Black Arrow Under the Gun

By Hardcore

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® 3 catapulted itself into the hearts of XboxLive™ and hardcore gamers alike when it was released a year or so ago. With solid maps, realistic play, and both cooperative and adversarial multiplayer, it had the full package online. Now, Ubisoft has given us a sequel-expansion by the name ofTom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® 3 Black Arrow™. How does it fair in my opinion? If they had merely added the new single-player campaign, new maps, new weapons, and Lone-Rush mode, I would have been pleased, but then they had to go ahead and create two whole new adversarial multiplayer modes: Total Conquest and Retrieval. I went from cracking a Hardcore smile at the new additions to having to soak my hands in warm brine every night just to get the feeling back in my fingers. Such was the death grip on my controller …

You don’t need those big guns.

Now that I’ve dumped a few dozen hours into the game, it’s time to give a little something back to the community. Tips, I say! But these aren't those ordinary, sugary tips to improve your game like those press sites offer you. If you're a hardcore gamer, I'm sure you've already figured out those strategies on your own. No, I'm going to focus on making Black Arrow the most brutally difficult experience you’ll ever have the fortune of submitting yourself to online. Few other games offer the opportunity to torture yourself so precisely in the name of being hardcore. Let us proceed then.

Down with the Primary
Before every mission or round online, you’re offered the opportunity to select a primary and secondary weapon, along with two more slots for grenades and such. Unfortunately, you have to pick a primary weapon, like a machine gun or assault rifle, but that doesn’t mean you have to use it. The true badass will prove his superior skill by cracking off two rounds with only his sidearm. Yeah, it’s pistol time, if you want to prove yourself.

The pistol is all you need.

Frag This
Frag grenades and HE (High Explosive) grenade rounds are for punk-ass newbies, who don’t know a Tar-21 from a Dragonov. They’re the weak man's way out. It doesn’t take skill to toss a grenade around a corner and hope for the best. Instead, choose more strategic equipment, like smoke grenades, flashbangs, tear gas grenades, gas masks … take your pick.

Be the Rover
When playing Total Conquest or any team game in which you assign areas of responsibility to each member of a team, you usually want one rover—a player who runs to people’s aid and helps out wherever it’s needed. This player needs absolute knowledge of the map and a clear understanding of his enemy’s tactics to survive and be useful. It’s definitely a job for the hardcore gamer, no doubt about it.

Squad-Versus-Squad
Anyone can hop online, join a random game, and be effective. Chances are you’ll be playing against a bevy of noobs and average-skilled players. Dominating those games is nothing to be proud of. You need to join or create a squad, if you want proper competition. You can arrange competitions with other squads once yours is assembled. That’s where the action and skill level really heats up. Dominate those games, and I’ll throw you some love.

Tear gas is always a good idea.

Hunt the Camper
If you want to be a hero to your team, learn all the popular camping spots and watch them throughout the game. There’s no cheaper way to die than by the bullet of a cowardly camper, but there are few greater pleasures than putting two in the chest of some sniping fool. It aggravates them to no end, and hearing them piss and moan about it after a match is paradise.

Black Arrow is not an easy game to master. You’ll die—and die often—while learning the subtleties of the game. But, just because you're getting good, doesn’t mean you have to stop challenging yourself. Satisfaction is to be gained through self-imposed limitations and pitting yourself against quality competition. Remember to play long and play hard. Until next time, this is Hardcore, out!