"Read 'coz I rap O_o"

Don't make the monumental error of coming to Rainbow Six expecting a speedy, action-packed firstperson gunfest in the style of soldier of fortune or Half-Life. This is military accuracy gone mad. A bloated chest-swelling, gun-toting, flag-waving experience where every aspect is panned to the most finite detail with a degree of organisation usually reserved for wars, weddings and family holidays.
Thankfully, though, you're gently guided through every facet of the game's design; starting with the comprehensive manual and continuing with Rainbow Six's detailed in-game help facility. There's also a training mode that covers over 20 mini-missions to get you used to moving your teams around, the weapons you carry and the kind of challenges you'll be facing when the game begins in earnest.

Tough enough?
With training completed, cocky bravado will make make you think you're ready for the game itself. But this is when the difficulties actually begin. There's a multitude of options and you planning to work through before you even get close to any real action.

Each mission starts off with a briefing from control on the actual tasks needed to complete it, plus extra info from your commander and any civilians linked to the troubles. After pouring over these, you go on to intelligence where you can find out more about the people helping you and the targets you're assigned to 'cleanse'. You're then given the opportunity to read up on any news reports of previous mission successes. We're still pn the easy part, by the way, as things are going to get a whole lot more confusing.

Parle vous anglais?
Selecting the 6 squad members for your team is the next job. The game will kindly often choose the perfect people for the job at hand, but you're well within your rights to change the personnel at will.. For example, if the next mission requires careful defusing of missles, then it's wise to think about roping in a bomb disposal expert to help out. Also, in keeping in realism with the title, if a soldier dies in action, then they're out for the entire game, so it pays to keep your better fighters well protected.
With a team prepared, it only remains to pick the weapons for the operation. Again, most of this is done automatically so (especially in the first few missions) you needn't worry too much. Each soldier will carry a primary weapon (usually a semi-automatic gun) and a secondary one (a hand-gun fitted with a silencer for those more difficult, stealthier missions), plus a couple of useful items like grenades. After your team is assigned into their four coloured groups, it's on to the meat of the mission - the planning. This is where your nervous breakdown will probably begin as a confusing pattern of multi-coloured lines and arrows spew out over the mission maps. If you're scared of responsibility (*coughmencough*), you can choose to load a set plan, but the real fun of the game is working out the routes of each of the computer-controlled teams in the game and then carefully planning where they should stop and where they need to take control.

3,2,1...lift off
Finally, we come to the action. You start off controlling the leader of the whole mission and your group (usually just one other soldier), while the other three teams (computer-controlled) run off along their created paths from the planning phase. In a style not dissimilar to Metal Gear Solid, your main aim is to remain undetected and, when spotted, to shoot first and ask questions later.
You can switch between a first and a third-person view and through a clever combination of the d-pad and triggers, everything from the changing weapons and views to bringing up the map and issuing orders is done with alot more simplicity than the PC incarnation.

Euston, we have a problem
People familiar with previous versions will the mourn the passing of the multiplayer options (even the N64 version had a two=player mode). And another flaw is the significant amount of slowdown that plagues the game when the screen becomes jam-packed.
But these complaints aside, Rainbow six is an incredibly involving and fairly unique strategic shoot 'em up. Almost half your time will be spent just planning and setting up the mission before you can even think about setting foot on enemy soil. But there's a genuine thrill to be had from seeing the plans you've created in action as your teams slowly penetrate an enemy stronghold before quietly escaping with a group of hostages.

It may be getting on a bit, and it's not quite up to standard with Hidden and Dangerous, but this absorbing and detailed game game will still delight those who require a bit of military intelligence in their war games.

Graphics - A simple simple PC port, but the visuals are mostly smoothed and detailed

Sound - Not a lot. The odd effect and plenty of radio noise from the other teams.

Gameplay - Slow but very enjoyable. Planning missions is almost as much fun as carrying them out.