Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield

"This is the 4th time I sent this review so it better not screw up"

This is a true heir to the Rainbow Six & Ghost Recon series (since they are very similar in terms of gameplay). If you enjoyed either of those classic games you will love this.

Graphics: 9/10

This game has very sharp graphics (I'm not sure what engine this is using but it pumps out sharp graphics, it might be the Unreal one). Very detailed environments and not really blocky, nice shading too. The thing that made me mark this down however, would be the rag doll physics are probably from the Unreal engine as well. Some death animations (usually when you shoot someone that's touching you or someone who is handcuffed) look like something even a yoga master couldn't even pull off, it looks like their knee cap was poped off or their spinal cord was broken. They sometimes will bend their leg the other way or almost touch their heels with their hands. Hopefully they will fix this because this ruins the realistic feel of the game.

Sound: 10/10

The gun noises are very believable. As well as the radio messages and briefings. The main theme song (in the game menus) kicks ass too. It also has some nice ambiences.

Controls: 10/10

Everything is customizable. Using a mouse gives you dead accurate aim (you can change the sensitivity to fit your liking), the keys are very responsive, and they have a nice interface. Most PC games get a very high rating in controls, this should come to no surprise.

Gameplay: 10/10

This is the best part of the game (duh). This is similar to Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six, it's pretty fast pace and pretty realistic (as far as games go). Despite their similarities on the outside, CS players may not enjoy this, even though this is fast pace it isn't as frantic as CS (well as in that you don't zip across the map), rushing out is almost suicidale against good snipers and you always have a sense of anxiety wherever you go. This game requires patience to master and can get really frustrating at times.

This game isn't for everyone, especially those people who have low patience or don't like to sit out after you die (this is pretty much the opposite of UT2k3, not saying that it's a bad game, it's actually pretty good) but if you expect to be jumping around with a flak cannon obliterating everything in the blink of an eye, you will be dissapointed.

Replay Value (aka multiplayer): 10/10

This is actually the reason why this game is good, the campaign itself would recieve a 8/10 but since the multiplayer is included it gets a 10/10 (since it's worth playing it more than once). Multiplayer is where all the fun is. You get to face off against other people, which is always a fun challenge because humans are always unpredicatble (well, for the most part) and will devise crafty plans to try and take you out.

Conclusion:

Vets of Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon shouldn't miss out on this game. It's just basically a big improvement over those two games. It's worth the $39.99 you are shelling out for it. Quit reading this review and go get it for yourself.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/14/03, Updated 04/14/03