Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow E3 2004 Preshow Hands-On Impressions

Last year, Ubisoft released Rainbow Six 3 on the Xbox, and later it released the game on the PlayStation 2. Though the game shared a name with a similar game on the PC, Ubisoft reworked the console versions, simplifying the control and interface to a degree, and included a campaign with a more cohesive storyline. The result was an incredibly popular tactical shooter--a game that Ubisoft claims is the most widely played on Xbox Live. The upcoming Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow for the Xbox is not a sequel in the strictest sense of the word. Black Arrow can be characterized more closely as a stand-alone expansion that offers more of the same tight, tense gameplay that made the first Rainbow Six 3 such a success, as well as a number of new features.

One of the more prominent new features of Black Arrow will be its support of Xbox Live 3.0, which will let you create tournaments for up to 128 teams, make your own clans (with stat tracking), and receive in-game voice messages from friends outside the match. The game will also have a special planning interface that will allow teams to discuss strategies before each match begins. With the already sizable number of people playing Rainbow Six 3 online, Ubisoft has high hopes that Black Arrow's integration of Xbox Live 3.0 will create an even larger community of online players.

Aside from improved network infrastructure, multiplayer fanatics can look forward to 14 brand-new maps to play on and a couple of new team-based modes. One of the new modes is called "retrieval." Similar to capture the flag, retrieval requires each team to infiltrate the other's base and remove an item (such as a radioactive container) and bring it back to their own base. Unlike in most standard implementations of CTF, a dropped item can't be returned to base by just touching it; the defending team must pick it up and bring it back home themselves.

The other game mode is tentatively dubbed "total conquest," which we had a chance to try out at a recent pre-E3 press event held by Ubisoft. Three different capture points (represented by satellite transmitters in the match we played) are scattered around each total conquest map. The object of the game is to be the first team to capture and control all three points simultaneously, for a set period of time. Total conquest matches are timed as well, so in the event that no team can dominate all the capture points, the team that controls two of three when the timer is up wins the match. The map we played was a small urban setting, with a pair of multilevel buildings facing each other across a narrow street. With balconies, windows, and interior hallways to navigate, we had to stay on our toes to avoid being ambushed by enemy team members. Since the engine is the same as in the previous Rainbow Six 3 game, the controls felt familiar and responsive.

Fans of single-player action have plenty to look forward to in Black Arrow as well. Enemy AI has been tweaked and improved, so you can look forward to seeing terrorists use improved tactics, like calling for help or using hostages as human shields. Black Arrow will offer a brand-new campaign that includes 10 missions spread across Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, as you and Team Rainbow try to stabilize the region around the Black Sea. All of these missions are also playable in a new two-player split-screen cooperative mode.

With a bevy of new online features and game modes for up to 16 players, a new campaign, and an offline cooperative mode, Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow appears set to deliver a great experience for fans of the original Rainbow Six 3. The game is currently slated to ship in August. Stay tuned to GameSpot for further developments on Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow.