Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3

"The Best Tactical FPS since SOCOM"

Rainbow Six 3 is the most fun offline shooter that has come along in years. Anyone who doesn't at least give it a try cannot call themselves a FPS fan.

Gameplay:
Gameplay is to me the most important part of any game. R63 has some of the most fun gameplay in any game for quite awhile. It has the expected ''move along stealthily and kill everything that moves'' sections, but there is also a lot more than that. These are punctuated by some hostage rescuing, timed run'n'guns, and the much loathed pure stealth sections. The gameplay never gets too repetitive, which is a good thing.
9/10

Levels:
The levels are varied enough that you never feel like it's just another rehash of another level. They are also detailed and well laid out. That's the good news. The bad news is that, for the most part, they are completely linear. That is, no place with many wide open places. Snipers are almost always useless in small areas, which is where you are 95% of the time.
7/10

A.I.:
You have three teammates to whom you can give some basic orders to, and who aren't too stupid. They act semi-realistically, only occasionally jumping in front of my firing gun. The enemies start out as rifle fodder, but eventually evolve into respectable marksman. Their awareness on the stealth sections could be toned down a little though.
7/10

Weapons:
Well, there is a good selection of weapons here. You have your pistols, your sniper rifles, your assault rifles, your machine guns, your submachine guns, and your grenades. You want it, this game has it. And unlike SOCOM, you can use un-silenced weapons without certain mission failure. My favorite? The MP5.
9/10

Sound:
The sound in the cutscenes is great, as is the menu music. The in-game voices are okay, except for your boss, who tends to talk too much. Even the accents are well done. A little more music would have been nice. Maybe an option to turn it off for those who don't want it.
7/10

Graphics:
The cutscenes and intro video are purely beautiful. I'm pretty sure that this game uses the same graphics engine as Splinter Cell, which guarantees stunning lighting and explosions. The character models are okay, but nothing to write home about. The environments are nicely detailed, with little touches everywhere.
8/10

Replayability:
Well, the levels are decent enough to warrant a couple of run-throughs, but the multiplayer adds a whole new dimension to the game. If you're offline (like me) then maybe just rent it. If you have a lot of friends (also like me), then definitely buy. The included custom missions are nice, but they aren't horribly different from the normal missions themselves.
4/10 (offline, no friends)
10/10 (online, lots of friends)

Rent/Buy:
If you live completely isolated from the outside world, then you should just rent it, as you will probably be finished with it after five days. If you live in a town square, then definitely buy.
Rent for solo, buy for multiplayer

Total Package:
A great game with only a few detractors. It's a blast for anyone to play, but especially those with a network adaptor. Buy for the action, stay for the fun. I'll stop now, as my MP5 is calling.
8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/06/04