6.6 /10 1 Votes
6.5/10 IGN Initial release date 9 June 2005 Genre Tactical shooter | 6/10 Steam 70% Metacritic Series Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Publishers Ubisoft, Gameloft | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Producer(s) Stuart White
Deke Waters Designer(s) Clint Richards
John E. Slaydon Programmer(s) John O'Brien
Jim Van Verth Artist(s) Tommy Jacob
Tony Nichols Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer Platforms Xbox, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, GameCube, Java, Mobile game Developers Red Storm Entertainment, Gameloft, Ubisoft Montreal Similar Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six games, Red Storm Entertainment games, First-person shooter games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown is the fourth game in the Rainbow Six series. The initial design and PlayStation 2 version were developed by Red Storm Entertainment and the Xbox version was developed by the Ubisoft Montreal studio. Both are published by Ubisoft. The Mobile phone version was released on June 9, 2005; the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were released on September 6; the GameCube version was released on September 27; and a version for Windows was released on February 16, 2006.
Contents
Graphics
Lockdown is the first entry in the Rainbow Six series to feature graphics effects which includes normal mapping and specular lighting, as well as physics objects. Advanced graphics were available only on the PC version.
Gameplay
The player controls the main character, Rainbow leader Ding Chavez, and leads a single squad in real-time through each level. The player can issue orders to team members, such as to break down a door or toss a grenade into a room. Missions are broken up into linear levels, instead of each mission taking place on a single non-linear map. Lockdown also gives players the ability to save their in-game progress at any time during a level, in contrast to previous games' lack of an in-game save feature.
Console versions
The console versions of Lockdown features several "shooting gallery"-style sniper missions, in which players take control of sniper Dieter Weber, and snipe terrorists from a position such as a small room or a helicopter while covering the entry of an AI-controlled squad into an area. The console versions also feature cut scenes that flesh out the personality and background of each Rainbow member, as well as collectible suitcases hidden throughout each level that can be collected for bonus material.
PC version
The PC version of Lockdown removed the sniper segments and storyline-related cut scenes, and also included redesigned levels to match the less linear gameplay of previous entries in the series. Several other longstanding elements of the series that were removed from the console versions were added back into the PC version, including helmets on the character models. Lockdown is the first game in the series to remove the planning phase.
Story
Lockdown takes place in 2009 and revolves around an elite counter-terrorist unit called Rainbow. In Lockdown, Rainbow is pitted against a worldwide terrorist organization known as the Global Liberation Front, composed of various leftist, anarchist, and third-world organizations opposed to the West. The Global Liberation Front has stolen a man-made nanotech virus named "Legion". "Legion" is a nanite aerosol that causes massive hemorrhaging in its victim and has a mortality rate of 100%. Rainbow must find and stop the GLF from using the virus. To accomplish this, Rainbow goes from country to country, tracking down each country's GLF cell, and finally capturing or killing that cell's leader, ultimately leading to a showdown with the GLF's supreme leader, Bastian Vanderwaal. A major plot twist occurs when team sniper, Dieter Weber, is captured by the terrorists, prompting an unauthorized rescue effort by the team. The game includes 16 single-player missions in all (14 on the Xbox).
Equipment
In the console versions of the game, the player views gameplay through a simulated visor. As the player's health bar becomes low, cracks will appear in the visor, limiting the player's view. Other visor effects are used such as steam or dust, slightly reducing visibility. Enemies are marked out as targets by the visor.
Xbox
The Xbox version of Lockdown features an exclusive gameplay mode for Microsoft's Xbox Live service called "Persistent Elite Creation" (PEC). This mode allows the player to have a persistent character while playing in online multiplayer games, and the character will gain levels the longer you play. There are four "careers" to choose from: the commando, combat medic, engineer, and spec-op. Each class features different abilities and strengths; Commandos are able to use heavy weapony and armor, medics can use items to heal teammates during battle, engineers can set up gun turrets, and spec-ops are stealthy and use surveillance equipment. As incentive to continue leveling up, there will be bonuses that can be unlocked by achieving certain goals, such as new weapons and items. Light role-playing video game-like elements exist, whereby when you level up you gain stat points that can be distributed across various skills.
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 version, while without the PEC mode of the Xbox, does have its own exclusive online mode. Called "Rivalry", this mode pits teams of terrorists against teams of counter-terror agents.
GameCube
The Nintendo GameCube version of the game does not take advantage of the system's optional broadband or modem adapters resulting in no online play. However, the GCN version includes an exclusive two-player co-op mode.
Reception
The change in gameplay from previous versions of Rainbow Six was considered a controversial move, and the PC version received significantly lower scores than its predecessors. Despite this, the console versions of the game have received average to mixed reviews from many gaming websites and magazines.