Rainbow Six Extraction is all grind and no payoff

polygon.com:

Playing Rainbow Six Extraction, Ubisoft’s co-op vs. AI spinoff of its competitive tactical shooter <a href=«https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=» https: www.polygon.com>Rainbow Six Siege

, is like playing all the worst parts of a very good game. The mechanics remain outstanding, but all the new content feels like an endless list of RPG side quests that feel destined to lead to something better but never actually do.

In Extraction, players form squads of up to three to complete missions called Incursions, which can take place in twelve different areas and have three random objectives every time you load into a new one. Each player selects an Operator and a loadout, and earns XP for their overall account and the specific Operator they’re using.

Extraction brings back many favorites from the Siegeroster, including Smoke, Ela, Sledge, and Finka, to name a few, for a total of 18 playable Operators. The game also includes a few other non-playable operators like Mira, Ash, and Thermite to help drag you through the cutscenes and missions, but they mostly serve as a reminder that Siege’s characters just aren’t very charming.

This game is deadly serious, which is a real shame given that its ridiculous story could have been fertile ground for goofiness. Extraction takes place in an alternate world where some of the United States’ biggest cities (and also Alaska) are overrun by an alien race known as the Archæans and only a team of Rainbow Six operators can save the day.

With a variety of fully-voiced Operators, Extraction might seem tailor-made for in-game banter, but there’s none to speak of. Every moment of every mission is as silent as a crypt — unless, of course, a character is calling out their next tactical move,