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Not quite the same as the PC version. Tactical squad-based shooters have had a good time recently. Ubisoft’s own Ghost Recon series has successfully penetrated the console market, as did Gotham Games’ Conflict series and Sony’s SOCOM series. Ubisoft made a point in making it clear that Rainbow Six 3 (Xbox) was not the same as the PC’s version Raven Shield. But is a different Rainbow Six 3 an enjoyable game?
You control Ding Chavez who leads a team of super cool tactical operatives, also known as, Team Rainbow. In 2007, something happens and the end result is that you need to fix it. Helping you out are Weber, Price, and Loiselle. You don’t actually control these three but you can give them many commands. These range from waiting on you, to going ahead without you or scouting an area.
The game has a lot of varied missions which are to be expected in a game of this kind. You’ll have to rescue people or disarm some bomb, nothing major. The AI of your enemies is pretty good, although some of your teammates make some questionable decisions at times. The game lets you use your Xbox Communicator headset to issue commands to your team in the single player game.
For most though, the real draw is the multiplayer. Nothing beats taking a group of people online over Xbox Live and owning some terrorists. This also solves the problems of your teammates’ AI. Up to sixteen players can play at the same time in various modes like Cooperative and Adversarial. Want to play with someone? Go ahead. If you don’t want to, you can be all lonesome if you wish.
The control scheme of Rainbow Six 3 for Xbox is never frustrating. You are given quite a bit of choice as to what weapons you want and the like at the beginning but this process is very simple. The actual control scheme is standard Xbox first-person shooter, which is a plus. It’s very easy to get into and give commands to your teammates.
No one can really deny that the visual engine behind Splinter Cell was fantastic. That same engine is used in this game, making its lighting equally impressive. While everything else like the character models and environments are only average, the lighting steals the show. Explosions are a marvel to look at, since that fire looks oh-so pretty. Because of the lighting, the game looks better than it would have.
The soundtrack in the game is fitting, although you won’t hear much of it. The sound effects on the other hand are excellent. You’ll heard everything in the game. Wondering where someone is? Try and listen to them walking. Wondering if there are people coming? Pay attention to the doors.
Rainbow Six 3 doesn’t do things very different than others in its genre. It simplified enough of the PC features to make it an excellent console game. It has great graphics and sound and the gameplay is excellent. There’s a reason why Rainbow Six 3 is being played continuously over Xbox Live. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 24, 2003
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