Now five years into its lifespan, Rainbow Six Siege is arguably more popular than it’s ever been. After an admittedly stumbling debut, Ubisoft’s intense multiplayer shooter has gone on to attract over 55 million registered players with its taut, unforgiving, and breathless tactical gameplay. Eschewing the typical run-and-gun nature of most FPS shooters, Siege rewards patience, planning, precise team synergy, and efficient use of weaponry to create fast-paced, heart-stopping action.
Rainbow Six Siege is the sixth entry in the Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six series of strategy-based shooters that took the PC scene by storm in the 1990s. In the ensuing decades, the tactical franchise has been reinvented time and again in releases such as Rogue Spear, Rainbow Six: Vegas, and the canceled Rainbow Six: Patriots. For many, Siege represents the natural evolution of the franchise, melding everything that came before into one explosive and utterly compelling title. One of the greatest shooters of all-time? No doubt.
But Ubisoft is not the first developer to create a counter-terrorist gaming experience, nor was Red Storm Entertainment – the team behind the original 1998 release Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six. Way back in the late ’80s, French developer Infrogames – still some years out from their industry-changing horror title Alone in the Dark – took its own shot at the high-drama, high-stakes world of siege warfare.
Source: Destructoid Hostages: The original Rainbow Six Siege