For people who don’t know about Tom Clancy’s franchise, Rainbow Six 3 was brought over from the PC (Raven Shield) but not the exact game, it included some of the maps. Tom Clancy had one of the most successful franchises with Rainbow Six, and the trend continues not to disappoint fans of the genre. The game still uses the same game engine from Rainbow Six 3, so don’t expect any improvements in this area, the game is all but similar to the original.

Along with the same game engine comes the same weaponry. All the weapons from RS3 appear here, and are exactly the same; one addition is the Dragunov, which has been added while the .50 Cal. Sniper Rifle has been taken out. With all the same weapons, the game still uses the system, primary weapon, secondary weapons and two other slots for other equipment. The primary weapons consist of machine guns such as an MP5, G3A3, G363 and so forth, while the secondary weapons consist of handguns such as a Desert Eagle and a 92FS. While the others you can use grenades, tear gas, flash bangs and remote charges, all of which can be used in the secondary weaponry selection.

The graphics and level design are very well planned out and look very good. With each location looking realistic, players will sure have an enjoyable experience. With each of the levels having there own unique style, players will be able to travel down passages which are dark, and are hard for players to see and even hide in bushes before swiping in for the enemy. The sound in the game is brilliant, although there is no music; there is the sound of realism in each weapon. Firing an MP5 will have a different sound unlike firing a G3A3, making it very realistic. Another achievement from Ubisoft is the way they’ve implemented the sound in the way you run. Running through the snow, you’ll hear the crunch of snow, making it feel more realistic than it already is.

Along with the single player mode comes the Xbox Live mode, and the inclusion of the Live 3.0 in which players can start up clans and compete against other clans. Players of the original will notice that there are some maps from Rainbow Six 3 such as Garage and Airport (1). Along with this comes a lot of new maps; maps will appear from the single player of the game such as Subway Station and Military Base. Along with the modes from RS3 such as Team Survival and Sharpshooter, Ubisoft have put two more modes for us to enjoy:

Retrieval - This mode is a lot similar to capture the flag, but instead of going to a point and collecting and bring a flag back to base, you’ll be after a canister; this may sound easy, but using only your secondary weapon and have a trail coming out really doesn’t help, and also placing the canister in the ‘box’ takes three to five seconds.

Conquest – This mode is more tactical, players must get all three satellites and hold them for 20 seconds to win the game, if this doesn’t happen, the team with the most satellites held wins; if the round is a draw, the team to grab two or three satellites in the last minutes of sudden death wins. All of which is an enjoyable experience.

Taking control of Team Rainbow is still the same, using commands to control them via the D-pad or using the voice control which was implemented in Rainbow Six 3, although Ubisoft have put more commands in and made it much clearer to command. Setting of to defeat in the world, to defeat terrorists, Ding and Team Rainbow will find themselves battling in many locations. Starting of in London, players will soon find themselves in the rest of Europe and more places around the world.

Consisting of ten levels players will start of in Subway Station and set out to rescue hostages and defuse bombs; but remember if a hostage is killed, or a terrorist arm the bomb, it’s the end of the mission. Along with the subway station, players will find themselves attempting missions in a Hotel, Castle and even a Military Base. The missions are fairly similar in each one; rescue hostages, disarm a bomb, neutralise all terrorists and some consist of killing a high ranked person such as a Colonel. The missions are fairly straight forward, but they are also tough. The AI has improved drastically since the days of RS3 as they’ll now go and notify other terrorists of your whereabouts and they’ll wait for you in a tight group.

Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow is another outstanding game brought to us by Ubisoft. With exciting missions, the game is an enjoyable experience. The heart of the game really lies in the online mode. Playing against other people (up to 16) is highly enjoyable and with the implementation of Xbox Live 3.0 the game allows players to set up clans, and challenge people from around the world. And for the bargain price of £20, Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow should certainly be in everyone’s Xbox collection, more so to the people who are subscribed to Xbox Live.

Arron Hanley