Back in the olden times, when first person shooters were primarily PC affairs, there was Quake. And it was good. However, as time passed by, fans of blasting brand new eating holes into their foes sought new choices to feed their bloodlust. Roughly two years later, in 1998, Red Storm Entertainment released a brand new title, known solemnly as Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six. Buoyed by the Tom Clancy name and his brand of military story telling, Rainbow Six became a well known and loved shooter, and has received many expansion packs and sequels since. As far as the Xbox is concerned with this series, it was Rainbow Six 3 that really solidified Xbox Live, and gave the service it's busiest weekend ever when the title hit stores. It remained atop the Xbox Live charts until August of 2004, only to be toppled by the expansion pack, Black Arrow.

So here we are, a year removed from the release of Black Arrow, and we have before us Rainbow Six: Lockdown. After playing both the single player and multiplayer game, I can say, as a huge fan of Black Arrow there's a very good chance your going to walk away from this experience disappointed. Why? Read on.


Gameplay:

As with all non-Splinter Cell Clancy games, if you're looking for maximum fun in Lockdown, it's not to be found in the single player component. That is reserved in the multiplayer department which I will cover shortly. With no ideas of expecting the next Halo or Half-Life, the single player campaign can be a somewhat enjoyable romp, though not without a few shortcomings.

First and foremost, the once gripping and realistic experience that was Rainbow Six 3 and it's expansion are gone. Mind you, this is still a tactical affair, but you are offered much more freedom than you were in previous titles. For example, in Black Arrow should you open a door that happened to house terrorists behind it, there was a good chance you'd get pumped full of lead and restart the mission. In Lockdown, oppositely, when you open that door, you will not die. You will take a fair amount of damage, but nothing too serious. For fans of the series trademark realism, this could be a serious let-down. Also included is a new gadget known as the heartbeat detector. It's function is self explanatory, and when used, takes a lot of suspense away from those 'What's lurking around the corner' moments. However, Ubisoft did say that with Lockdown they wanted to create a more accessible game then their previous entires in the Rainbow Six series. If that's the case, then Lockdown is a success.

Secondly, the enemy and comrade AI is rather dumb. In fact one could argue that it borders on brain dead. Your counter-terrorism comrades take an excruciatingly long time to set up for smashing doors open, and just seem to get in your way at the worst time, most notably when you've recently hurled a grenade and are trying as hard as possible to avoid getting blown to bits. They are efficient most of the time, but there are slip-ups. And when they do happen, you'll be wondering if 'What the hell is wrong with you, you idiot!?!!?!' will register as a voice command. Of course, your enemies aren't micro biologists themselves, either. They, much like your teammates, are subject to a bout of delayed reaction times. Turn around a corner, and there's usually a one fourth chance that the bad guy sitting behind there will look at you or shoot you. It's good if you're hanging onto life by a thread, but it detracts from the experience.

A rare instance in which your A.I. teammates aren't screwing up.

These annoyances out of the way, Rainbow Six: Lockdown feels like playing an action packed military thriller, the closest to which I could compare it to would be Black Hawk Down. As you begin each mission, as is Rainbow Six tradition, you select the load out you'd like to use throughout the duration of the mission. While you may select an assault rifle for a mission you know will be fought in the streets, that shotgun just might sound more appealing within the confines of a terrorist stronghold. The weapon selection available, however, is not as diverse as it was in Black Arrow, though, especially as far as secondary weapons are concerned. What was once a wealth of pistols and submachine guns has become a meager selection of roughly five weapons. The most powerful pistol available, though, does pack some good punch, so you'll be fine. Also returning are the selection of grenades, which are now as easy as pie to toss. The weapons do lack the serious recoil they once had, so firing like a two year old can reap some results, though burst fire is still the best option available to you. All in all, the single player missions should keep you busy for a good ten hours.