Much has been made—and rightly so—of the new additions to an already award-winning multiplayer experience in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® 3 Black Arrow™. While there certainly is much to appreciate and get excited about in regard to the online gameplay, we can’t dismiss the excellent single-player game, specifically the Campaign mode.
Uh oh. Not good.
The Foundation First, it bears mentioning that the quality foundation ofRainbow Six 3 is still in place. You still play as Ding Chavez, the crack-shot former CIA operative, ex Army Ranger, and colleague of Commander John Clark. You still lead a four-man squad (including yourself), and the emphasis is still placed on real-world situations. But, Black Arrow definitely ratchets things up in terms of global tension.
A New Yarn When Black Arrow was first announced, many of the Xbox® faithful weren’t sure what to make of it. Was it just an expansion? Would it just have a few improved elements, a few fixed bugs, or a new map or two? Luckily, the answer is no. Black Arrow is much more than a mere expansion, and the Campaign mode demonstrates this perfectly. It is not a rehash or remake of the previous story. It’s an all-new campaign with 10 new levels, including several unique and rather beautiful locations in the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe.
Our hero, Ding.
The story itself involves the attempted kidnapping of world-class scientists (specializing in telemetry and rocket science), who are to be used by the terrorists to further destabilize the oil-rich regions surrounding the Caspian Sea. Mere chaos, though, is not their true goal. In fact, they wish to cause enough commotion and fear to carve out a small nation for themselves. Of course, the good boys of Rainbow Six stand in their way.
They Got Smarts The Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) of your enemies and teammates has always been impressive, but Ubisoft has outdone itself with the A.I. in Black Arrow. For example:
Enemies will yell out to their comrades once they’ve spotted you, so you'll have to watch out for any backup that could be on the way.
As opposed to rushing out to shoot you or even leaning around a corner, terrorists will often throw tear gas grenades to obscure the way. You'll need to keep a gas mask on hand and those observational skills sharpened, or you'll get killed in a hurry.
If your enemies are obviously overmatched, they may retreat. They’ll often run around corners and fall back with their buddies, but they’ll just as often wait for you in the next room for an ambush.
In an effort to mix up the experience, enemy A.I. will shift each time you play a mission. So, just because you scared a guy off before, it doesn’t mean he’ll react the same way if you meet him again.
I hate tear gas.
There are all sorts of little tweaks and additions and added goodies to the enemy A.I., but what makes it impressive is that it actually feels like you're playing against tactical and wary opponents.
Voiced Gameplay The in-game menu system for ordering your teammates is intuitive and easy to control, but it does still take button inputs. That’s fine, and it works well, but who would say no to a hands-free experience? Well, if you’re the proud owner of an XboxLive™ Communicator headset, you can give orders to your squad members without the mess of a button press. Simply state the order as it’s written in the menu (e.g. Breach and Clear), and say “Go! Go! Go!” when you want the order executed. The voice recognition works smooth, and the reaction time is near instantaneous. Plus, it feels more immersive to be voicing your commands. Also, any orders and advice from John Clark will come through the headset communicator during the mission. Sweet stuff.
With Black Arrow's acclaimed online experience, it’s easy to forget about its excellent single-player gameplay. Don’t make that mistake though. Give the Campaign mode some love. It deserves it.
