Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six

"A slightly iffy conversion can't hide the fact that this game is a classic"

Set in roughly the present day, Rainbow Six stunned PC players way back in 1998 when it was came out. Although from the outside it looked like a slightly dull FPS, Rainbow Six was in fact one of the most strategic, intelligent and above all, most realistic games on the market. You played as any one member of a crack team of anti-terrorist operatives who must enter numerous globe-trotting situations to save the day from various terrorism.

Where it differs greatly from any other FPS is the fact that you must plan your way through each mission before you get anywhere near a gun. From the ''Planning Phase'', players must choose their squad from the soldiers available, choose all the gear they're going to need and then plot each of the individual teams course through the vicinity. Here you're faced with a map and you must plant waypoints through it, that your team will follow to acheive their goal. At first I was just baffled with all this and really had no idea what to do. As such I used the Default Plan (which is available for all your missions) and soon found that my entire team had been annihalated in moments. Doh. However once you've given the level a practice, you can then start plotting your plan through the mission and in know time you'll be doing it like a pro.

Make no mistake, Rainbow Six is pretty damn hardcore - it's certainly one that you can't just dive into. Aside from the whole nature of the planning, the actual action phase where you get to control the soldier of your choice ain't easy either. Wander into a room with all guns blazing and you'll be going home in a body bag. The trick is to sneak around, check every room and have catlike reflexes to react to a threat the very micro-second it appears. Whilst all this may sound horribly unenjoyable for a game and more like a military training sim, give it time and it'll take you over. At first I admit I repeatedly botched the thing and got 5 of my 6 soldiers slaughtered (they stay dead as well - you won't be able to use them again on later missions) and basically decided I hated the game. But then I picked it up again recently and decided to give it another go - and lo and behold I loved it. It really does seem to gradually take you over, to the point when you spend all day dreaming up new strategies... well maybe that's just me, but you get the idea. Nicely, there's absolutely loads of training missions (27!) to gradually introduce you to all the elements of gameplay and the actual game itself features 16 huge missions (including the Eagle Watch add-on missions from the PC version).

So then, we've established that it's a highly enjoyable and rewarding game, so how well did they convert it to the Dreamcast? Well from the outset the controls are rather baffling - there's 35 different commands mapped onto the pad. Needless to say it's all rather confusing at first and you'll have to keep the manual open during gameplay. Over time though pressing L+Start+A to send your alpha team into battle will become second nature... Sadly though, there's no support for keyboard and mouse, which is a real shame. Even so though, given time and you'll get used to the setup. Another questionable area of the conversion if the lack of multi-player - given this games lengthly development time, not to mention the fact that even the N64 version had this option, you've got to wonder just what's going on.

Graphically it's something of an ugly duckling. There are some nice touches - your soldiers look and move very well - but on the whole it's all rather bland and drab looking. The interiors just seem flat and the textures are pretty dire. The exteriors fair much better, but are hardly spectacular. It seems a permament problem of Dreamcast games that use Windows CE. The sound though is very good. The voice acting during the extensive pre-mission briefings are very well done and the shouts and cries of soldiers and weapon sounds during the action phase are all very well done.

Whilst it's not a spectacular looking game and certainly doesn't fall into any ''pick up and play'' categories, there's no doubt that Rainbow Six is a gamers game. In terms of a rewarding experience, little comes close to seeing all the planning you painstakingly input, all working perfectly and you completing a tough mission without so much as a soldier getting wounded. Sometimes you even wish you that you didn't have to play as a soldier and want to just sit back and watch the action unfold. All in all then, whilst some elements of the conversion are questionable and it looks pretty ugly, there is no way on earth that you can let this get in the way of one of the most absorbing and rewarding gameplay experiences there is. Give this title time and I guarantee that you'll love it.

GRAPHICS - 5/10 - Your team look great, but everything else is bland and flat looking and very dodgily textured. Disappointing, although the frame rate is ok.

SOUND - 8/10 - No music thankfully and the in-game sound is tremendously atmospheric. The voice acting ain't half bad either. A good all-rounder on this score.

GAMEPLAY - 9/10 - Will serve to alienate many with its complexity, but those who give it time will unearth one of the finest video gaming experiences there is. Realistic, involving and utterly immersive.

LIFESPAN - 7/10 - All things considered, the lack of multi-player is rather harming, but there's 16 huge missions that you'll want to play through many times, not to mention the 27 training missions.

OVERALL - 9/10 - It must be said that in spite of a slightly lacklustre conversion to the Dreamcast, Rainbow Six is an enjoyable enough title to make its purchase an absolute must. I emplore everyone to experience this game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/28/03, Updated 01/28/03