Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown
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| Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown | |
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| Developer(s) | Red Storm Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Platform(s) | PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PC, Mobile Phone |
| Release date | PlayStation 2 & Xbox September 6, 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Tactical shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: M OFLC: MA15+ |
| Media | DVD (1), CD (5) |
| System requirements | 1.5 GHz CPU Pentium 4 or Athlon, 512 MB RAM, DirectX 9.0c, 3D accelerated AGP or PCI NVIDIA GeForce 3 or ATI Radeon 8500 64 MB or equivalent DirectX 9 compatible video card, DirectX 9 compatible sound card, 7.0 GB free hard drive space, 12X CD-ROM/8X DVD-ROM drive |
| Input methods | mouse, keyboard, microphone |
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown is the fourth full game in the Rainbow Six series. The initial design and PlayStation 2 version were developed by Red Storm Entertainment and the Xbox version was developed by the Ubisoft Montreal studio. Both are published by Ubisoft. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were released on September 6, 2005. A GameCube version was released on September 27, 2005, and a version for Windows was released on February 10, 2006.
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[edit] Graphics
Rainbow Six: Lockdown is the first entry in the Rainbow Six series to feature next-gen graphics effects, including normal mapping and specular lighting, as well as physics objects.
[edit] Gameplay
Rainbow Six: Lockdown's gameplay is more action-oriented than that of its predecessors, and features a number of departures from the more tactical elements of the earlier games. As a result, gameplay is much closer to that of a standard first-person shooter, instead of the tactical shooter gameplay of previous titles. Gameplay is in many ways similar to the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter series, although with a less advanced HUD/Cross-com system.
[edit] Missions
Unlike early Rainbow Six titles, Lockdown does not feature a planning stage before each mission where the player can plan attack paths and give mission orders to multiple AI-controlled squads. Players are also no longer able to control any soldier in a squad. Instead, the player controls the main character, Rainbow leader Ding Chavez, and leads a single squad in real-time through each level. The player can issue orders to team members, such as to break down a door or toss a grenade into a room.
Additionally, missions are broken up into linear levels, instead of each mission taking place on a single non-linear map. Lockdown also gives players the ability to save their in-game progress at any time during a level, in contrast to previous games' lack of an in-game save feature.
[edit] Combat
The game's combat is somewhat more forgiving than previous games, and player characters can survive several bullet hits before dying, instead of dying after 1 or 2 hits. Enemies are likewise more durable, often requiring 2 or 3 assault rifle shots to kill (in later missions, enemies wear body armor and can survive even more damage). Enemies also have significantly worse aim than in previous titles, resulting in more arcade-like combat. However, like previous titles, the player is unable to restore their health during a mission, so any damage taken is permanent.
The game also features improved squadmate AI and graphics; AI controlled squadmates will now independently perform actions such as leaning around corners or taking cover behind objects, instead of simply following the player in a linear route. Also, each individual member of Team Rainbow now has their own personal in-game model with clearly distinguished facial features, instead of the same generic masked soldier used for all characters in early titles.
[edit] Console version
The console versions of Lockdown also feature several "shooting gallery"-style sniper missions, in which players take control of sniper Dieter Weber, and snipe terrorists from a fixed position while covering the entry of an AI-controlled squad into an area. The console versions also feature cutscenes that flesh out the personality and background of each Team Rainbow member, as well as collectible suitcases hidden throughout each level that can be collected for bonus material.
[edit] PC version
The PC version of Lockdown removed the sniper segments and storyline-related cutscenes, and also included redesigned levels to match the less linear gameplay of previous entries in the series. Several other longstanding elements of the series that were removed from the console versions were added back into the PC version due to fan backlash, including helmets on the character models, for the sake of realism.
[edit] Reception
The change in gameplay from previous versions of the Rainbow Six series has been the subject of universal criticism from review publications. As such, Rainbow Six: Lockdown has received somewhat poor reviews relative to its predecessors[1]. It was referred to by Nintendo Power as a "door opening simulator."
[edit] Story
The story of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Lockdown takes place in 2009 and revolves around an elite counter-terror unit called Rainbow. In Lockdown, Rainbow is pitted against a worldwide terrorist organization known as the Global Liberation Front, comprised of various leftist, anarchist, and third-world organizations opposed to the West. The Global Liberation Front has stolen a man-made nano-tech virus named "Legion". "Legion" is a nanite aerosol that causes massive hemorrhaging in its victim and has a mortality rate of 100%. Team Rainbow must find and stop the GLF from using the virus. To accomplish this, Rainbow goes from country to country, tracking down each country's GLF cell, and finally capturing or killing that cell's leader, ultimately leading to a showdown with the GLF's supreme leader, Bastian Vanderwaal. A major plot twist occurs when team sniper, Dieter Weber, is captured by the terrorists, prompting an unauthorized rescue effort by the team. The game includes 16 single-player missions in all (14 on the Xbox), taking you through: Pretoria, South Africa; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Edinburgh, Scotland; Calais, France; Marseille, France; Gibraltar; Barcelona, Spain; Cala Brascana, Minorca, Spain.
[edit] Equipment
In the console versions of the game, the player views gameplay through a simulated visor, somewhat akin to the view in the Metroid Prime GameCube series. As the character becomes injured in-game, cracks will appear in the visor, limiting the player's view. Enemies are marked out as targets by the visor, increasing the Player's accuracy.
New gadgets are available for use in the game. The original heartbeat sensor has been redesigned and can still be used to locate enemies, and PlayStation 2 owners have an exclusive 10-meter motion sensor that can be used to spot enemies through walls. In multiplayer, other items can be used such as surveillance PDAs or, in the Xbox versions, collapsible turrets. A door-breaching hammer can be carried as an inventory item, which can open locked doors more rapidly. Grenades may now roll when thrown.
Weapon-play incorporates numerous aspects of other videogames. Similar to the Splinter Cell games, you can hold your breath while in sniping mode to increase accuracy, and cameras are seen in some missions, which can be disabled either by hand or weapons-fire. When "zoomed in" with non-scoped weapons, the view through the iron sights resembles that seen in Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30. Grenades are now thrown by pressing the left trigger button on the Xbox version, similar to Halo 2.
[edit] Multiplayer
[edit] Xbox
The Xbox version of Lockdown features an exclusive gameplay mode for Microsoft's Xbox Live service called "Persistent Elite Creation" (PEC). This mode allows the player to have a persistent character while playing in online multiplayer games, and the character will gain levels the longer you play. There are five "careers" to choose from: the commando, combat medic, engineer, and spec-op. Each class features different abilities and strengths; Commandos are able to use heavy weapony and armor, medics can use items to heal teammates during battle, engineers can set up gun turrets, and spec-ops are stealthy and use surveillance equipment. As incentive to continue leveling up, there will be bonuses that can be unlocked by achieving certain goals, such as new weapons and items. Light RPG-like elements will exist, whereby when you level up you gain stat points that can be distributed across various skills.
[edit] PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 version, while without the PEC mode of the Xbox, does have its own exclusive online mode. Called "Rivalry", this mode pits teams of terrorists against teams of counter-terror agents.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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