Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3

"Best Xbox Live game, and ALOMST best shooter.."

Rainbow Six. The pinnacle of great army based games. This is the third game in the series, and its finally on Xbox! This game is just simply awesome. Whether you have Xbox Live or not this game is sweet. But for the full experience make sure you have Xbox live, or at least a communicator for offline play. This game is a great game and worth buying an Xbox for, for the following reasons.....

What is it?
A FPS(first person shooter) set in the near future(as most Tom Clancy games are) and involves terrorists, a team of special troops, and some kick-ass gunplay. Rainbow Six takes realistic weapons and scenarios and makes them pure shooting fun.

Graphics 10/10-
I must say that these graphics are truly amazing. There must be something in the water over at Ubisoft Montreal(where the game was programmed) because it seems everything we see from them looks photo realistic. The lighting in this game is awesome. Just as good(if not better) than Splinter Cell. You can see peoples shadows from around corners. The characters look like real men. From the faces to the way they move. If I wasn't holding a controller I would think that I was watching a movie. There are also some truly sweet effects in this game. If you're unfortunate enough to not be wearing a gas mask and run into a gas grenade you will be treated to a cool graphics effect where your whole vision gets blurred. You'll be wowed at the graphics when this happens(in fact the first time it happened to me I was so amazed that I forgot some punk was shooting me in the back). Then there are the flashbang effects. If you are not careful you'll run into a flashbang grenade. If you look at it and it explodes your vision will turn white and you will lose hearing and seeing for a couple seconds. Overall the graphics are just amazing.

Sound 10/10-
This is also amazing. Man, all of the guns sound just like the real thing. The Mac 11's really show off the great sound in this game. You wont belive the gun effects in this game until you hear them. Also, this game has great voice acting. Your teamates offline will talk to you when you get new objectives or give orders. The sound really add to the game. I feel like i'm actually a real soldier giving out commands and getting briefed. Another place where the sound shines are things like helicopter sounds. There is one mission where you are dropped by a helicopter and it just sounds amazing. You can also add a point(making it 11/10!) if you have a 5.1 surround sound system.

Control 10/10-
Control in this game is great. The normal FPS controls are here. Right stick is aim, left stick is move. Aiming is quick and precise in this game. If you haven't played games like Halo or Unreal(all 3 of you!) then you will have to learn the controls, but if you have played them, then you will feel right at home. Aiming is also realistic in the way that if you are moving, youre aiming will get smaller(thereby diminishing youre chance of getting a solid hit) and it will make you think twice about running and gunning.

Overall 10/10-
This game is truly amazing and deserves to be bough by each and every owner of an Xbox. If you dont have this game, get it. It is really great. A realistic military experience and just plain fun. Rainbow Six 3 is without a doubt one of the best FPS's ever. Get this game. NOW!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/08/04