The Rainbow Six series is the true benchmark of tactical action games. While Red Storm Entertainment still seem content to cash in on the success of the series at large with expansion pack after expansion pack, people have been chomping at the bit for an update. And so finally Raven Shield has arrived. Moving the genre along nicely, it’s not any different from the original Rainbow Six, but is definitely something more.
Rules of Engagement
The story threaded into the game this time around revolves around a Neo-fascist plot to rule the world. Your average storyline then, but then that’s not why people play Rainbow Six. While a story is nice and everything, you certainly don’t think twice about it as the game progresses, and the missions don’t seem to follow on with it either.
The gameplay itself is much more than a sedate walk-around this time and Red Storm seem to have nailed it on the head finally. Even though you move cautiously at times, there is still a great sense of urgency about the whole game, and you’ll often find yourself double-timing to locations even when there is no call for it, simply because you want to get to your position before your support team moves in, or before the terrorists make their checks.
Tango Down
Once you do get into a fight, you’ll love it. The gunfights, while usually over within split-seconds, are atmospheric and tense, as a single bullet will wound you to the level where you find it hard to aim and move reliably, and one or two more will mean you are down and out for the count.
It’s all about precision timing, accuracy and planning. The terrorists react to visual inputs (shadows moving, for example) and audio (running, etc) inputs, and check their areas thoroughly, often resulting in your having to silence the suspect with a pistol or other silenced weapon so he doesn’t give away your position.
The other excellent inclusion this time around is the addition of a context-sensitive interface once in-game. For example, point at a door and an icon pops up for your team to open it. Hit the action key and you issue the order to open the door. However, more detailed orders can be given by holding the action key, at which point a menu opens, allowing you to choose more options such as ‘Slice The Pie’ (open door a little and look in), ‘Open and Flash’, ‘Open and Grenade’, and a whole list of other options. Do the same to something like a point on the floor over the other side of a room, and your team will move there and secure the area on their own without you worrying about how they will get there.
Doing the same again, on a surrendered terrorist will tell your team to cuff him. The system is so well-implemented that after about 10 minutes of usage, you won’t even notice yourself using it anymore, you just do it.
Sights Hot
Speaking of atmosphere, it just wouldn’t be possible without the superb new graphics. Red Storm’s own engine was moved aside for Raven Shield, and the love that is Unreal Technology was pulled over and integrated to awesome effect. Textures are nice and sharp, animations smooth as a baby’s undercarriage and the rag doll effects add something more to the game.
Sniping a terrorist from the top of a construction site and watching him plummet down a set of pylons and metal bars, bending past each one, is something you will want to do again and again. Even something simple like storming a room is turned into a theatrical ballet as bodies hang limp over railings, desks and filing cabinets. Top quality stuff.
Heartbeat Sensor
All this though would mean nothing if it wasn’t for the mood of the sound in-game. A stirring symphony kicks in during loading, riling you up for the operation ahead. Once in-game though it’s all ears as you listen for enemy suspects patrolling, talking and coughing. Even the slightest clink of a door handle will give away a position, whether it’s you or them making the noise.
This can also be used to your advantage, luring guards away from their posts with a shot across to the far end of the room with a silenced weapon. As they turn their backs, you can move in and take them down. The tactical options in this game are endless thanks to the excellent sound system.
Operational Procedure
Now whether you love it or hate it, the planning stage is still in with all its detailed glory. Personally, I think it’s an essential part of the game, and makes it so much better overall. Many people however, do not like it, and Red Storm have addressed this also in Raven Shield (Yes, that’s right, they DO listen!).
The planning stage now is in three different modes, depending on how you prefer playing your tactical games. The first mode is full-on, hardcore, untouched Rainbow Six mode, which allows you to set up your teams, give rules of engagement, set waypoints and go-codes and all the rest which makes up the planning of a tactical operation. The second is a semi-automatic mode, which will allow you to load up a pre-built plan, with weapon selection, procedures and waypoints all set up already. You can still edit this, but mainly it is exactly spot on for the mission, and worth using if you’re a bit confused on what route to take.
The third and final mode is Action Mode, which means you have a team selected for you with weapons depending on the team they are in (Red and Green teams are Close Quarters Battle (CQB) teams, while Gold team is a sniper team), and you have no plan made for you; You simply implement your own plan on the fly in-game.
The planning mode will allow you to walk through the map in a 3D viewer, allowing you to see the route your plan takes once implemented, which is also a useful tool.
Show Me Your Briefs!
Your briefing before the planning comes in by means of three different people. Your first is an overview briefing, given by the head of operations for Rainbow Six. She will fill you in on the overall view of the operation, what to expect and how to deal with it, broadly.
The second brief is from your Tactical Operations Manager, who will give you tips on what to use to deal with the situation and how you should go about it. The third and final brief is done by a psychiatrist for Rainbow Six, who analyses why the terrorists are doing this, how they did it, and the motivation for following it through, although I’m not sure on the accent Red Storm chose for the psychiatrist, as it breaks the mood of the game a little for me.
Overall, you are not left wanting in information, and often the information you receive will help in planning and execution.
Mission Complete
Overall, Raven Shield is the best yet of the Rainbow Six series. Some may argue it is more of the same, just with a better engine, but many would reply, “So? It’s what we want!”. In my opinion, ‘If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it!’ comes into play here, and I would gladly recommend Raven Shield to anyone who is a fan of good first-person shooters.
Pros
Great graphics
Awesome sound system
Intelligent AI
Context-sensitive in-game interface
Cons
Voice of psychiatrist is so off-putting
Storyline is poor
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PC Games
