Not Enough At The End Of This Particular Rainbow
Written: Nov 25 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Enjoyable gameplay. Excellent sound. The same successful formula as Rogue Spear (mostly)
Cons: Far too few mission levels to justify a stand-alone release. Graphic engine does not work so well in "wild" areas as in urban ones from previous games. Not much new here.
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| mickp's Full Review: Rainbow Six: Covert Ops |
Having been blown away upon entry to the world of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six with Rogue Spear, the excellent second installment in the series, I was more than a little disappointed when the add on pack was first delayed and later apparently abandoned for Australian release. Relief came with the release of a new stand-alone game - Rainbow Six: Covert Ops Essentials... Or did it?
Unfortunately, Covert Ops Essentials is not quite as essential as the title might suggest. Just how Red Storm had the infernal gall to release this game as a stand-alone product I will probably never know. The press-kit spews tantalising, excitement evoking bits of info - new guns and missions and much, much more! Unfortunately, it takes more than a few new guns (if there actually are any, I have not seen anything I did not see in Rogue Spear yet.) and a few new levels to justify the release of a new title.
When I say, a few new levels, I am speaking in the most literal sense possible - There are three mission levels in all and while they are admittedly rather large, they can only maintain a challenge for a certain amount of time. Of course, there is a bunch of new training missions, which are fun for an hour or two, but really when all is said and done, there is just not enough here.
For those unfamiliar with this series, the game sees the player put in the shoes of the Rainbow Six elite counter-terrorist force, a group of individuals with varied strengths which come into play in their thrill a minute world. Certain members are expert snipers, skilled in the use of the high powered, long range scoped rifles able to knock the head off a dandelion from a kilometer away, while others are demolitions, electronics, scouting or just plain assault specialists. Your team, which may be selected from any number and variety of different individuals from the roster is thrown into action in a 3D pseudo first person environment - Imagine a First Person Shooter, where stealth, strategy and planning is far more important than screaming around an arena and you probably have the idea.
Of course, what I just said about FPS games brings me back to my earlier thoughts about the large (and few) new levels. I get the distinct feeling that these levels were designed with multi-player gaming in mind. The first level for example, is set in the Bolivian rain forest, which feels more like a series of rooms in cave decorated by ferns and creepers than an expansive jungle. Convenient "doors" through the undergrowth and a canopy about two feet overhead, gives the enclosed, blind corner feeling more at home in Quake or Doom than in a Rainbow Six game.
The graphics are extremely pretty in places, but somehow the style which worked so well in producing a ruined representation of Kosovo in Rogue Spear makes the remote, in the wild landscapes look like rather unconvincing mock-ups for a school production of The Jungle Book. The occasional lovely waterfall works well, but bushes look like they are made from pieces of cardboard cut into jagged shapes and spray painted green. From all of this I can say that the straight angles and simple shapes of urban landscapes work well with this engine, but the more complex ones of nature do not.
Sound is more or less exactly the same as in the previous games of the series, with the excellent radio chatter and realistic weapon noises of the previous games once again being used. Fitting and atmospheric ambient area sound is used to good effect, keeping the realism factor solid.
At the end of the day, I must admit that I played Rainbow Six: Covert Ops Essentials to completion and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Although I was slightly disappointed with the missions which seemed rather less "Covert" than you might have anticipated from the title, this is still a Rainbow Six game and still worth a look if you can lay your hands on it for a very cheap price. I did not buy this game myself, but rented it from my local CD library for three nights - I had completed it before it was time for the game to be returned and would have been rather upset to have shelled out my hard earned cash for something so easily finished due to it's small size.
Rainbow Six: Covert Ops Essentials would have been far better released as an add-on pack for Rogue Spear, which is lets face it basically the same game with different levels. The expansive new levels will be of great appeal to multi-player fans, but for everyone else I would suggest that this one is certainly not an essential.
Recommended:
No
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mickp
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Member: Mike Price
Location: Aussie in Las Vegas, Nevada
Reviews written: 431
Trusted by: 270 members
About Me:
An Australian living in Vegas - Eating too much buffet and writing too many Epinions.
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