Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 Review

Developer	Ubi Soft Montreal
Publisher	Ubi Soft
Genre	Tactical Shooter

After the highly touted Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Ubi Soft has become somewhat of a sensation among next generation developers. With quality titles that developers actually take the time to polish for the target console, Ubisoft’s Montreal-based studio fostered a devout following of gamers. The company now looks to bolster their growing reputation and increase that fanbase with their latest game, Rainbow Six 3, a release that has very little in common with the PC version that hit stores earlier this year.

Gameplay - Rainbow Six 3 throws gamers into the role of team leader Domingo “Ding” Chavez, who PC gamers (and Tom Clancy readers) will recognize from past games and novels. As the leader of an elite international counterterrorist unit in the year 2007, gamers travel through the game’s levels with three AI controlled teammates – at least in the single player version, we’ll get to the multiplayer action in a minute.

In the single player game, gamers use either two basic buttons or the Xbox Live Communicator (the game will also ship in a variant package that includes a headset) to control the action. Using the Communicator is as simple as it gets, gamers simply speak the orders. Though at first it feels a bit awkward to be talking to the television, the system works very well – even in the heat of battle.

The A button functions as a context-sensitive orders button. For example, looking towards a door and tapping the A button will result in the team executing the “open and clear” order. If you look at an open doorway though, tapping the A button results in the team moving through it and into the next room. Look at a bomb and tap A – a teammate moves in to disarm it, all very basic stuff.

To add some depth, there is an additional command menu that can be brought up by simply holding the A button, which will allow for more detailed orders. The radial menu for a closed door, for example, will allow gamers to choose a number of options. “Open, flash and clear”, for example, causes the team to open the door and toss in a flashbang, then storm the room, while “breach and clear” is used to blow the door. Breaching doors is especially handy when used as a diversion while entering from another entrance, something made possible by holding the right trigger to issue a “zulu” command, where the order isn’t executed until a signal is given. Zulu commands are a key element to keeping the risk of casualties down.

In a refreshing change from the all too typical “companion AI” in games, the AI here isn’t stupid and teammates execute orders in a precise and orderly manner that won’t put them at unnecessary risk. They provide cover for teammates opening doors or placing charges, and generally act in a manner that reflects their status as highly trained soldiers. One thing to note is that teammates are highly trained, but they’re trained as a four person unit. That means that gamers aren’t able to sit back and simply issue orders, they have to get in there and get their hands dirty.

To that end, you’ll be carrying weapons – lots of weapons. While the selection of armaments isn’t as formidable or customizable as the PC version, there are still a decent selection of guns to play with. Gamers can choose to take the default kit, which typically is well suited for the mission, or pick and choose from available weapons to better suit their style.

That “style”, or lack thereof, will be tested across 14 levels, which travel to a variety of international locales. Gamers start out in Switzerland before moving to Croatia, the USA, and Venezuela. There’s even a stop at the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans and a visit to an office complex in Montreal – Ubisoft Montreal keeping things close to home perhaps?

There are a variety of ways to play through those levels in multiplayer, with cooperative Mission and Terrorist Hunt modes. Mission mode is pretty self explanatory – gamers travel through each of the 14 missions with up to three human teammates. Terrorist Hunt is somewhat similar to a Ghost Recon Firefight, where the team enters the map with the goal of eliminating all terrorists inhabiting it. In each mode, setting up proper room invasions and maneuvering carefully is key to victory against AI that, thanks to adaptive AI routines, won’t always react the same way. Fights are short and brutal, with death resulting from only one or two hits. In Rainbow Six 3, as in real life, a firefight is generally won by the side that initiated it, so care must be taken to avoid falling prey to ambushes.

Those ambushes are fairly prevalent in the adversarial modes of play: Survival, Team Survival, and Sharpshooter. Survival and Team Survival are the basic “try to outlive the opposition” modes of play. Sharpshooter is a basic deathmatch mode with respawning, where the player who ends the round with the most kills is declared the winner. The competitive modes support up to 16 players, with several Microsoft-hosted dedicated servers (named Xservers) currently online that are more than up to the task. There’s no telling how long those will be offered, so if there’s an open slot – grab it. Online play is definitely a strong selling point for RS3 and the game could very well fuel some Xbox Live subscriptions; there’s even level already available for download. There’s no split screen, which is bound to anger some gamers, but the game does support System Link – so all night LAN sessions are virtually guaranteed.

Graphics - The graphics are a combination of character models and animations that are merely well-done, and lighting that is simply incredible. The models don’t compare to those in the top tier of Xbox graphics, being a bit simple and having animation that occasionally doesn’t flow very well. The variety of animations makes up for this however, with a large number of incidental animations like teammates covering their eyes in anticipation of a flashbang – teammates in multiplayer cooperative matches even have their lips moving when the person is talking.

The environments more than make up for the only slightly above-average character models. Each of the varied levels is of a decent size and sports well detailed surroundings with some well done textures, some average textures, and some pretty mediocre ones. The lighting, which is the rival of that in Splinter Cell, also helps create the illusion of realism, with inky shadows that help heighten the sense of danger. The intricate shadowing also helps everything seamlessly fit into the game world, which greatly increases the immersion. Levels are, more often than not, fairly dark – which works to hide those textures that aren’t quite as good as the rest. The game joins all but a handfull of Xbox titles in featuring support for 480p resolution. Gamers with a HDTV or a VGA box will, of course, find the graphics look even more impressive in this mode.

Sound - The biggest boon to immersion is, hands down, the excellent sound work done. With support for Dolby Digital sound, the game is a virtual paradise of shouting, gunfire, ricochets, and explosions. AI-controlled teammates are vocal during the game, warning of things like incoming hostiles or just spouting off when they’ve been waiting in one spot for too long.

It can be tough to determine where hostile fire is coming from during a pitched battle, with gunfire from teammates echoing all around in addition to the ricochets from enemy shots – but that’s also where the game’s audio shines the brightest. The level of immersion is undeniable, hearing footsteps from behind, or worse, the priming of a grenade, will set the heart of many a gamer racing.

The single most intriguing element of the game’s audio is the way it uses spatial sound to determine where voices come from. Teammates that aren’t in the vicinity are only audible using the Communicator earpiece, while people nearby – teammate or enemy – can be heard through the speakers on the television. This effect is a bit spooky and definitely amps up the sense of danger, especially when listening to enemies approaching.

Overall Value - If Splinter Cell hears Rainbow Six 3 coming, it better move on over - the top spot for the single player military strategy/action title has been taken, by a first person shooter no less. With great visuals and outstanding audio, a control scheme that’s both intuitive and thorough, and a combination of solo and multiplayer longevity – this is one of the best on the Xbox. Highly recommended for offline play, and a must have for those with Xbox Live.

Review by Rod Oracheski