Tom Clancy has become synonymous with Xbox as most of the writer endorsed titles have been widely received by the Xbox gaming masses. Less than one year ago we were all treated to the excellent Rainbow Six 3, the first in the series to appear on Xbox and following in the wake of the popular Ghost Recon. With its mix of terrorist campaigns and multiplayer support R63 proudly dominated the charts and many gamers consoles.

It seems that in today’s climate Ubisoft have adopted a quick product turn around, which in my opinion seems to be working. Ghost Recon was the first to get an updated title in GR: Island Thunder and then the short development times between Splinter Cell and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. Well now its R63’s turn as we are treated to another instalment in the series, Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow (R63:BA).

Gameplay

For those who have never played a Rainbow Six 3 game before, here is the premise. Players take the lead of a four man team of which you control the charismatic leader (Ding Chavez) in first person. The team is armed with a wide variety of modern day weapons such as M16’s, M4s Mp5s Shotguns, Sniper Rifles, pistols and a whole host of grenade and explosives. As a team your job is to diffuse a wide variety of missions across the globe which usually involve taking out a group of terrorists in some manner. The odd hostage rescue and bomb diffusions are thrown in as well to add more urgency. What this usually means are tense gun battles in confined areas such as buildings more than the open areas seen in Ghost Recon.

Right then that is that out of the way, now let’s talk about Black Arrow itself. I have been anticipating Black Arrow for quite some time and when the Fed Ex guy turned up last week I was elated that I was finally able to play the game. Being a big fan of single player missions and terrorist hunt I was disappointed at the lack of any new missions via Downloadable content for the original R63. Well my wait was over as I slapped the disk into the console and booted up. With a sense of familiarity I opted to begin my campaign on Elite.

The first thing I noticed was how comfortable I felt in the new locations whether it be the opening subway mission to an ancient ruins or military base. Players weaned on the first game will have no problems getting to grips with the game as the control method remains identical to the original. The voice commands make a welcome return for those who have a head set and it seems more commands have been given via the interface such as ordering your team to open a door rather than opening and clear. Black Arrow follows the same game play template as its predecessor so will take most players no time getting into the missions and getting out alive.

Other noticeable elements became apparent regarding the enemy movements or AI in mission mode. No longer are your foes fixed in predictable locations, where once the pattern is learnt you can breeze through with your eyes shut. This time terrorists have wider patrol patterns and react more effectively to any suspicious sounds so may jump out from somewhere you didn’t expect and fill you with lead. That said the awful scripted scenes or invisible trip wires return where events trigger when you reach a certain location every time you play taking some of the random element away. Terrorists now throw a wider variety of grenades such as Molotov cocktails, tear gas, flash bangs and frags and seemed better equipped overall especially when your team is under fire from several RPG wielding foes. These are small nuances but noticeable all the same and make for a more compelling single player game regardless of those scripted moments.

Terrorist Hunt returns in which players get to take out randomly placed terrorists across the 10 maps available using any equipment players choose. This part of the game is unchanged from the original but is still the crux of the single player experience for me.

Lone Wolf mode has been added from the PC versions however rather than simply have the same playing experience minus your team Ubi have added a time limit which counts down. Should your timer reach zero or you die then its game over. Players gain extra time when they take out terrorists, rescue one of the many hostages that litter the levels or disarm one of the many bombs. This makes for a fast paced action experience where players have to decide whether to rush a room and hope for the best or take their time and hopefully not take any damage, all the while keeping an eye on the clock.

What is also a new and welcome feature are the single player stats for the 3 modes. If you are lucky enough to be connected to Live then all your single player scores are uploaded to a scoreboard where you can check your skills against other players worldwide.

Graphics:

Black Arrow looks pretty much the same as the original R63 and I assume continues to use the unreal engine. However due to the nature of the environments there seems to be a lot more thought put into the maps which look less dark than the first game and more varied overall which is a big thumbs up. That said the graphics are the game’s weakest aspect and often look rather bland in places as some dull textures are used. However the game play is so intense that players won’t really pay much attention to the details. Movement and frames seemed to run relatively smoothly however I did notice a fair amount of slowdowns during the single player. Not really anything to worry about but there all the same.

Sound:

Sound is very minimal throughout as special ops don’t usually enter a building with a full orchestra in tow. Normal procedure is hearing your own footsteps and perhaps the mumblings of an alerted terrorist, followed by intense gunfire. The ambient sounds and commanders’ voice sound great as are the vocal terrorists, including those burning to death from a “Willie Pete” grenade. Your team have their own lines of dialogue during some missions to give some sort of personality to the team however this falls on deaf ears as we simply don’t care, well I don’t anyways. Gun sounds are all authentic as best as you would expect with out actually firing one yourself to compare making Black Arrow one quiet yet noisy game.

Longevity:

This is one of R63’s major strengths, as a key LIVE title and well respected by many players regardless of its known glitches. Multiplayer fans of all types will not be disappointed as over 20 maps (including some classics from the original) are supported across several game types including the all new retrieval and conquest modes. These are effectively domination and capture the flag type games which most people are familiar with from other multiplayer titles. Set in the R63 world these modes work rather well and offer a more fast paced game. However spawn camping is possible here which will no doubt upset a number of players.

Black Arrow is one of the first titles to make use of the new Live 3.0 features, which includes voice/text messaging and the much touted clan support. This feature allows any player the option of designing a team name, logo, motto and tag. Then one can recruit members and appoint them positions within the clan. Once formed clans can then create challenges with other clans using the competition mode.

Sadly these features are for LIVE subscribers only, however UBI have included a split screen co –op mode where two players can link up using the same console and TV. This is a welcome addition to the game and was much needed in the original. System link is supported as well for the rich or those who set up these events. With all the options available here for both single and multi player there is enough here to keep most players occupied for quite some time.

Overall:

Black Arrow is a worthwhile purchase for those who are new to the game and are looking for something that offers a complete package. Black Arrow will also appeal to seasoned vets who are looking for more killing fields to test their mettle. While not being a far departure from the less than year old original, the new additions will reawaken those old feelings again as you battle terrorist scum or human adversaries once more. My only real concerns are the lack of any new additions or features from the more adult PC version. The invisible trip wires in the single player and graphically not offering any improvements at all. The all important game play remains the same and is just as enjoyable which is what really counts.

It does seem that the title is more geared towards the LIVE user to get the most out of the game yet it still offers those without, something to mess around with. Launched at a lower price than most new titles I would say Black Arrow is a bargain and a worthy purchase in general if you like a more tactical first person shooter.