Reviews / previews
You didn't have to reach the end of this Rainbow to
find gold. In Rainbow Six, gold was everywhere. It
was in the teeth-clenched multiplayer mode. It was in
the way I controlled my breathing--as if I was really on
the job in an anti-terrorism unit. It was in the
darkness under the stairs and around the next corner,
and in that odd protrusion up ahead. An enemy gun
muzzle? A friendly elbow? Or just an odd protrusion?
As the Rainbow Six follow-up, Rogue Spear, nears
release, publisher Red Storm has returned to 1998's
ground-breaking 3D squad game with results that
re-validate the game's success. The wordily-titled
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Gold Pack Edition
consists of the original release, the Eagle Watch
add-on and a strategy guide that covers both.
The game and its add-on have aged well. They are
every bit as resilient and as entertaining as they were
last fall.
Rainbow Six was a solid foundation. It wasn't just a
shoot-em-up. It wasn't just a strategy game. Its
planning mode made you think about the 3D world
before you stepped into it, and your presence within
the 3D world was richly participatory because you'd
put it in order in advance. There is nothing like being
in a place where
the passers-by are
passing by
because you
instructed them to
do so. This
shooter, if shooter
it was, was about something. It mattered.
The Eagle Watch add-on was more of a
great game. Sometimes, that's all we
want. But, beyond the usual array of new
missions, weapons and operatives, it also
provided a set of stern training exercises that repaired the rather ordinary
ones in the original and an over-watch mode that allowed you to monitor your
troopers without the burdens of playing a partand helped you learn why
things worked or fell down.
Finally, Prima's 225-page guide is thorough, specific and graphically vivid.
(The index is a nice touch.)
Now, the game could use some work. The AI still seems flimsy. Too many
terrorists just stand around and react to the player at the moment of
confrontation. I'd like to see more flexibility and coordination on the other side.
But this is an issue of fine-tuning, and doesn't significantly affect Rainbow
Six's intensity. This is a must. This is pure gold.-- Peter Olafson / GamePro
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