Rainbow Six Patriots, innovating controls beyond motion?

Game Informer revealed the cover of their December issue today with Rainbow Six Patriots. Along with the reveal, Ubisoft released a video of early conceptual gameplay for Rainbow Six Patriots. The video, which explicitly notes it contains no actual gameplay footage, shows a home invasion by a terrorist group who kidnaps the husband to be used as a suicide bomber on the Brooklyn Bridge.

The video is a new turn for the Rainbow Six series, which traditionally could be categorized as a squad-based tactical shooter. Instead, Patriots looks to introduce more cinematic elements as well as interactive interface. The video shows small button-prompts similar to Heavy Rain, but one in particular grabbed my attention.

In one sequence, the kidnapped husband is strapped with explosives and told to hold the detonator in his hand, or else he’ll explode. In a similar fashion, the game tells the player to hold down the R2 button to convey the same feeling of tension. That prompt got me thinking about some interesting button mechanics that could be done to create artificial difficulty. Imagine having to make your way through and clear a warehouse of terrorists while keeping a button pressed. It’d create a dynamic use of control that isn’t found in most games, and doesn’t include the use of motion control.

Ubisoft didn’t offer a release date for Rainbow Six Patriots beyond just 2013. It’s expected to be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.