end when you reach the maximum levels and offers you a completely different challenge. Extraction also has endgame content called Maelstrom Protocol. The Maelstrom Protocol gives you 9 levels that are triple what you encounter during a normal raid. Each level also has its own mutation modification. Also, there are only six randomly selected operators for players to choose from, and if you lose these operators, it is necessary to return and save them in normal raid modes. Compared to the core game, be prepared to encounter evolving mutations as well as more difficult Archaeans.
For every three objectives you complete, the difficulty level increases, and the number of ammo and health reload stations available and how often they appear begins to decrease. In addition, the time you have to complete the objective decreases as you progress through the game. Operators and targets change weekly, which will keep players interested for a long time.
Game engine may be a bit old
Let’s move on to the graphics. We had the chance to try the game on Xbox Series S. However, we have to say that the graphics are practically not that different from Siege, which is based on an old modification of the Anvil Next graphics engine, which turned eight this year. Although the graphics are insufficient at some points, it is also obvious that it has a positive effect on optimization. We played the game with a very smooth 60fps. The game has the same performance on PS5. However, Xbox One, Xbox One X, PS4 and PS4 Pro owners are unfortunately limited to 30fps.
Although the overlay resolutions are very high, since the drawing distance is clearly reduced on the Xbox Series S, which we tried, compared to the Series X, the decrease in the quality of objects that are a little far away and blurry textures attract attention. It may not be a problem for gamers who see performance as a more important criterion, but those who attach equal importance to graphics quality can enjoy more on the Series X.
Conclusion
With Rainbow Six Extraction, Ubisoft has obviously done something a little outside of Tom Clancy’s brand for the sake of following trends again. Also, as we mentioned before, it looks like a standalone Rainbow Six Siege DLC rather than a new game. Still, it’s a solid enough game to offer hours of exciting tactical gameplay. This should also be noted. It is an undeniable fact that it will attract a whole new audience with its affordable price and, moreover, being offered for free on Xbox Gamepass.
The biggest downside to Rainbow Six Extraction is that it gets too easy too quickly and has little control over making raids difficult. However, a few unique mechanics enrich the existing gameplay. With the Maelstrom Protocol, the endgame mode that evolves from week to week, Extraction promises to keep players engaged for a long time.
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Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One, PC, PS4, PS5
Genres: Tactical FPS, PVE
Web: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/game/rainbow-six/extraction
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