Rainbow Six

Overall: D+
Violence: D+
Sexual Content: A
Language: A
Drugs/Alcohol: A

Platform reviewed: Nintendo 64
Publisher: Red Storm Entertainment
ESRB rating: T

Okay, I admit it, I have a weakness for Tom Clancy novels. In fact, life generally comes to a standstill while I absorb the latest 800 page epic, brimming with action and suspense, woven around a whole lot of detail. I was certain then, as chairman of Red Storm Entertainment (the company that brings us Rainbow Six), Mr. Clancy could see to it that a game based on one of his bestsellers would follow the same successful pattern.

Rainbow is the code-name for the world's finest anti-terrorism squad. As leader of this elite unit, you are presented with 12 seemingly unrelated missions and, as in all Clancy novels, a common thread ties them together - you just don't notice it for a while. Mission objectives received during briefing sessions with your commander, John Clark (code-named Rainbow Six), range from intel gathering to hostage rescue - "taking out" necessary terrorists along the way.

Strategy is this game's strength, and planning is crucial. Once briefed, there are numerous elements to consider in the upcoming mission preparations: Team rosters are chosen according to individual strengths and abilities (an electronics expert may be vital for one mission and a demolitions expert for another). Various types of camouflage, weapons and other equipment are at your disposal - pay close attention when assembling your "kits" (you gotta hate it when you pull out a lock-picking tool and what you really wanted was a flashbang). Since no respectable leader would venture into situations without a knowledge of terrorist and hostage locations, maps are available to assist in preparing details such as way-points (places where other team members will perform specific tasks or await further commands).

When you are confident that all risks to operatives (team members) and hostages are minimal, it is time to execute your plan... along with those misguided terrorists. Although the graphics are far from elaborate, it won't take long to be absorbed into the action through your first-person perspective. Besides, you will soon discover that this game's realism is directly proportional to your choice of difficulty mode. Terrorists get smarter as the game gets tougher and one tiny mistake can produce undesirable results, oft-times leading to operative and/or hostage casualties. In Rainbow Six, one shot usually kills, and a fine looking plan can become an ugly mess in milliseconds.

In the past, I've been able to rationalize the killing in Clancy's novels because if faced with these threats in real life, his heroes' actions would generally be considered "acceptable." I mean, you have to kill someone attempting a bio-chemical Armageddon, don't you? Applying this same logic, I found myself relying on this game's strategy component to justify its killing component.

The flaw in my thinking became evident when, at the conclusion of a successful mission, my teenaged son accidentally shot a member of his own "red" team. Then, in the blink of an eye, he decided to shoot the "blue" team members and their recently rescued hostages because, in his words, "they weren't doing anything anyways." It was hard to ignore the pit in my stomach...

At the end of the day, no matter how sanitized it may be, the central theme of this game is killing and even though the terrorists were bad, you still volunteered your "virtual gun" to kill them. As in other "shooter" games, Rainbow Six addresses the subject of death far too casually - there's even an option to toggle blood/gore on and off. Try doing that in real life.

Jim Fleming

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