Wait, is this Really Rainbow Six?

Gameplay 3/5: Rainbow Six 3 blew all tactical players away with it's amazing level design and great gameplay. Rainbow Six: Lockdown doesn't come close. Single player in R63 was above average but not perfect. Lockdown's single player is less than mediocre. R63 changed online gaming with its tactical gameplay. Tactics are obsolete in Lockdown. R63 had a variety of great guns. Lockdown has two overpowered guns. Basically, Ubisoft took R63 and change everything about it.

R6 has never been known for its AI, but how do you have worse AI then a previous game in a series. Well, however you do it, Lockdown did. You can literally storm a room and stand there for 3 seconds before even taking a bullet. Once you do start taking bullets, you'll be left standing for a while, since Lockdown doesn't hold true to the series quick realistic deaths. Any gun will suffice and the difficulty; well there isn't much. The single player levels are bland and feel unfinished. Overall you should steer clear of the single player all together.

Since the single player is so disappointing, I will spend the rest of the time on the multiplayer. If you are looking for R63 type action, then look somewhere else. Lockdown has introduced a totally new online gameplay experience. The game is now much more run and gun, with a health bar and the ability to heal. It isn't a Halo life bar, but it is a big leap compared to R63.

The new emphasis in the online is the P.E.C. mode. In this mode, you will choose from combat medic, engineer, special ops, and commando. You choose from these characters and play your games with them. They will gain experience as you play and even level up. As you level up you unlock new items and abilities. These abilities range from armor, to explosives, to health packs. The real problem is with the special ops. They really have no ability that is ever useful. They eventually get snipers (around 15 hours into the game) but since it takes 2-3 sniper hits to kill in a faced passed game you are done for. So you are really only left with medics, engineers, and commandos online.

Each class has its own abilities, but all can at some point get sub-machine guns. This is good since they are extremely overpowering with there high rate of fire and accuracy. Anyone not using the sub-machine guns is basically done for. This eliminates a lot of variety in the gameplay. The abilities on the other hand add a lot of depth to the gameplay. The P.E.C. mode will be a crewed awakening to former R6 players, but new players will probably take a liking to it.

Since the game is now so run and gun, everyone plays team sharpshooter, which has unlimited respawns. This leads to endless spawn killing. Although the online is a lot of fun, you will get frustrated many, many times.

I really don't recommend playing the single player, but give the multiplayer a shot. I played 25+ hours on it before finally stopping, and had a great time. If I were to split this into two categories, I would give single player a 2/5, and multiplayer a 4/5, leading me to my 3/5 conclusion.

Graphics 3/5: Graphics are pretty much average. Everything looks a little bland. The rag doll physics are very well done and fun to watch, but aside from that there isn't anything great. The guns all look pretty good. The player models are all pretty much the same aside from facial features. The flash bang and tear gas effects are nicely done. Overall it just looks like any other average game.

Sound 3/5: The sound is nothing special. The only real differences in gun sounds are the suppressed and unsuppressed. Footsteps are looped. Flash bangs drowns out all other noise. Everything you have seen in other game is done here, but without all the effort to make it good. The sound is simply average.

Replay value 4/5: This is the best part of the review since the best part of the game is the multiplayer. I feel that this is where all the replay value lies within this game. With the P.E.C. mode, you will want to play through each class' 30 levels at least once. Once you have decided on a class you can stick with it and just play. The clan matches are well set up, so if you find a good group you can add a few hours onto the gameplay. You could really play this game until everyone else stops playing online. So, even though you won't play the single player through more than once (if that), you can still have some long-term fun.

Overall 3/5: This game lacks in a few department, excels in others, and is average in the rest. This all balances out to make an average game. If you have X-box Live, this is a must buy since it is already only $20-$30 in most stores, but if you are stuck playing offline, steer clear. Remember that if you are looking for a Rainbow Six 3 style game you won't find it here, but if you want a fun straight shooter, this is a great pick.

Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Shooter
Rating: Mature