The next season of Rainbow Six Siege, Shadow Legacy, is just around the corner and brings with it a brand-new operator in Sam ‘Zero’ Fisher. Yes, that Sam Fisher.
If you’ve been around as long as we have then you’ll likely be familiar with Mr Fisher as one of the granddaddies of stealth from his own series, Splinter Cell. It’s been a long time between drinks for franchise fans, with no new entries in the series since Blacklist in 2013. Needless to say, his new appearance in Siege is sure to light a fire under fans who’ve been crying out for a new game for some time.
Fisher, now code-named Zero, has put away his trademark goggles – though they still hang out on his backpack – and has opted instead to bring along a variant of his Sticky Cams in the form of the new Argus Launcher. The launcher functions as Zero’s gadget and allows him to fire out a camera at a wall to gather intel for his team.
The camera can be used to view either side of a wall, though only Zero can choose which it sees, and can be used on soft walls, floors/ceilings and even reinforced walls to give attackers valuable information on what the defenders are up to. Each camera also comes equipped with one shot from a laser to zap enemy equipment or tickle a defender if need be.
Zero is outfitted with a classic Splinter Cell weapon: the SC3000K. This assault rifle is comparable to the AK in terms of its feel and comes equipped with a brand-new holographic sight model as well as the all new 1.5x and 2.0x scope choices. While the 850rpm fire rate is nice on paper, being on par with the R4-C or Type-89, the slow handling and an abysmal reload speed really bring the usability of this weapon down.
Zero also has the option of bringing the MP7 SMG as his primary weapon, making him the second operator and first attacker to gain access to this SMG (with the defender Bandit being the only other to use this weapon).
When we were first introduced to Zero I was worried that his kit would be a little too strong, however in practice the operator is far from overpowered. His cameras emit a bright yellow light when they’re stuck to a surface and, though small, are relatively easy for keen eyed defenders to spot. They’re also extremely loud when deployed, and canny defenders will have no trouble listening for the sound of their impact.
Sam’s further balanced by his poor primary weapon choices, and having the option of grenades or a claymore as his secondary gadget does give him some extra utility to round out his kit quite nicely.
All in all I think Zero will be a well balanced operator on launch and, in combination with some other big changes coming next season, Shadow Legacy is shaping up to be a blast. Rainbow Six Siege is currently available on Windows PC, Xbox One and PS4; Shadow Legacy heads to all platforms later this year.
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