Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow announced

Ubisoft has today announced the development of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow for the Xbox. Currently scheduled for release in August, the game will be one of the first to take advantage of Microsoft's new Xbox Live 3.0 features, which include user-created tournaments, messaging, and clan statistics.

"Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 has owned Xbox Live for months now. Gamers can't get enough of the incredible online experience. We're giving them more of what they crave, and [we're] improving Xbox Live play by integrating new multiplayer modes and [by] being one of the first out of the gate with new Xbox Live features," said Tony Kee, vice president of marketing for Ubisoft. "A new split-screen feature for offline co-op play will significantly enhance the offline replay value of the game, and the awesome online capabilities will deliver even more hours of thrilling, intense gameplay."

Black Arrow's campaign mode will once again see players assuming command of the four-man Team Rainbow squad, and they'll be able to issue voice commands to their colleagues using an Xbox Live headset. The game's plot focuses on a group of terrorists that has made repeated attempts to kidnap telemetry and rocket scientists so that it might develop weapons of mass destruction. It's up to Team Rainbow to both stop the terrorists and prevent a potential conflict in the oil-rich regions around the Black Sea.

In addition to the campaign, Black Arrow will boast a number of multiplayer gameplay options, including "capture the point" and "capture the flag," as well as those found in Rainbow Six 3. Also new to the game will be an option for players to discuss tactics and strategies in private team-lobbies before taking part in online matches.

We'll bring you more information on Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow as soon as it becomes available.