webword's Full Review: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six for Windows
Rainbow 6 has excellent visuals. The people look quite real, the landscapes are rendered very well, and the player movements are fluid. The sounds are also excellent. I have an Altec Lansing Powercube sound system, which includes a subwoofer. With this, the sounds are incredible. More than once I've jumped out of my seat when I heard gunshots! And, you hear people and sound around you in 3-D. In short, the game makes excellent use of your speakers.
I have a large 19" monitor and the game looks great on it. Of course I have a ripping video card so things look even better. However, I did test this on machines with smaller monitors and with simple 8 meg video cards and the game still worked well. You don't need the latest and greatest video -- but, of course, it does improve the game play.
The main strength of the game, and the main weakness, is the level of complexity and configurations you are given. They are many choices, and many ways of doing things. For example, to play the game at a basic level, you must use the keyboard and the mouse. There is no good way around this. Also, the default keyboard mapping doesn't really make sense. You'll need to configure the mapping or you will be at a disadvantage (e.g., I advise you to move the weapon and inventory item choices from the row of numbers at the top of the keyboard to the numeric key pad). You really can't move your fingers fast enough to switch from the heartbeat sensor to your weapon unless you make the change.
The other usability problem is that the mouse movements (which control your line of vision) and the arrow key movements (which control your movement) can be hard to use together. Running forward and moving the mouse can be disorienting. I've noticed that younger kids have a hard time with this. Which reminds me, this game is probably a bit too complex for kids under 12 or 13. They can play it, but it can take a while to learn so it'll turn kids off. You can adjust the level of blood if you'd like to set it up that way. This is good for the kids too. But, if you ask me, Rainbow 6 is an adult game.
The game puts you in control in many ways. You can choose team members (so you have folks to back you up), you can choose from several weapons, you can create plans, and much more. For instance, you decide if you should be carrying an M16 or a shotgun. Or some other weapon (there are plenty to choose from). Sometimes frag grenades work, and sometimes you'll need flashbangs. There is also a high level of strategy in the game. Tactics matter. You can’t just blast away. It can take several attempts to make it through a scenario, and your plans, weapons, and team members make a difference. To win, you must think and plan.
Summary: The overall ease of use is an issue, but once you become familiar with the controls and you have remapped everything, you'll be ready to rock and roll. It has adventure, strategy, and a good level of shoot-em-up entertainment. It is a solid game.
You can get a demo of the game (34 Mb) by going to the site listed below. On the right side of the screen you will see several web sites that you can directly get the demo from. Also, there are several excellent fan sites listed on this page.
--> http://www.redstorm.com/rainbow_six/news.html
I hope this helps!
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Tom Clancys Rainbow Six is a classic Clancy-style story where you lead an elite multinational task force battling international terrorism in highly re...More at eBay
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