RAINBOW SIX: ROGUE SPEAR - Games - http://maxpages.com/strategyforum/Rainbow_Six_Rogue

OVERALL: 84%

The Basics:
The late 90's have been the age of the First Person Shooters; no matter what anybody tells you, games like Wolfenstein, Doom II, Duke Nukem, and Quake 2 have redefined gaming, as we know it. As good as they were, each still consisted of mindless monster killing, piled upon seemingly endless levels. Although DeathMatch action was fast and furious, First Person Shooters offered no sense of realism, until the advent of Rainbow 6. Plagued with bugs and glitches, gamers still embraced R6, feeding off the realism, which R6 based itself on. Gone were the days of surviving a 75-foot fall, or taking a rocket to the face, and still laying waste to your opponent. But still, the single player missions left something to be desired. AI was at an all time low and with random game crashes, the R6 mission could be a little frustrating.

Earlier this year, Red Storm released its first mission pack for R6, Eagle Watch, which boasted better AI, 6 new multiplayer types, and 3 all new weapons. R6 fans still wanted more; fueled on positive reviews and R6 profits, Redstorm put out the sequel/add-on to R6, presently named Rogue Spear.

Lets get this out of the way in the beginning, Rogue Spear offers no new real innovations. Gameplay has not drastically changed; you get what R6 should have been upon its first release. On the other hand RS isn't just all-old news, as it brags with better graphics, superior AI along with minor changes that improve gameplay.

The Plot:
Due to the RAINBOW SIX's fantastic success with defusing major terrorist incidents, the international community has come to depend on RAINBOW as the main force secretly protecting citizens worldwide. Thus, the story continues in Rogue Spear with the team's initial missions being business as usual: a hostage situation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and an airplane hijacking. However, the team soon discovers that these crisis situations are actually related to the nefarious plots of not one, but two antagonists--the Russian Mafia and a Middle Eastern terrorist organization--groups who have, until now, been able to escape the jaws of international justice. Through a series of increasingly difficult missions, RAINBOW uncovers the terrorists' deadly master plan just in the nick of time--to save the world again.

Graphics:
Rogue spear is a definite improvement on R6 with the additions of dynamic lighting, weather effects, and much more realistic models. Each model is made up of 400-motion capture movements, (R6 was only 150). There could have been a little more variety of terrorists, but the detail helps make up for this. Detail on the models varies; on terrorist and hostages it is extremely good, while on your side, models look blocky, and the textures are photographs, stretched directly on to the models. I am not blaming them, if you notice the photographic detail, it would be hard to reproduce. When shot, models grabs at the location hit, while a little red spot appears. When killed models change a bit, for example, their eyes will close. Also, when killed, the bodies fall into unique positions depending on how they fall. Another nice effect is the fact that bullet holes show up and stay on the walls. Here's a tip: Don't look at the flash-bangs. They went so far as to make sure you see spots if you don't turn around (which can be very distracting). During snow missions, teammates masks fog up, and there breath can be seen. Redstorm has focused on the details and added a lot of neat little things like this to keep you wanting more.

Gameplay:
Gameplay hasn't change with Rogue Spear; you're still the same bunch of anti-terrorist super-heroes with a taste for Tango blood. As-per-usual you always began your mission with a little briefing explaining what the hell is going on, and just whom you are going up against. "control" a hot sexy lady, or John Clark kind of a nerdy looking fellow gives the briefings. Given that "Control" looks like a hot lady out of Victoria Secret it would have been a cool idea to animate her. This isn't the case; like Rainbow six, Rogue Spears' briefings are just single shot pictures, which is kind of boring. After the briefing, You are allowed to pick your team, my personal favorite is Ding Chavez, me and Ding go all the way to the original Rainbow six, anyway after you pick your team you get to equip them, Rogue spear adds a few new weapon, one I remember is the sniper weapon, mans greatest weapon to date. Once equipped you can add your man/women to teams, than proceed to map your attack, plotting out exactly where each team goes, and holds for commands.

Missions consist of rescuing a few hostages, and all around kicking terrorist ass. But at times things can get a bit emotional, I personally have felt a wide range of emotions when playing rogue spear, for example fright; this happens to the best of us, during a nasty battle, you will frantically be searching for the enemy, when suddenly he pops up in the doorway in front of you, your nerves catch up with you. The initial shock makes your whole body tweak in fright, throwing your hand forward, and making you spit out whatever you where drinking. Another emotion I felt was rage; you and a buddy are tracking through the jungle, when out pops a tango spitting bullets and cursing like the wind. You take a hit to the leg, while your buddy takes a full load to the chest, you scream "No" at your monitor, but it is to late, taking the mouse you proceed to bash it on the table producing little mouse pieces, I have broke many a mouse. That story kind of reminds me of the time when I was in NAM, well never mind.

Redstorm has added a few new features, players now have the ability to duck and crawl at the same time, and also have the ability to peek around corners as to not get your nads shot off. These 2 features in themselves pay for the $39.99 cost of the game. Another feature is replay; now you can record your battles and see where you went wrong, change perspectives and see were your opponents went right. This is an especially neat tool, as you can gloat to your friends while watching previous battles over and over making them feel like the smallest turd upon your boots.

Sound:
Redstorm's sound department is most excellent. Each weapon, when fired, gives an accurate portrayal of the real thing; Flashbangs almost hurt the ears, while the cries of hostages take a piece of your heart. Your teammates give you info when they have downed a tango (or have been downed by a tango), while terrorists will call for support. Then there were the more typical sounds, like the rain hitting the pavement, glass shattering, hostages screaming as you accidentally hit them (Some of them are just annoying). The music is awesome, giving that "I need to save the world feel", like something from Clear and present danger.

Bugs and Performance:
Amazingly, Rogue Spear ran the first time I tried to boot it up, unlike R6, which required a few patches to run correctly. Although I have heard of a few problems, I really didn't notice any bugs, and on the highest graphical settings Rogue Spear ran perfectly on my AMD K6-2 400.

Final Thoughts:
I really like these types of games; the added realism puts a new strategy into the mix. You can no longer rush your foe head on; rather you must move silently and strike. The missions required quick thinking, and well-planned assaults coupled with graphics that are more realistic, taking away allot of the blockiness that plagued R6. The gameplay is very intense, even though it is basically the same game as Rainbow Six, little additions like snipers make the game all the more fun. My advice is to pick your self up a copy the next chance you get. Hope you had as much fun as I did!

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