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RAINBOW SIX EXPANSION

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 12
Date: July 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is the stand-alone expansion to one of the best xbox games of 2003. Most of the original elements have stayed intact while adding new elements such as king of the hill, ctf, and two player split-screen. as far as the story, in the near future an independent general has control of north korea thereby letting you sit on your couch eating fritos and thinking that your all good because you saved someone that doesnt really exist. fine with me. one of the only problems early on is the cost: 40$ for an expansion is a little steep but with the new tweaks, it could be worth it.

Best Live Game yet

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: August 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

There is no comparison to this game. You can now play split screen and the two new multiplayer modes, ctf and king of the kill, are fantastic. The new single player campaign is as great as the original and the online porion is even better. The bottom line is, if you liked the first game or you like shooters in general, this game is for you. As a nice little touch, microsoft adds a free 2-month online trial.

A sure winner

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: August 13, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have only rented this game so far, but I'll soon be buying it. Rainbow Six 3 was my favorite game on Xbox live, and this will replace it. Not only does it support Live 3.0 features, like clans, but they've made a lot of other changes I like as well. The weapons and combat system feel more realistic, and there's more depth to the squad commands. Plus they added all new MP maps in addition to the old ones, a new SP campaign, and new MP modes. This is the way that every game company should build on their successes.

Great solo campaign, but frustrating online bugs deceive me

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: August 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

As you know, I gave a pretty harsh rating to Rainbow Six 3 due to its online bugs which are history now (Action Replay and Molotov Cocktails to name a few) and the decent at best menu music really disturbed my judgement of the game. What Black Arrow does is give us what wasn't available to us in RS3 (2 new online modes, lone rush, co-op) but it's those few online bugs that gives this game one star less than what it deserves.

Pros: 1. Lone Rush Mode (kill terrorists alone like Schwartzenegger!)

2. Co-op terrorist hunts and missions (play with a friend, and it's cordless too!)

3. New Multiplayer modes (Total Conquest has you control all three satellites for 20 seconds from the other team and Retrieval is like CTF, except with a cannister instead of a flag, same objective though)

4. Xbox Live 3.0 is fully utilized (clan support, voice messaging, and clan competitions!)

5. New menu music (it actually rocks!)

6. Improved AI and sound (terrorists actually put emphasis in being shot or spotting you)

Cons: 1. Online Bugs. I will just explain these bugs to you. As I said before, these bugs were the only reason that I gave this game a 4-star instead of a 5-star. Trust me, the online in whole is a good experience, but it is these bugs that taint the image of the game. Here are the bugs that you will encounter in your online quest.

One, The AOL-ism when you enter a game. Once you enter a game, you go through the loading screens, map loading, and so on. And then you get through into a game you hear people on the speakers or headset, you hear music,... but all of a sudden, the music and chatter stops, and after 1-3 seconds, you see an play screen with no movement except for the loading circle on the bottom. About 5 seconds later, I found myself sitting in the main menu. Not only that, but it also boots you from the Xbox live service and you have to reconnect to the Live service! I have discovered that I can rarely get into a game when they are actually playing. I must wait until the game goes back into the waiting lobby before I can join it! Hopefully, Ubisoft will release a patch to fix this up (Apparently, there are always online bugs with the Ubisoft games. RS3 (Action Replay), SC-PT (quit and don't lose points and game is not ranked), and this game to be specific. What are the online testers doing?)

Two, Spawn Camping. UUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!! This problem is basically a problem with the newer online modes, where another team gets through to their spawn and just shoots everyone on the other team that respawns. Not only does it agitate the team that is getting spawn killed, but it takes the fun out of the game as well (I expected a challenge, not to just shoot people respawning!). I'll admit it to you, I have spawn killed before (did not initiate it, but joined in the process) and it is only fun to do for about 30 seconds to a minute, then it just gets boring. Either because you get sick of it, or the other team just quit or stopped respawning. And the attacking team has the advantage as well since you cannot move for a half second where they just shoot you and you, yes, die. Once again, where are the online testers on this sort of thing. Shouldnt Ubisoft have put up barriers on spawns or a time limit for being in the opponents spawn area (10 seconds tops) but no, We have to suffer until Ubisoft puts out a patch to stop this madness.

Three, you quit and your stats do not count for the game. It's self-explanitory. quit and the game will not count for or against you, it's not as bad as splinter cell where a player quit and the game didn't count, but it still irks me that this hasn't been fixed for a game that has been released AFTER Splinter Cell.

Final Verdict: I would still buy this game, since many people will abandon RS3 for the expansion pack, and besides, if you look past the online bugs, it is a very good game. and it's only $40. Good price for the game.

Black Arrow

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've only rented this game so far, but I'll soon be buying it. Rainbow Six 3 was my favorite game on Xbox live, and this will replace it. Not only does it support Live 3.0 features, like clans, but they've made a lot of other changes I like as well.

The weapons and combat system feel more realistic, and there's more depth to the squad commands. Plus they added all new MP maps in addition to the old ones, a new SP campaign, and new MP modes.

Better than ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Black Arrow has the same great graphics, sound effects, and controls as the original Rainbow Six 3. What makes it different is the overall polish of the gameplay. It seems more advanced, in that it relies more on your skill and leadership to get through the campaigns than in the original. I find myself making more strategic decisions before I engage the enemy in terms of weapons choice, cover, and squad placement, in addition to all the on-the-fly tactical stuff that made the original RS3 so much fun.

Maybe it's the improved enemy A.I. that forces the player to be that much better in order to survive. The terrorists are tougher and smarter this time around with lots of shooting from behind cover, zig zagging, ducking, and even waiting for you to reload before rushing you. In Black Arrow there's little chance of running in and hoping to outgun them before they get you - and sending in your squad to do the dirty work for you just means you end up with a smaller squad, or many times no squad at all. Going in alone is also tough as you need your team to cover your blind spots and provide fire support against those enemies that rush in from from different directions. I'm not sure if the squad A.I. has been improved, since it was pretty good in the original RS3 - that and the fact that they'll occasionally still walk right in front of your muzzle when you're firing at the enemy, making for a quick friendly-fire head shot.

The evolution of RS3 is also found in the level design, which is less straight forward with more out-of-the-way side doors into rooms that allow you to flank the enemy. Also, the lighting in Black Arrow is done in a way where it's not always obvious when and where to use night vision or IR. It's better this way, because instead of having pitch black sections that are tailor made, it's up to you to call on your own experience and feel your way through each area to see what works best in that particular situation.

There are lots of weapons again (G36C,M4,M16A2,UMP) - the different characteristics of each weapon is one of the things I like most about the Rainbow series. It's not just the animations and sound effects, but the weapons actually FEEL different from one another - that's an incredible achievement for a video game and adds to the authenticity in a unique way.

The combat in Black Arrow is great. You've got some seriously violent street fights with enemy snipers up high, guys with assault rifles rushing you and a bunch more firing from behind cover and running in from side alleys, all the while RPG's are screaming past you from different directions - and not to mention your squad yelling in your ear "Enemy fire!" and "I'm hit, I'm hit!" This is some of the most realistic combat in any XBOX game, giving you an intense taste of the panic, confusion, and `fog' of war. There's the all-out ferocious firefights and then there are also parts of the game that are equally intense but in a different way - where you have to be very mindful of what's in your sights - discerning between terrorists and hostages in a split second before you get shot or you shoot the wrong person. These are the cool, calm, and collected professional special ops missions that put a different kind of pressure on you - to be fast and accurate but also careful and smart. Both are great and the fact that they mix them up is a nice change of pace.

What I dislike about Black Arrow is what I disliked about the first RS3 - not much. Except for the bodies of the dead terrorists disappearing when you turn away (kills the realism) these games are pretty much perfect. RS3 Black Arrow is a lot of fun and a really exceptional FPS.

Great FPS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: August 31, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is one of the greatest First-person shooter games I have ever encounted playing. For various reasons such as, non-stop computer AI situated throughout the whole mission. This develops a fast-paced game, which allows more action for the player because of more shooting involved.

The difference between this game and the Rainbow Six 3 original game, is that there is more weaponary available, more missions taking on different landscapes. The mission landscapes are a lot more intricate and well thought-out, than the original Rainbow Six 3. Other than that there are not many other changes made to this expansion.

The play is really fun. You control a team of 3 other members, while at the same time you also are able to fire with your guy. If you like the idea of controlling your teammates, such as the game Full Spectrum Warrior than this is somewhat similar. Lots of complaints are coming from Full Spectrum Warrior that there is no capability where you, yourself can fire a weapon. In Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow, you are allowed to control teammates and are capable of firing just as well. So there is good variety.

The graphics are not anything very special. You won't care about the graphics much because of how much fun and excitement you are putting forth into the game. The graphics are decent, but nothing over the edge such as maybe Full Spectrum Warrior in which more time was probably spent into making the game as realistic as possible.

One of the greatest things about this game is its multiplayer capability. In all the other Rainbow Six games there was no option allowed for you to play multiplayer. You are allowed to play cooperative with another friend of yours. You can even play against eachother up to 4 players. You can play capture the flag and king of the hill which are all really fun. This is one of the great advantages of this game. The campaign mode is really fun, along with the multiplayer mode which could give a change to the game so that your not always playing by yourself.

If you have XBOX LIVE, then you should deffintely get this game over every other xbox live game out there right now. These shooter games are great on-line.

The Rainbow Six series have had a great reputation for great First person shooters, so you can't go wrong buying this game. If you have played any other Rainbow Six games, I suggest you just go ahead and buy, there is no reason to rent because it is pretty much the same as the other Rainbow Six games except for different weapons and missions, smarter terrorist AI, and the great multiplayer capability. There are so many options you could play having this game. It's only 40 dollars too.

Better levels, but cheaper enemies and even dumber teammates

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 36 / 39
Date: September 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game because I was relatively satisfied with the first rainbow six 3 game on XBOX. This one for the most part does not disappoint, however there are a few flaws that make this game not worthy of a 5 star rating.

Black Arrow plays almost exactly like the first RS3 on XBOX. Even the characters are the same guys, you are Ding Chavez and your teammates are Dieter Weber, Eddie Price and Louis Louiselle. All of the weapons are the same except there is no .50 caliber sniper riffle, it has been replaced with a sniper rifle that uses 7.62mm shells which still gets the job done, but just doesn't have the powerful sound as the .50 cal. The first thing you will notice different about this game are the levels. Each level has been beautifully done complete with better lighting, graphics and attention to detail. Just imagine playing the levels in Splinter Cell 2 as a FPS. The storyline while a bit better than the first seems to jump around a lot, still lacks depth. The enemies are much smarter and will constantly throw grenades at you, call for backup and even rush you when they know you are reloading. This makes the game challenging and fun however the fine line between challenging and frustrating is often crossed in this game.

One thing you will immediately notice is that RS6:BA still uses the painfully annoying limited save system which I wish they get rid of. If you are playing veteran difficulty you are only allotted 2 saves per mission (you were given 3 in the previous game). You will often have to complete 2 tasks before your first save to help spread your saves out. This results in restarting levels over and over and over and over and over and over again, and I am not exaggerating one bit. Be prepared to restart levels anywhere from 20 - 25 times before you are familiar with the layout and cheap enemies hiding in impossible places and literally coming out of nowhere. While terrorists are smarter they are also very cheesy, I have noticed that the CPU randomly places enemies in different spots when you are not looking. I have actually seen a terrorists drop out of the sky on a balcony to try to get a cheesy kill on you. I have also noticed that if you have your team with you more terrorists will randomly appear than if you're by yourself. Levels are also filled with "trigger points" meaning that a room can be totally clear at one moment but if you cross a certain point, the room is filled with enemies magically appearing behind crates and coming out of doors and windows. The fun factor of this game is hurt greatly because of this. You spend entire missions creeping through trying to guess where the next enemy will randomly appear and trying to set off the trigger point and run for cover before you are shot up. Another thing I found very frustrating about this game is that certain terrorists never seem to die no matter how many times you shoot them, I have put at least 15 shells from an M16 into the back of a enemy and he still runs away like nothing hit him. On another occasion I have hit an enemy in the head two and three times and even saw blood splatter, but yet the enemy is still alive and fires back like nothing happened. I am sorry but even a grazed bullet to the head should a least stun you. As bad as all these things are, I think the most frustrating aspect of this game is the almost comical stupidity of your teammates. These guys are supposed to be the best however, they will die at a moments notice if you leave them alone for even a few seconds, you have to cover your own (...) and protect them because they are flat out idiots. You tell them to throw a grenade at a spot and instead of throwing the grenade from where they are standing, they will first run to the spot you tell them to throw the grenade, then throw it. Needless to say terrorists waiting around the corner usually kill them. You tell them to hold their position they wont stand where you tell them to, instead, these guys will just go to the nearest opening and give up the entire team's cover by firing at enemies. To make matters even worse, they will stand there and let the enemies pummel them with bullets. My 3 year old knows that if something is hurting him, he will most away from the source of the pain, however your dumb teammates will just complain "I'm hit!!" or "Taking fire!" while their life bar gets shorter and shorter. They will continue to stand there until the enemy is dead or he is dead. The latter usually is the outcome. Another thing that is funny is how three guys with automatic weapons have trouble even taking out one enemy. I have seen an enemy armed only with a pistol, wipe out my 3 teammates without taking one hit. The last words of my teammates as they fall to the ground are "Taking fire!!" As long as you don't depend on your teammates, you should be fine. I usually tell my team to hold while I go alone and clear out the area to make it "safe" for my team. Kind of defeats the purpose of a squad-based shooter, don't you think? To me it seems that your teammates are even dumber than they were in the previous RS. Combine the stupidity of your teammates with the fact that the voice recognition command system only works 80% of the time makes the teammate portion of this game the most frustrating.

I have already beaten the game on veteran after having it for only a week, but I probally won't go back and play it on Elite, because the only difference between the different difficulties is the number of saves you get per level. Recruit you get 3, veteran you get 2 and elite you get 1. Not worth playing again on elite because of the maddening frustration factor.

I haven't played multiplayer on this game and don't plan to anytime soon. XBOX live is becoming filled with immature stupid kids and cheaters who ruin the experience. This review is based on the single player alone. Though the missions are done a lot better this time around, the constant need to have to restart missions, cheap enemies and stupid teammates, outweigh the improvements which is why this game gets the same 4 star rating that I gave the first RS.

Counter-terror at it's finest.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

As a MUST-BUY for Xbox Live, this game could hardly get better. Xbox Live 3.0 support works perfectly for the game. Clans (known as "Squads" in Black Arrow) improve the quality of the game greatly on their own, even more-so when you kill multiple enemies of opposing squads by yourself. Singleplayer may not be worth buying the game (to me, mainly because I focus on Xbox Live play), but multiplayer is what it's all about. As a side note, RS3: BA is the #1 Xbox Live game right now (as according to xbox.com).

"Not as Good As The Originals"

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 9
Date: September 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

"Rainbow Six 3:Black Arrow" is just a bigger version of the original. But the Online Multiplayer has bigger maps and a new gun. The story isn't bad, considering that it's a First-Person Shooter. The A.I. is a little bit smarter, but thats not saying much, plus there's only ONE new gun. And whats the point in having Retrievel in a Squad Based Tactical game. It gets really stupid, and there really is no point in making this game. Say what you want, "Black Arrow" isn't that great to me. I realized that it's just like the original, just bigger. "Halo 2" may have the same problem, but people want "Halo 2" to be alot like "Halo", just a little bit bigger.

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