Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield

"Fabulous, just Fabulous"

Just to make it simple to everyone, I have never played a Rainbow Six game before. I played other games like this one, but Raven Shield blew my mind away. Anyone who likes shooters (I bet even some that don't like shooters will like it!) will love RS3.

Story- 8/10
Some odd things happened in 1945 when a person (military) put away some papers in a bank. The war was coming to a close but those people were planning for the next. 60 years later, their war has begun. The story fits together, but is confusing. Rainbow is supposed to finish a mission, and you don't know why you're doing it. This is the only part I don't like about RS3. But hey, if it makes it realistic, it has to be in RS3.

Graphics- 10/10
The graphics make you feel like you're in the game yourself. The gun models are very realistic. Details are not forgotten, it's like the developers had to make every tiny polygon look perfect. When you move past a living person, it is almost like moving in real life, pushing and shoving people aside (not that you should do that though). As I said before, the graphics are very realistic.

Control- 9/10
There's a slight learning curve to these controls. Don't worry, once you beat all the missions in training the controls will be like a sixth sense. Until you do, the game will be a lot harder.

Sound/Music- 10/10
No music during gameplay, that makes RS3 more realistic. The sounds heard, make up for the loss of music (not that it was a bad thing however). If you walk across a metal object, you hear your boots on the metal. Obviously, going prone will make your noise level nonexistent. Developers paid attention to many other areas of sound too. Buy the game and understand why RS3 is so good.

The music energizes you. Between missions, while you plan, during the title screen, the music makes you want to play the game more. I think it's top notch.

Gameplay- 10/10
RS3 has so much customization. You can set your operative's (max of 8) weapon, secondary weapon, ammo type, accessory, 2 items, and body armor. With so many different choices, and this much array of customization, you'd think that you wouldn't need much else. But there's more.

RS3 also comes with a waypoint system, a way that lets you plan out the mission. It uses tactics, you have to know where you want your operatives to snipe from, where you want your operatives to go, or even if you want them to use a breaching charge. Once you know how to plan, your team should not lose any members.

A summary of this: RS3 lets you choose up to 8 operatives, split up into up to 3 teams (Red, Green, Gold). Each team can have up to 4 operatives. You can customize his/her weapons, ammo, accessories, and body armor. There is also a waypoint system to allow you the oppurtunity to act like a real strategist. And for those who don't want to be one, there are preset plans to use, all of which are good.

Replay Value- 10/10
There's lots of different ways to complete a mission. The multiplayer lets you challenge other players. You can test your skills against the ai's most challenging setting, elite, which I guarantee will take a LONG time. (I can't even beat one mission on elite.)

Conclusion:
Buy it. RS3 is a solid game that delivers. Have fun playing it!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/04/03, Updated 07/04/03