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Introduction

From the very beginning, Red Storm’s Rainbow Six games have been at the forefront of innovation in gameplay. Covert Ops Essentials, the latest release from Red Storm Entertainment offers a slight twist on the Rainbow Six franchise. The game consists of two disks containing separate programs. The first disk has several training courses using real-world counter-terrorist (CT) operations as examples, and includes a library of material relating to counter-terrorist organizations from around the world. The second disk of Covert Ops Essentials contains a small handful of Rainbow Six training missions, in addition to three complete missions. The apparent logic behind the release of two separate programs in one package is that anyone who is interested in Rainbow Six games, or tactical games in general, would also be interested in the real-world applications and environments of CT organizations. While the training disk is not a game and doesn’t train the player how to play Rainbow Six, the encyclopedia of information can potentially be applied to Covert Ops and Rogue Spear missions. One might speculate why there were only three missions included in the game disk. The assumption is that the training disk adds enough gumption to the package to make it worthwhile.

Chances are if you’re already a fan of Rogue Spear or Rainbow Six you will jump right into the second disk to see what kind of missions it has to offer. The first mission takes place in northern Bolivia where a top ranking Bolivian military commander was on his way to Columbia in a private plane when the plane had mechanical problems and crash landed in the heart of the Bolivian jungle. General Sixto and his personal staff has been taken prisoner by EGTK anti-government guerrillas who were camped in the vicinity of the plane crash. General Sixto’s plane was carrying a large sum of money and an ample weapons cache, which was not disclosed to government sources, creating speculation as to why he was carrying such cargo over the top of known guerrilla territory.

The mission insertion places your team several kilometers away from the downed plane, and you are to make your way through the jungle by foot. Of course, the jungle is completely crammed with terrorists hiding behind every leaf and branch. From the first hint of your arrival, the tangos will be hunting you down at every turn, so it’s necessary to use stealth as much as possible. Stealth will not get you through the jungle alive however, and at some point all hell will break loose as the terrorists become determined to show you the way to the exit. There is a huge gorge running horizontally across the middle of the map with only two ways of crossing. A rope bridge crosses the gorge at the point nearest the middle of the map, but crossing it will put your operatives in great danger of being shot at from terrorists hiding among the jungle foliage. The only alternative is to circle around to the end of the gorge where a towering waterfall provides some minimal coverage for your team. Either way is quite risky because the terrorists have several snipers located in logistically superior positions. Even using your own sniper is challenging because of the thick jungle blocking the view at just about every possible angle. Eventually, you’ll get across the gorge and make your way through the jungle on the other side to locate General Sixto and the downed plane. Needless to say, this is a very challenging mission, even on the simplest difficulty setting. This mission easily matches the most difficult missions in Rogue Spear.