The Features

Xbox Live! has been missing the kind of multiplayer games that work so well online like Rainbow Six. Well, finally Rainbow Six 3 has been released on the Xbox and it comes fully compatible with Xbox Live! Here is a quick take on the story and the feature list:

The year is 2007, and the world stands on the brink of a terrifying global conflict. As the United States is caught in an embargo-induced oil crisis, terrorist attacks against American interests - and citizens - escalate. Venezuela, which still supplies the United States with oil, also becomes a target. As unrest grows in America, protests rock the streets of Caracas. And while the shadow of terror looms, madmen plot even greater acts of murder and destruction. No place is safe, no border secure in this hour of fear. Only one bulwark stands between the world and the threats that now face it: RAINBOW, an international task force dedicated to combating terrorism in all its forms. A top-secret organization consisting of the best field operatives the United Nations has to offer, RAINBOW is the most potent weapon in the world's arsenal. Backed by the most sophisticated technology available and trained to the limits of human capability, they are our best hope in the war against terror.

They may also be our last.

• Brand new scenario approved by Tom Clancy himself!
• 14 action-packed levels leading you throughout the world, from Switzerland to Venezuela.
• 12 minutes of new Hollywood-style cinematics (directed by Marco Brambilla, Director of Demolition Man)
• An arsenal of no less than 30 weapons, like the M203PI Grenade Launcher, and 8 Equipment, like the M34 White Phosphorus Grenade, available in 1st person weapon view, to fit any situation.
• A redefined console oriented gameplay, with a new interface, new circumstantial actions, and clearer icons, to lead Rainbow to success!
• Cutting edge graphics, massive special effects (new lightning system, soft body system, fire FX, and so on…), ultra-realistic sounds and crazy AI for a unique gaming experience.
• Use your headset to shout voice commands to your three AI squad team-mates to achieve extremely challenging missions.
• X-Box Live! enabled: join tense multi-player battles online, up to 16 players on tricky maps. Many multi-player modes available (cooperative, survival, team survival…) Come and prove you are a man of valor!

Gameplay

Rainbow Six 3 is yet another in the line of Tom Clancy's fictional counterterrorist unit taking on the terrorists and bad people of the day. Just like all of the previous Rainbow Six titles, Rainbow Six 3 is another shooter set up in the real world. Like other Rainbow Six games, you cannot jump or sprint, you can crouch and move along while you are crouching, you get night and thermal vision visors. You have primary and secondary weapons and grenades that you can use during a mission such as machine guns and assault rifles, but for some reason you can't pick up weapons during the game if you shoot someone and they drop it. As is one of the more realistic sides of Rainbow Six - just a few shots can bring you down quickly. So really, Rainbow Six 3 is more or less a simple first person shooter game, albeit with a bit more stealth and tactical play than most.

The good thing with Rainbow Six 3 is that although the game is mostly best played online, it does have a good single player campaign too, which comes with 12 missions and a full on and well written storyline. In each single player game you are backed up by three other operatives. The main storyline is based around some South American terrorists, you can read more about the storyline by checking out the main features at the top of this place if you want to learn more. As usual with Tom Clancy games, it takes place across the world in airports and snow covered villages.

The game works as you expect, if one of your team members is injured or killed, they are out for the remainder of the mission. Saving anywhere is available to you but be warned, you only have a limited number of saves during a mission. To me this is a good thing as most titles that let you save and quick save end up being too easy to get through.

In addition to the main Single Player game, there is also a "Custom Mission" option which lets you enter into any of the levels in the game and take on various enemies. This basically means you can take part in a lot of games away from the campaign, another good addition.

Now onto the main part of the game, the Xbox Live! side. Rainbow Six 3 features five different game modes, each one allows up to 16 players to take part, sharpshooter mode which is a timed match where you respawn when you get killed and the person with the most kills wins. Survival and team survival are a bit different though, as if you die - you must sit back and watch the rest of the game and the player/team who is left standing will win. The closest comparison I can make with other titles is Counter-Strike and the excellent Return to Castle Wolfenstein, each one works well online.

Graphics & Sound

Graphically Rainbow Six 3 isn't bad at all - it certainly isn't the best looking Xbox title out there but it does the job well. UBI have claimed that the game uses the Splinter Cell engine, but from the overall look it doesn't seem to look as good as that game did a year ago. Sound is as good as you expect, quite a bit of speech, lots of environmental sounds and such like, all presented in Dolby 5.1

Final Comments

It's easy to recommend Rainbow Six 3, simple because the online package is very good - especially in team games. Rainbow Six 3 came out at a time when Xbox Live! was suffering with a lack of good titles (Until PGR 2 etc came along), so it was a welcome addition. The single player aspect is also pretty good - which works in it's favor for those out there who don't feel like paying out too much to go online and with the mission generator, you can't go wrong.

Return To The Xbox Section