Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield

"A progressive, blissful third installment"

This is the third installment (not including the various mission packs) of the popular Rainbow Six series, which I have been playing since the beginning. I have given this game alot of playtime. I have written this review in an unorthodox style, but one that I beleive will help the reader comprehend the experience by reviewing the game as one would progress in a mission. This review will also be alot more meaningful if you have played Rogue Spear (RS), or at least Rainbow Six.
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Briefing-

Story- 6/10
The story is weaker than its two predecessors. This is due to the fact that it takes place mainly in Latin America, which I feel is by default less interesting than a US mega-conglomerate pharmaceuticals company scandal or a Russian mafia nuke heist. South American aristocracy can only be so interesting, you know?

Mission Preface- 8/10
The mission preface is alot more streamlined than RS. There is a set briefing staff, unlike the changing members of the past. Background is given by Clark and Sweeney (a Recon op in RS, who was quite effective BTW) instead of a database. Both structures are effective, it depends which you like.
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Team Selection-

Stats- 10/10
Unlike RS, there are not unlimited backup ops, and incapacitated operatives don't recover. This means you'll be doing missions over more, or you'll pay later on when you didn't repeat that ultra-difficult mission. Stats are also more appropriate, as operatives are more specialized. You'll finally be taking Burke over Yacoby, veterans will know what I mean.

Weapons- 8/10
There are SO many weapons, and each one has attachments. There is a big flaw to this, though. Hi-cap magazines are too powerful. And any SMG or Assualt Rifle with a silencer isn't as good as the MP5SD. Which makes the MP5SD Hi-Cap the best silenced weapon, except if you need range (where a silenced battle rife or sniper rifle is better). Shotguns are also MUCH more effective. The machine guns lose effectiveness, as a Hi-Cap FAMAS is more versatile. Its fun to give each operative a different weapon, regardless. Smoke and CS grenades are GREAT additions. They add alot more strategy.

Planning- 9/10
One less team and go-code hurts sometimes, as does the overall 3-D view. But the 3-d perspective is a nice addition, as is the Zulu go code in the HUD. There are some features which make it nicer, and plan actions are more accurate. No more teams bypassing gocodes, or mistiming breaches/grenades.
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Graphics- 10/10
The graphics blow away CS and most FPS. There is attention paid to minute details. Textures look great. The only problem people find is lack of interactivity with the enviorment, which is a flawed arguement. Exploding oil drums are useful without auto aim and if the opportunity arrises to take out a bunch of tangos. You do what you need to to complete the mission, and no CT operative would use an enemy's rifle for fear of malfunction or booby-trap. Who cares if you can't pick up a bottle and throw it to cause a diversion. The game is about planning and execution, not trickery and guile. An especially nice feature, also, is that you can adjust the graphics according to your machines performance with a great level of individuality.

Animations- 10/10
Gone are the motion-capture death animations and tangos lying in stairs. If a tango is running and is gunned down, he will probably drop his gun (which also have attachments such as Hi-cap mags), fall in a split, and his body will fall limp to his side. His arm will be propped against the wall, the same wall that has a blood spatter from the bullet piercing his flesh. The rag-doll physics are amazing, as a tango (or team member) killed by a frag will now even lean over a railing. Death animations are random and fitting, even if there is not enough blood for a gore-fiend's liking.

Models- 10/10
Character, hostage, tango, vehicle, and weapon models are fantastic. They are all distinctive and accurate. Vehicles have alot more detail, which is nice, and the tangos have more skins, and many different weapons. Even if all reloads are not accurate to the real world, the fact that you have to cock an empty gun is a nice feature. And, if you don't like the gun model, you can remove it completely.

Sound- 10/10
Voice acting is up to par. Sounds are accurate, though explosions could be louder and more intense.
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Team AI- 9/10
The team AI is a TREMENDOUS improvement over RS. No more telling your team to throw a frag, only to have the thrower shot because no one covered the door, or to have the frag bounce off the frame and wipe out your team. The team command control is extremely useful. It was present in the other games, but I actually played a year without knowing it existed. It was useless anyway. The problem with team AI is that they bunch up, and often push/get pushed into doorways and get shot. But teams cover themselves and think three dimensionally, rather than just straight ahead (a member covers the rear, and each take an arc of engagement). This was a big problem in other games. They also take out sniper rifles when stationary, instead of when only told to snipe. A great improvement, a great balance. Computer teams can hold their own. You still should lead the action. This is not SWAT 3, where your teammates do most of the work.

Enemy AI- 9/10
Enemies attack in packs, and will cover and support each other. This will retreat when wounded and outnumbered, and call in reinforcements. They are not godly anymore, as in RS. I'm sure everyone has been killed by the watchtower guard in Sargasso Fade at least once when exposed for a split second. The ability to throw frags is real nice, as is the fact that tangos will start the mission in a variety of areas. About half the tangos in the mission generate in a random assortment of areas. Great enemy AI, a big improvment and better than what I've seen in other FPS.

HUD- 9/10
The HUD is nice and streamlined, only shows immediately relevant information. Only missing the ROE and speed, which hurts if you haven't memorized the plan. Also, on the fly ordering is nice, especially in Terrorist Hunt when you need coordination but don't want to make a plan. While you don't have an onscreen map, you do have a fullscreen map. This also means that the Heartbeat sensor isn't cheap anymore, and requires alot more skill to know where the enemy is.
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Control- 10/10
Control is fully customizable and skin-tight. The fluid movement is excellent, being able to partially open and close doors and windows (YES!) to throw a CS grenade in and charge, or to shoot without exposing yourself to small arms fire (most bullets go through doors). Aiming is nice, faster than RS, which is nice. Full automatic fire isn't useful, as always. Overall, shooting and aiming is better, easier, and more beleivable than RS, and has a ton more realism than other FPS. Throwing grenades doesn't not require as much skill, lacking a power meter, but is easily executable. I like it better. You can lean out not all the way, also, which is sort of redundant against tangos, but nice in MP. Auto-aim is adjustable in 4 levels- what I call kiddo (whole screen), newb (half screen), vet (what you should be playing on, about 1-2 inch radius around reticle), and elite (off). A total improvement over RS in this aspect.
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Flaws- 10/10
I've found no graphical glitches. The damage seems to be pretty accurate as far as body armor, calibre, and ammo type go. Only some gun stats/ammo flaws that don't affect gameplay. In fact, flaws from RS have been fixed. Terrorists can't see through smoke (a big problem with steam effects and NATO installed). Fall damage has been made better as well, as falling down a ladder onto a teammate doesn't result in your immediate incapacitation. The only flaw, which CAN be a big one, is if you switch to a team member when climbing a ladder, they freeze up permanently (not sure if this is mission specific or in-general, happened on the bank mission constantly).
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Replayability- 10/10
Multiplayer is good, on par for the rest of the games. People are making mods and new maps as expected. Not as moddable as Half-Life, but you can get a ton of maps for MP. Single player is where the replayability excels when looked at stand-alone. Mods are great and all, but I beleive a game should be able to hold up without a myriad of mods.
For each mission, you can practice it, play terrorist hunt, hostage rescue, or lone wolf. You can change the amount of terrorists in each. You can also change the skill level, and MP maps are available in all but the first mentioned mode. I can play RS terrorist hunt and lone wolf forever, I can only imagine how much fun I'll have with Raven Shield's endless combinations. With its open-ended play style, it has literally infinite stock replayability.
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Overall/Conclusion- 10/10
An improvement over RS in most every way, even though I still play RS, the levels are simpler and have a certain charm. You will enjoy being able to immerse yourself into the action with more ease. A great game, I would try out RS first (its still a great game, very playable, pick up the combo pack with its expansion pack). Or just pick this one up if you'd like, if your very big on graphics. A solid buy, a great game, will keep you entertained until the fourth installment appears. Thanks, UBI!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/27/03