DestinyLeah
I never thought I would see the day when a Tom Clancy game would fit firmly within the purview of Rely on Horror, but here we are. When the trailer for Rainbow Six Quarantine came on, I honestly thought it was an oddly timed Alien announcement. The guy in the trailer looks to be injured and seeking cover in a dark corner of either a bunker or ship, with an unseen, unnatural creature searching for him. The throaty clacking and groaning of the creature and movement that seems divorced from gravity just screamed ‘Alien‘. The strange black stain on the man’s arm, twisting and moving as the creature bangs around the room, helped that idea along. Suddenly, though, a small military team shows up and the title for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Quarantine appears, and wow. Here we are.
That similarity is not entirely unintended. The Ubisoft blog post released alongside the announcement trailer describes the game thus:
Rainbow Six Quarantine takes the tactical action that the series is known for and sets it against the backdrop of an entirely new co-op campaign. When a mutated alien parasite starts infecting human hosts, it’s up to the Operators of Team Rainbow to stop the deadly threat before time runs out.
The team behind Rainbow Six Quarantine is new. Named Ubisoft Montreal, it boasts members snatched from Ubisoft titles like For Honor, Ghost Recon, and other Tom Clancy games. This isn’t their first foray into game development, which is good considering the concept they’ve taken on. The developers aren’t the only ones carrying over from prior Rainbow Six games, either. Eagle-eyed players may recognize Ela and Vigil as the characters who show up to save the day at the end of the trailer.
In a supplementary video explaining a tiny bit more about the game, Lead Game Designer Bio Jade explains that the game will feel at once familiar and totally different to players. The decision to keep popular characters from Siege was made to keep the fan base connected and happy despite the changes coming in Quarantine. Due to the PvE and squad-based nature of the game, players will have to remain laser-focused on objectives and teamwork. Letting them do it while playing as their favorite characters felt right to the development team, and I think it is a good decision.
Rainbow Six Quarantine will be a three-person co-op PvE experience, pitting players against the parasite within everyone else in quarantine zones around the country. Load your weapons and say your prayers, kids. Rainbow Six Quarantine is coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One in early 2020.
