2022 is here, and everything seems to indicate that this will be another year full of great launches. January will certainly kick off with some new releases worth checking out, and I think Rainbow Six Extraction it could be one of them. I tell you this because I already had the opportunity to play the new multiplayer proposal of Ubisoft, and here I will be telling you about my initial impressions.
Unlike Rainbow Six Siege, Extraction It is an experience focused entirely on the PvE, so you will not be able to face other players but you must cooperate with them to survive. In fact, one of the things that surprised me about Extraction was its difficulty, because even at the simplest level it was difficult for me and my team to finish the missions. Is this necessarily a bad thing? Not really, but it does mean that you will need a truly coordinated team to overcome the most complex challenges that the game throws at you.
Of course, as with other similar games, we will always have to deal with the issue of trolls and people who are not willing to cooperate to win, so I do worry a bit about this issue for those who will not always have someone with whom. play. Sure there will be reporting options or something like that, but I didn’t get a chance to learn anything about this during this hands-on session.
Evidently, Extraction does share certain characteristics with Siege, particularly with the issue of Operators. Each of these characters has some unique functionality that will help you on the battlefield. For example, I used a Operator with a radar that allowed me to see the enemies through the walls, while one of my companions used another with a drone to have an aerial view of the level. A team cannot have the same Operator more than once, so it will be important to experiment with several of them in case your favorite is chosen first.
Besides your Operator You can also customize their weapons and equipment with different sights, ammunition or grenades that stun or act as bait. Depending on the Operator That you choose, you can select between different types of weapons ranging from conventional assault rifles, to shotguns, semi-automatic rifles and snipers. Weapons feel good and the impact of shots on enemies, especially when you hit a critical hit, is truly gratifying.
Each level has three different zones, each with its own set of objectives and the more objectives you complete, the more difficulty will increase. Stealth was of vital importance during my games, since if you weren’t careful you could end up alerting all the enemies within the area, which would mean that me and my team would be dead in a matter of minutes. Here I was a bit confused by the game interface, since it is not very clear when an enemy is aware of your presence or when it is just about to discover you. Obviously if you shoot a weapon without a silencer all the enemies around will hear you, but even when we were using a silencer and moving stealthily it seemed that the enemies discovered us as if by magic.
And it is that in addition to worrying about traditional enemies, there are also a series of elementary factors that you should pay attention to. For example, there are alien nests on rooftops and walls that you must stealthily remove, as well as spores that adhere to your body and detonate remotely, thus alerting everyone around and damaging your companions in the process. That is why it is so important to have a radar, talk to your team and try to be as stealthy as possible. When we managed to clean an area without being discovered it was a truly satisfying feeling.
The level structure was also made to have a very good design, since there are different routes that you can take to reach your goal. Normally each level consists of getting from point A to point B fulfilling certain objectives in between, but the way in which you reach these results depends entirely on you, the Operator that you have selected and the coordination of your team, that is why even repeating the same scenario constantly could have very different conclusions each time.
Even without being a fan of Siege, or of this type of games in general, my time with Extraction it was quite enjoyable. Yes, it does have a few details to refine before launch, but I think it has the potential to be a great tactical shooter, especially for those who plan to play with friends. Even being a preview build, I hardly encountered any bug or glitch that drastically affected my experience, so Ubisoft is on a good path.
Rainbow Six Extraction comes to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, and PC on January 20, 2022.