Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3

"The best reason to own Xbox Live!"

I will be reviewing Rainbow Six 3 for the Xbox, my main basis on this interview will be based mostly on my online foray in this game. So lets get started!

Gameplay The meat and bones of any game, Rsix3 does not disappoint in this area. There are about 6 modes of play, both CO-Op and Adversary. The CO-Op modes are Terrorist Hunt and Mission. Any mission you play in the offline game can be played with up to 4 friends on Live. The adversary games are Survival, Team Survival, Sharpshooter and Team Sharpshooter. There are about 12 different maps for co-op and 14 maps for Adversary. But before you start any mission or shootout you have to select your gear. You have 4 slots to fill with gear, 1 primary, 1 side arm, 2 secondary. Your primary weapons are assault rifles, sub machine guns and sniper rifles. The sidearm you carry can range from 9mm to a Desert Eagle to a Grenade launcher. Secondary items consist of Grenades, Gas masks, and Explosives. Any player is sure to find a combo of weaponry to suit there play style. I'm quite partial to the M16 AR, Deagle, Smoke Nade and Willy Pete. The control scheme is about perfect and takes a little getting used to, but you should get the hang of it within a hour or two. Gameplay is great, the animation is fluid, fun factor is high and rag doll physics are top notch. With that being said the main reason why I liked Rsix3 so much is the realism. Though not totally life like but you run at normal speeds, can't jump around like a rabbit, and if try a action hero approach you likely be pwned 7 times over. The enemy AI is no slouch either, without cover or tactics you are as good as dead

Story I didn't get much into the single player campaign but the story starts out with OPEC banning oil trade with the US. Venezuela defies the banning and imports to the US. Then Terrorist cells take action against Venezuela and the RSix team is called into action.

Graphics Graphics are a two fold path, You got great character models with rag doll physics. Then you got the map textures and backgrounds. The textures are rather dull but they get the job done. The only redeeming factor is the doors. Doors can be blown up, shot out or obliterated, I just wish the rest of the environments were this interactive. The lighting and shading is also AAA quality, it uses the same engine as splinter cell which produces some amazing shadows and lighting effects.

Replayability The single player campaign can be beat in about 12 hours depending on skill and difficulty level. But most of your time is will be spent on Xbox Live you can play any offline mission online and can duke it out with up to 16 of your best friends or enemies. I have put about 50 hours total into live play and have no signs of quitting any time soon. Plus two maps are ready for download already, I see this game lasting a long time.

Final Recommendation If your a fan of FPS or a Online fanatic this is definitely a must buy. If you don't have live or tactic fps really aren't your flavor it is worth a rental to play through the awesome single player campaign. Either way you won't be disappointed

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/26/03