When players think ofRainbox Six,they automatically think ofSiege.So much so that the franchise’s name’Rainbow Six’is immediately attributed to the competitive tactical FPS game. When ‘R6’ is mentioned, automatically,Siegeis the game being referred to.
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There are a plethora of other games in theRainbow Sixfranchise that aren’tSiege;such asRogue Spear, Vegas,andLockdown.The franchise goes way back with the earliestRainbow Sixgame being released in 1998. Some of these games share the same gameplay mechanics withSiege,while others are their own unique game. Here are 10Rainbow Sixgames that aren’tSiege.
10Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
Tom Clancy’sRainbow Sixisn’t only the firstRainbow Sixgame, but it is also the firstTom Clancygame. Released in 1998, the originalRainbow Sixhas significantly different gameplay to today’sSiege.The players take control of awhole squadroninfiltrating a compound for certain objectives such as extracting a hostage.
However, all the units in the squad are not individually controlled. Players give the AI units orders and paths to take, and players can alternate controls between units. Casualties in missions carry over to the succeeding missions. This integration of RTS mechanics along with tactical gameplay would soon be implemented into earlierGhost Recongames. On top of all this,Rainbow Sixalso has multiplayer modes.
9Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
Rogue Spearreleased in 1999. A year afterRainbow Six.The game improves graphically from the previous game but has the same mechanics and gameplay. The game’s singleplayer takes place after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Counterterrorist organization, Rainbow, fends of terrorist attacks across Russia. Like the previous game, it also hasmultiplayer modeswhere players can play cooperatively, or against each other.
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In cooperative mode, players team up and take on the computer AI similar to how the singleplayer story missions play out. In the adversarial mode, players compete in various game modes such as terrorist hunt, a game mode that will soon be a staple ofSiege,assassination, deathmatch, and much more.
8Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Takedown – Missions In Korea
Released in 2001,Takedown–Missions in Korea’sevents take place inthe said country. Players engage in missions withinSouth Korea, and the maps depict the environment really well too.
Gameplay is similar toRainbow Sixwherein one bullet has enough lethality, and rushing into rooms is highly discouraged. The players are pitted against the notoriousYakuza, the JapaneseMafia, in these missions.Takedown–Missions In Koreawas only released for South Korea, and wasn’t made available anywhere else.
7Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Lone Wolf
Released in 2002,Lone Wolfis developed exclusively for thePlayStation 1. As opposed toRainbow Six,all the missions inLone Wolfare played without a squad to command, hence the name of the game.
This leaves a solo undercover operator named Ding Chavez to infiltrate and eliminate the terrorists. It is a much simpler game with lesser complexities, and much more basic graphics. The game is also relatively short compared to the otherRainbow Sixgames having only five missions in the main campaign.
6Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
Raven Shieldhad significant graphical leaps from previous installments. Released in 2003, it still had the core mechanics of previous games, but unlike the earlier installments, players can now see their weapon’s viewmodel in first person. Multiplayer for this game has been overhauled.
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Inco-opmode, each participating player is given AI teammates to command. All the campaign missions can be played in singleplayer, or multiplayer co-op. As for competitive multiplayer, teams of eight are pitted against each other in various stipulations such as deathmatch, bomb, hostage, etc.
5Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Lockdown
Lockdowntakes a morearcade approachthan a methodical tactical one. The game was released in 2005. Instead of cautiously opening rooms, players can now barge in without much worry.
Released in 2005,Lockdown’sAI teammates are more independent of orders, which allows the players to focus more on fighting than commanding. The plot takes place in 2009 where Rainbow is tasked to neutralize the impending threat of a weaponized virus. These campaign missions can be played either singleplayer or co-op.
4Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Critical Hour
AfterLockdown’saction shooter elements,Critical Hourbrought the franchise back to itstacticalroots. Thus again, accuracy is affected by movement and injury, and bullets do massive amounts of damage.
The events take place in the flashback of former Rainbow lead, John Clark. As he retires and passes on the torch to Ding Chavez, the protagonist ofLone Wolfand Rainbow’s best operative, he reminisces of past missions he and his team took part in. Players are encouraged to approach missions methodically. However, with a Metascore of 54, the game had mixed reviews and wasn’t accepted too well.
3Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas
If there’s a Rainbow Six game thatSiegeplayers would love, it’sRainbow Six: Vegas.The gameis ahuge graphical leapfrom the previous installment,Critical Hour.Released in 2007, it’s not just the graphics that have been overhauled but also the gameplay mechanics. For one, players regenerate health when not taking damage. Another is that the players' vision is impaired when under fire.
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On top of that, AI for both enemies and teammates have been improved. There is no pre-mission planning phase inVegas,but there are checkpoints throughout the missions.Vegasis when theRainbow Sixfranchise has found the perfect balance of arcade and tactical gameplay, earning the franchise’s highest Metascore ever of 88.
2Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
Vegas 2is the closest game toSiegegameplay and mechanics-wise. Major additions from the previousVegasgame include the ability to sprint, the environment being destructible, and cover being penetrable, allowing players to shoot through walls; similar to how someSiegeplayers raid a room.
Another thing is that the multiplayer mode has an added attack/defend mode which will soon be the core system ofSiege.There’s also the revamped awarding system that awards players with certain weapons based on how they play and how they perform. The awarded weapons tailor to how the game categorizes the players' approach (assault, CQB, marksman).
1Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard
Shadow Vanguardis aRainbow Sixgame developed exclusively for iOS and Android. Released in 2011, the interesting thing about the integration of thegame into mobile platformsis that phones of this age could very well handle the graphical demands of games from 1998-2005.
The game features three modes: a singleplayer campaign, online co-op, and online deathmatch. Unlike today’s FPS mobile games,Shadow Vanguardtakes a tactical approach to missions with mechanics such as cover-to-cover, and enemy tagging. That being said, it’s really interesting to see a fully functioningRainbow Sixgame on a mobile phone.
