Rainbow Six Siege video reveals the "operator system"

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The latest Rainbow Six Siege "Behind the Wall" video demonstrates how players will take on the role of an "operator" as they set off to save people's lives and blow up their houses. Each operator is a unique character with a specific set of abilities, which the studio says will force players to focus on effective teamplay if they want to win.

Following that fiction is how Ubisoft differentiates Rainbow Six Siege operators from conventional character classes found in most team-based online shooters. Instead of opting to play as a generic sniper or medic or demoman, which other players on your side can also select, you choose a particular character—an operator—thereby making him or her unavailable to others. Ideally, team members will choose operators who match their particular talent or play style; on the other hand, if you move too slowly you may end up saddled with someone you hate and/or suck with. Which, to be perfectly clear, isn't necessarily a bad thing: I've had some really great times playing some really lousy TF2.

Alongside the "Behind the Wall" video, Ubi also released a noisier but less informative gameplay trailer, which you can catch here. Better yet, have a look at Evan's new hands-on video, recorded during his recent trip to Ubisoft Montreal, in which he discusses the state of the game so far and offers up some of his own opinions about the operator system.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.