Summary
TheRainbow Sixfranchise has had a fairly interesting life so far. Debuting all the way back in 1998,the very firstRainbow Sixwas a pretty tricky tactical shooter that wasn’t afraid of throwing some complex mechanics and systems at the player, and leaving it to them to figure it all out. As the series evolved, it became much more accessible, streamlining its more complex features until it eventually became a somewhat generic first/third-person shooter, albeit one that fans still enjoyed.
Nowadays,theRainbow Sixfranchiseis primarily known for its 2015 multiplayer soft rebootRainbow Six Siege. WhileRainbow Six Siegehas done a surprisingly good job of translating the series' original DNA to a modern-day multiplayer format, it still isn’t quite the traditional tactical shooter experience that many fans originally fell in love with back in the day. And when it comes time to make the nextRainbow Sixgame, regardless of whether it’s multiplayer or single-player, it needs to include a feature that hasn’t been present in the franchise since 2003.
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The Next Rainbow Six Should Bring Back The Planning Phase
In just about anyRainbow Sixgame, players are given a primary target location that they need to infiltrate. These can range from a mansion to a yacht to a skyscraper, but regardless of the type of location, players are always given some time to prepare a strategy before just jumping straight in. InRainbow Six Siege, this is done in real-time duringthe Preparation Phase, letting the Attackers use their drones to locate their targets while the Defenders set up various gadgets and devices designed to protect them from the oncoming Attackers. But in the original fewRainbow Sixgames, this process was much more complex.
Named the Planning Phase, this feature appears in eachRainbow Sixgame from the original installment, up untilRainbow Six 3: Raven Shield. The original Planning Phase begins by showing the player a top-down image of the mission’s map. From here, players can select any of their AI squads, and direct their movements and actions. These commands range from simple inputs like telling a squad to surround a door, to more complex behaviors like telling a squad to use explosives or react more aggressively if enemies are encountered.
It’s not the most complex feature, but it’s one that was baked into the core DNA of the originalRainbow Sixseries, and though a version of it appears inRainbow Six Siege, it would be great to see its true return in the next installment. There are a few different ways Ubisoft could implement a classic version of the Planning Phase inthe nextRainbow Sixgame, largely depending on whether it’s single-player or multiplayer. If the nextRainbow Sixis single-player again, then the Planning Phase could be simply translated almost one-for-one from the original series, albeit with some new and slightly more complex options for AI squad reactions and behaviors.
But the much more likely outcome is that the nextRainbow Sixgame will be multiplayer once again, asRainbow Six Siegehas continued to be a big hitfor an impressive eight years now. If the nextRainbow Sixis multiplayer, then the Planning Phase could still be brought back, but it might need to see some tweaks in order to make it work in real time. One option is to have the Planning Phase occur simultaneously with the Preparation Phase, tasking most of the time with using their drones like normal, but giving one player the opportunity to look at the map and sketch out a basic plan of attack.
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