Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
A tactical shooter that refined the Rainbow Six formula for a broader audience.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield is a 2003 tactical first-person shooter developed by Red Storm Entertainment and published by Ubi Soft for Windows and Mac OS X. It is the third entry in the Rainbow Six series and uses Unreal Engine 2. The game moved toward mainstream shooters like Counter-Strike by adding features such as visible weapons in first-person view and new weapons with upgrades.
Quick Facts
- Producer
- Mathieu Ferland; Chadi Lebbos
- Designer
- Mike McCoy; Carl Lavoie
- Programmer
- Eric Bégin
- Artist
- Carol Bertrand; Josef Sy
- Composer
- Bill Brown
- Series
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 2
- Platforms
- Windows
- Mac OS X
- mobile phone
Facts from the source article.
Windows and Mac
The plot opens in 1945, as two Ustaše operatives escape the Independent State of Croatia carrying Holocaust loot, stashing related papers in a Croatian bank. Six decades later, in 2005, a group breaks into that bank overnight, murders everyone inside, and torches the documents. Meanwhile, Rainbow—under John Clark’s command, with Kevin Sweeney advising—tackles a wave of neo-fascist strikes against South American oil assets and European banks. They get pulled into firefights in the Cayman Islands between drug runners and local police, notably at the home of Croatian billionaire Nikola Gospić, who insists the smugglers forced their way in. Suspicion grows as Rainbow hits a string of raids and attacks across South America tied to Gospić and the smugglers: a brutal assault on an Argentine meat-packing plant where Gospić holds a minority share, and a bust at a Brazilian import-export firm hiding chemical weapon parts. They connect Gospić to far-right Argentine presidential hopeful Alvaro Gutierrez, who is linked to an earlier Swiss bank attack. After Rainbow kills a British neo-Nazi with ties to both men during a hostage standoff, and stops VX nerve agent from contaminating meat at the packing plant, they figure out Gospić is amassing chemical arms. They discover Gospić is one of the original Ustaše fugitives, now dying of liver cancer. His scheme: buy up South American oil fields, slaughter thousands to trigger an economic collapse, then use oil profits to bankroll a global fascist revival and carve out a Greater Croatia under his rule. The final blow targets Rio de Janeiro’s Festa Junina with blister gas. Rainbow storms a garage where a parade float loaded with the gas is being prepped, kills Gospić, and foils the attack. Gutierrez gets arrested and spills everything to Clark in interrogation.
Console versions
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 was ported to the Xbox by Ubisoft Montreal to use Xbox Live online functionality, then to PlayStation 2 and GameCube by Ubisoft Shanghai in early 2004. The GameCube version supports only two players for local multiplayer. This console version lacks the Raven Shield subtitle and contains partially different content, including different multiplayer maps from the PC version. The Xbox version offers downloadable content with additional levels for online multiplayer via Xbox Live. Xbox Live for the original Xbox shut down on April 15, 2010, but the game remains playable online through the replacement Insignia servers. Gameplay differs significantly from the PC version: there is no mission planning stage and players cannot control multiple characters. Instead, players control Rainbow field commander Domingo Chavez and lead a single fireteam of Eddie Price, Louis Loiselle, and Dieter Weber. Orders are issued via an in-game menu or voice commands through the Xbox Live headset, though the voice system sometimes confused similar phrases like "open frag and clear" and "open flash and clear." Squad AI is improved, with teammates automatically ducking behind objects or assuming covering positions. Each teammate has a unique voice, unlike the generic voices in the PC version. The action is more forgiving: Chavez and his teammates have a health bar of four units, allowing several bullet hits before death.
Reception
By the end of 2003, Rainbow Six 3 had sold 1.3 million copies, rising to 2.2 million by March 2004. Reception ranged from positive to mixed. GameRankings and Metacritic gave the Xbox version 88.06% and 86 out of 100; the PC version 85.64% and 83 out of 100; the first mobile version 76.33% and the second 84.50%; the PlayStation 2 version 72.71% and 70 out of 100; and the GameCube version 68.35% and 68 out of 100. IGN rated the PC version 8.6 out of 10, stating it continues the series' tradition of intense realism and unforgiving close-quarters combat better than previous titles. GameSpot gave the PC version 8.7 out of 10, calling it a very impressive addition to the series and a worthy heir, and named it the best computer game of March 2003. Famitsu scored the Xbox version 8, 7, 8, 7 for a total of 30 out of 40. Edge gave the same version six out of ten, describing it as a stupefyingly linear experience that removes choice and tactical thought. Computer Gaming World nominated Raven Shield for its 2003 Shooter of the Year award, which went to Call of Duty. GameSpot named the mobile version the best mobile game of July 2004. At the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Rainbow Six 3 won Console First-Person Action Game of the Year and was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design. The expansion Athena Sword received average reception, with GameRankings at 71.09% and Metacritic at 72 out of 100, and was nominated for GameSpot's Best Expansion Pack award. The Xbox-exclusive Black Arrow received positive reception, with GameRankings at 84.69% and Metacritic at 84 out of 100.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield?
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield was designed by Mike McCoy and Carl Lavoie.
Who composed the music for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield?
The music for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield was composed by Bill Brown.
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