Post by JPController on Mar 18, 2004 13:54:14 GMT -5
March 17, 2004 - Nothing has revitalized my Xbox Live more than Rainbow Six 3. Though a lot of the 2003 holiday release games (Amped 2, Crimson Skies) earned some play time on Live, no game has stayed in the tray as long as R6 3. Ubi Soft's next big thing for Xbox is just around the corner as Sam Fisher prepares for a return with Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. While the new Columbian backdrop and additional moves are tantalizing, the real gem appears to be the online multiplayer, which offers a different style of online competition not yet seen on Xbox Live.
It's fairly safe to assume most folks with Xbox Live know how Rainbow Six 3 functions online. Even if you've never played it, you probably understand that it's a very well-done first-person shooter, but is pretty much in the same vain as just about every other military-themed FPS. However, aside from the lucky few in the media and a lot of testers at Ubi Soft, no one really knows what it's like to play Pandora Tomorrow online. What better way to illustrate what you can expect than to compare the game you know (R6 3) to the game you want to know (Pandora Tomorrow).
Note: This is not a review of Splinter Cell's multiplayer. These impressions are based off a near-final build, but are meant only to provide you with further details and are not our final impressions of the product.
Gather Your Friends
Perhaps the starkest difference between the two games is the number of players that can join the fracas. Rainbow Six 3 game modes range from four-player co-operative games (Terrorist Hunt and Mission) to sixteen-player adversarial games (the best being Team Survival). Though eight-on-eight battles often have some lag, it's still nice to throw down with a large group of yokels. Pandora Tomorrow offers only two-on-two action in all of its game modes (Extraction, Sabotage, and Neutralization).
Now don't get your panties in a bunch (you are wearing panties, aren't you?), it's not as big a blow as you might think. Considering the unique nature of the gameplay (which I'll get into in just a moment), there's no way that this game would work with a dozen people on the same map. However, I do think that if it was bumped up just a notch to three-on-three, the gameplay would be more dynamic. Teamwork between a pair of mercs and a trio could be quite a different experience. But I guess we have Splinter Cell 3 to look forward to for that.
Spies have heat vision, mercs don't.[/B]
Choose your Role
Unlike Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Ubi Soft's Rainbow Six 3 doesn't force players to choose a specific role to play in any of the multiplayer game modes. But that doesn't mean there aren't roles players assume. A good squad of buddies will always have a sharpshooter for sniping, a tough grunt to run headlong into enemy territory with M60 blazing, and that one dumb friend who constantly blows himself up with his Grenade Launcher. Teamwork isn't essential for the adversarial modes, but you'll certainly do better if everyone communicates with one another. What good is playing Team Survival, for example, if everyone does their own thing? Rainbow Six 3 rewards team play, but doesn't necessarily require it with its gameplay style.
On the other hand, if you don't play as a team in Pandora Tomorrow, you're screwed. Let's say you are playing Extraction as the Mercenaries on the Deftech Belew map, where your goal is to keep the Spies from locating and escaping with two virus containers. This is a large map consisting of three connected buildings, so keeping both Mercs together probably isn't the best plan, so you'll need to split up and either hunt for the Spies or try to block their exit. Because the Spies have excellent stealth abilities, you'll need to stay in constant contact with your partner over your headset. If you both run around like idiots shooting at every shadow, any half-decent Spy will get away with the prize with no trouble at all.
Now let's flip the scenario. Say you're playing the same map and scenario, but this time as a Spy. As with the Mercs, there are several strategies you can employ, but the one that seems to work best is to have one Spy go stealth to retrieve the virus and the other try and keep the two Mercs distracted by setting off alarms and leading them away from your pal. This, of course, isn't possible if you don't talk to one another and coordinate your game plan.
It's also important to plan before the game even begins. If you know your roles in the mission, you and your partner can equip yourselves properly. If you choose to move together through the mission, then you both shouldn't carry the same equipment. One guy can carry Mines, for example, while the other carries the Spy Traps. There's certain to be plenty of people on Xbox Live running around like jackasses, but even as a Merc, you can't do all that well unless you play smart and play together.
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-Source IGN
Disclaimer Note: This article was to inform put here to inform the community at the time, we are not claiming this is our work, we just wanted to spread the info about a great spy genre at the time.
