Rainbow Six

"Rainbow Six does the impossible -- it presents the player with an ultra-realistic gameplay experience, and still manages to be fun. Of all the games I've been playing lately, Rainbow Six has certainly occupied the most of my time, and likely will continue to do so for a long while to come. Despite the few gameplay gaffs I mentioned, this is definitely a case where the whole is greater than the sum of individual parts. In my heart of hearts I know this to be a true winner, and the fun factor alone pushes the rating up to a 4.5 and secures the coveted Reviewer's Choice Award. If you're a fan of EA's classic Seal Team or loved the semi-realism offered in Zombie's great Spec Ops, then Rainbow Six will give you a serious case of the gamer's giddies. Hell, even if you've never played those games, do yourself a favor and pick it up. Rainbow Six is pure gold, and proof positive that Red Storm Entertainment is serious about gaming."

"Rainbow Six is the best attempt yet to bring tactical reality to the first-person shooter market, and if you have been looking for this kind of thrill, it's certainly worth the extra effort. I only hope that this time somebody out there is learning something by watching a promising game needlessly shoot off a few of its own toes."

"Another question is, "Does it play relatively bug free?" Here is where the %$#% hits the fan. To date, there have been two patches to the game itself, and another patch to try to alleviate problems with real time voice communication. The real time voice communication idea would be a fantastic boon to the game, and would greatly increase the drama and tension of it. The only problem is, it does not work. In fact, I have yet to see anyone actually make it work, even with the patch. That is inexcusable. If you can't fix it, forget it. Don't make me download a patch, only to find out that it still doesn't function as advertised. What is the point there?"

"After making sure you've got the mission planned (and make sure it's been saved), it's time to play out the mission. The interface is fairly similar to any number of modern first-person games like Quake II and Unreal, and graphically, the game is on par or slightly better than Spec Ops. The game models human motions and movement extremely well, including many different unique actions."