"Rainbow Six Lockdown is one of the better Rainbow Six games in the series, but they kinda messed up the characters and their uniforms :\"

Genre: FPS (first person shooter)

Whats new to the series?
The first thing you will notice are the main characters and the terrorists. Ding (the main person who you will play as) looks different, so does Price. And they gave the squad plastic eye guards and S.W.A.T. style uniforms. And the terrorists look young, too young, like someone you might expect to see in a highschool (and we all know most highschool students are not well organized terrorist groups :p ) Other then that, the graphics are improved a bit and look more PSX-ish than N64-ish. Also the menus, the weapons, and what it looks like when your low on health has changed (when your low on health the screen gets neat looking bullet holes in it). And lastly, they added the sniper mode (see the gameplay section of this review for more details).

Story line: 7/10
For a military style shooter the story is typical, terrorists have gotten hold of a super virus called "legion", legion, Unlike your typical virus, spreads ULTRA fast and kill within minutes of contrition. So "Rainbow Six" an elite military squad containing the best soldiers from around the world are sent to various places to try and thwart the terrorists plans.

Gameplay: 9/10
As with all Rainbow Six games, you are inserted into urban areas most of the time. You must move to your objective, be it to be securing hostages are disarming a bomb. You will always need to move slowly and with caution, you can take a few 'rounds (bullet shots) to the body because your wearing Kevlar (body armor). But a good majority of the time, one to two hits kills. You will need to use everything at your disposal with great skill, at times you may need to throw a flash grenade around a corner to stun the enemies, this gives you advantage, and a skill they don't --sight. Sometimes you will need to do something similar in an open area and use smoke grenades to reduce visibility, then you can switch on one of your two visions, Thermal Goggles, and take the enemy down. But even when you have cover enemies will shoot into the cloud of dark smoke, so you will always need to be quick to the draw and first to fire. Rainbow Six Lockdown also includes an interesting new mode of play, in which you are the lone sniper providing cover for the rest of the Rainbow Six team. The sniper missions really could have used some improvement, they are very fun, but it feels too much like "Silent Scope," the areas are always too clean and bright in the sniper missions, they do have some that aren't too bad, but the bad ones out weigh the good ones. The multi player, on the other hand is superb, setting an ambush for some Rainbow Six newbies has never bead so fun! But you will always need to stay on guard, people of INSANE skill lurk X-Box live. Overall Rainbow Six Lockdown has far more pros than cons.

Graphics: 8/10
The graphics are improved over the old Rainbow Six games, the areas look much more detailed, and the areas are better designed. The characters look funny, but they to are far more detailed. The lighting effects are also well done, you can see beams of light filtering through smoke, and even the flickering of a candle or lantern. But as with any game I found two main flaws, the bricks, along with most other walls and stones, look painted and very grainy. From far away it looks good, but your bound to be leaning over a corner and catch a glimpse of some ugly walls. Also the main flaw is, the areas don't feel real. Something about them lacks "life," the areas, and even some of the enemies don't seem like they are really there, I can't place exactly what makes it feel like that, but thats how it is. Other than that, the cut scenes are well done, and the explosions are well done.

Sound Effects / Music: 10/10
You can't look anywhere else and find sound any better than this. Rainbow Six Lockdown puts most games to shame when it comes to the sound effects. Each and every detail was put into this game. When Leather boots walk and metal you can hear it bending and stretching like in real life. Between two kinds of carpets you can tell the slight changes in how they sound. And the gun fire sounds extremely life like. Each weapon makes it's own unique sound, and even the explosions vary from one grenade to another. If the graphics were as good as the sound this game would make Resident Evil 4 look like Advent Rising! Other than the sound effects, the music is very clear but it's not my style. It's typical military game music. Overall I give the sound effects a ten, and the music an eight.

Replay Value: 8/10
The game will take you quite a few hours to beat, and once the game is clear you will want to play again to find the hidden "Intel" you've missed. The game has a way of drawing you into it's world and keeping you there. Sadly though, once you clear what ever mission you are on the bond you have to the game is broken, at least until you start the next mission. I'd say this game has above average replay value, but it's not bizarrely high.

Overview: 8/10
Rainbow Six Lock down is a great addition to the Rainbow Six series. The graphics are well done, the new sniper missions could have been better, but they provide some variety to the game. The sound effects are insane and have a very high level of detail. And the music, though it may not be what everyone likes, is still well done and well placed. Also, it's Rainbow Six, so you can expect some good times with the multi player. Overall, being a fan of the series, I would like to give it a nine. But I can see it's only worthy of an eight, out of ten

Rent or Buy?
If you play the demo at a store you know what to expect, if you like what you see buy the game. If not, it's still worth a rent.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/09/05