Game Informer Magazine: December 2011 Cover

Five years will have passed since the last game in the series by the time Rainbow 6 Patriots arrives in 2013, but the first details about the game hit the Net today, and they’re pretty shocking.

In Rainbow 6 Patriots, Ubisoft is putting you into the shoes of a brand new Team Rainbow, as well as a new homeland terrorist group called the True Patriots, and sometimes even the civilians that get mixed up in the conflict. Switching protagonists frequently is what sets this game apart, and it’s more than a gimmick: it’s an intense, jarring experience that’s meant to manipulate your emotions as much as it satisfies that itchy trigger finger.

Game Informer broke the news this morning, with a new cover reveal that features Rainbow 6 Patriots, and some early details on the game. In it, we learn:

• The terrorist antagonists, the True Patriots, sound sort of like an extremist, fringe element of the “Occupy” movement, intent on taking down corporate America and overthrowing a corrupt government — by any means necessary.
• The game will force you to ask yourself what moral and ethical lines you’re willing to cross, in order to stop the True Patriots. (Which sounds like 24 to me.)
• Ubisoft fully expects the game to be controversial.
• R6P adds major new tactical elements to the tried-and-true formula.
• Perhaps the biggest news is that Ubisoft is training its sights on nothing less than taking on Call of Duty and Battlefield. Throw a third hat into the tactical multiplayer ring!

GI also posted a video proof-of-concept demo (go here to watch it; it’s not embeddable) that was created for internal use at Ubisoft Montreal, to communicate the development team’s vision for the game. And it’s 6 minutes of jaw-dropping, must-watch video. t’s not actual game play footage, but it gives you an example of what they’re attempting to build. If the developers can bring this concept to fruition, Rainbow 6 Patriots just might be the powerhouse that Ubisoft needs to compete with Activision and EA for tactical shooter dominance.