Rainbow Six: Black Arrow

[JoeyN]

IGN has posted there hands on impressions of Black Arrow and i must say this is gonna kick ass

 

Rainbow Six Black Arrow Preview

[hollismb]

I'm still of the opinion that the regular Rainbow Six kicks ass. Of course, I want the expansion even more with all the new maps and clan stuff. My only problem from reading that article is that they really only talk about a couple new maps and some old ones. I wonder how many maps there will be total. I want A LOT. Really, I think they should give us all the old ones, but I know that's not gonna happen.

[FLYING SE7EN]

droooooool.

[JoeyN]

IGN today posted Video of them playing R6:BA against the team who made it up in Montreal. Its for insiders only but im almost done with watching it. A few things

 

1) These maps are going to kick ass . In the first R6 most of it was going from room to room, but we did DL one with cat walks and such. This one has a lot of going up and down stairs, roof top snipers. Also just saw one of the maps having indoor and outdoor combat, in what looks like bunks

 

 

2)There is a new team briefing screen which your team can discuss strategy, look at maps of the level and so forth. This is really gonna help

 

3)There is now a community button on the matchup screen. They havent mentioned anything about it yet. .

 

4)Garage is back in it. No word on the rest of the original levels/downloads, but they do mention they played some other older maps. Hope those are all included as well

 

the funniest thing is them beeping out anytime they curse from a death.

 

capt

[Cyberwoo]

Ya I saw that video. Pretty funny seeing that dork run around with the M60. He died alot. I agree with you on the map impressions. They appeared to be nicely laid out. I like the new game modes as that should add some spice to the multiplayer. Oh and finally they included a team briefing screen! I sure hope they fix the glitches from RS3 though (lean glitching, looking through walls, etc). Also I hope they make it as cheat proof as possible. Oh and I think they could improve the hit detection as well making it as realtime and realistic as possible but that is just a pipe dream. I'm sure the game will be fun but I just hope it isn't just RS3 (with the issues I listed above) with new maps and a couple new game modes.

 

 

Edit: Oops I failed to read the hands on write up that Capt linked to. It says they fixed some of the things I was talking about. Coolness.

 

Edit #2: Damn your quick.

[JoeyN]

The Lean glitch was fixed. mentioned it in the original heading

[Robot Monkey]

Thanks for the summary, Joey! I'm looking forward to the game and especially the new game types.

 

-j

[hollismb]

There's some of the other maps from the first game in there too. I know there's an Airport map, for example. They were complaining in the write-up article about how it was changed a little bit.

 

I still can't believe he was running around with that huge freakin' gun. I have NEVER seen anyone use a gun like that before. No wonder he died like every five seconds.

[Kujeaux]

Gotta say that I can't wait for this one ... being one who hasn't stopped playing RB3. I already have it paid for after trading in some old games.

 

I can't wait to play the new modes. Retrieval (Capture the Canister) should be interesting since the carrier can only use his secondary weapon (bring those pistols baby) and the drop point is near the other team's spawn :shock: . It should be more fun for those players with less skill (you know who you are, DME) since they can respawn after dying (5 second wait).

 

I'm going to miss the "Round is a Draw" babe ... who am i kidding, she was just a one night stand anyway. Sudden Death is here to stay .. woohooo!!!

 

.50 cal sniper rifle is gone, replaced by the Dragunov ... not that any open server allowed it anymore.

 

Kujeaux out

[hollismb]

There's a new interview at IGN too. Something like 14 new multiplayer maps. Nice.

[Kujeaux]

Here's a summary .. I hope it isn't too long.

 

Overall Gameplay

• Improved lighting
  
• Leaning bug fixed ... bug refered to as allowing "players to lean out from corners and be virtually unhittable"
  
• Net code "seems" fixed ... didn't experience dropouts, much of any lag, and no grenade throws that didn't throw
  
• .50 cal sniper rifle gone, Dragunov in ... no other weapons added or deleted, i think
  
• Close range combat will result in greater damage
  
• New Xbox Live 3.0 features .. clans (up to 32 members), customizable logos and tags, up to 128 team tourneys, all are in game features
  

Single Player

• Initially 10 campaign maps (also used for Lone Rush mode)
  
• Increased IQ for AI .. will use tear gas and grenades if you shoot from around a corner, terrorist personalities randomized
  
• Campaigns seem more linear
  
• Lone Rush mode (single player only) ... 1:30 (or 1:00 from another article) to rush to end of map, bonuses for killing terrorists etc
  

Multiplayer

• Initially 14 maps (includes the 4 somewhat modified ones from original)
  
• Total Conquest Mode
  • 3 satellite stations on map .. position never changes
    
  • goal is to hold all satellites for 20 seconds
    
  • if timer runs out, team holding most sats wins, sudden death if one is unowned
    
  • hold A for 5 seconds to gain control of a satellite
    
  • 5 second respawn time
    

  [*]Retrieval Mode

  • basically capture the flag .. flag is a smoking blue canister .. only one canister
    
  • Canister carrier cannot use primary weapon
    
  • Canister usually starts halfway between both spawns
    
  • Dropoff point is usually near other team's spawn
    
  • Drop off canister by holding A for 5 seconds
    

  [*]Briefing Room ... right before a round, talk to teammates about strategy

  [*]Sudden Death ... if tied at end of timer

  [*]Four Maps Retained ... Presidio (added a wall behind main stairs), Airport 1 (added wall instead of Red door to pump room), Garage (same), Peaks (good for Conquest and Retrieval)

Info compiled from various articles on ign.com

 

Edit 08/03 to clear up confusion: All of the old modes are still available.

 

Erik

[Josh]

Getting ready to pre-order this online. Any deals I should know of other than the three-day shipping at Gamestop (which would be way too long for this compulsive buyer to wait)?

[hollismb]

The MSRP is 40 bucks, by the way, for those who don't know.

[Kujeaux]

New article at IGN.com dated July 16.

 

Five Best Things About Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow

 

There are some neat screen shots like the squad page, the satellite from Total Conquest mode, and the blue smoking canister from Retrieval mode (notice that the player has to use the secondary weapon).

 

Erik

[blackcalx]

I cancelled my Worms 3D preorder in favor of this one. I'm looking forward to getting my butt handed to me in new and exciting ways!

[Kujeaux]

I'll make sure I wear gloves. :lmfao:

[Kujeaux]

Another article .. this one is about Lone Rush. The mode where you play by yourself and have to rush to the end of the map within a short amount of time.

[Robot Monkey]

Lone Rush looks interesting and might work well in a party atmosphere, swapping the conrtoller Soul Calibur-style.

 

-j

[Carlucci]

Originally posted by Robot Monkey@Jul 22 2004, 01:39 PM

Lone Rush looks interesting and might work well in a party atmosphere, swapping the conrtoller Soul Calibur-style.

 

-j

My kids call this method "Die, Give it!", ("it" being the controller) and it is indeed one of our favorite ways to play almost any video game collaboratively.

 

 

 

Carlos.

[hollismb]

I think Lone Rush will be a great way to practice playing for sharpshooter, since it'll be so fast paced.

 

And the whole secondary weapon thing during Retrieval rules. For that reason alone, I've been practicing playing through levels using only the pistol, and have also learned that you can very easily run out of pistol ammo.

[Kujeaux]

Originally posted by hollismb@Jul 22 2004, 02:02 PM

... and have also learned that you can very easily run out of pistol ammo.

 

Then you need more practice ... practice head shots to save ammo ... this will improve your overall aim also.

 

When I'm not playing Team Survival, I'll try Terrorist Hunt w/ some crappy weapons like the M1 shotgun or a pistol. The gun I can't bear to use more than a couple rounds is the AW Covert, it's just aweful. As a result, my aim has improved tremendously.

[Kujeaux]

I came across another article about Black Arrow on TotalGames.net. It had some comments that I had not read from the articles on IGN. I could not find the date the article was written, so I don't know how reliable this information is.

 

Info I hadn't read before

• Lone Rush Mode : I had heard that you would get a bonus but I didn't realize it was a time bonus ... "Along the way you'll be awarded 10 seconds for wiping out a terrorist and 20 seconds for securing a hostage."
  
• Scoring : "In fact, there are now proper scores for each mission, all of which can be used to see how you stack up against other Black Arrow players around the world."
  
• Co-op mode (i.e. Split Screen) ... "The co-op mode is incredibly smooth and suffers from so few frame rate issues; it makes you wonder why co-operative play wasn't included in the original version of the game. There are a few changes, such as not being able to see your gun, but this ensures that there is the maximum field of vision crammed into a relatively small space on the screen."
  
• I think the writer should be more clear on the following statement ... "[There are some online maps] that have been included on the disc to allow Black Arrow players to fight against owners of the original game." I doubt RBS3 will be compatible with RBS3:Black Arrow, especially since 2 of the 4 maps have been modified and the ELO scoring systems might be different.
  
• Downloadable maps .. I haven't heard this but I hope it's true ... "All the additional downloadable maps are available to Black Arrow owners, and act as a kind of classic compilation - these are the most popular maps from the original game." That would mean the following maps are available ... Carnival, Sharins, Meat Factory, Parkade, Close Quarters, and Trainyard.
  

Erik

[Derrik Draven]

I hate the idea of lone rush. I have a REAL hard time getting into such haphazard, arcadey gameplay. It's definitely a issue of ones taste but, I'm VERY much more of the "slow steady stealthily", type of gameplay.

 

If they'd only do a pure sniper fps...Now that would really be up my alley!!!!

[hollismb]

My aim is excellent, thank you very much. I tend to not even take a shot unless I've got a clean headshot. On 'elite' with a handgun though, you're naturally inclined to take a few shots ar the head just to make sure you miss, before bad things happen. So yeah, you can run out of ammo. I suppose at the time, I wasn't making much effort to conserve it.

 

The only thing I wish they'd do something about is the close-quarters combat. While watching people dance around is hilarious, but when it goes on for like thirty seconds because one guy has a seven-shot pistol and the other has a sniper-rifle, you know something isn't quite right.

 

I wish there was a melee button on the context-sensitive A button, so that when you're not opening a door (commands don't work online), you'd slash with a knife or something.

[Kujeaux]

Sorry hollis ... I didn't mean it as bad as it sounded when I reread it. And yeah, if you're not paying close attention to your ammo expenditure, you can run low by the end.

 

I agree with your close combat assesment. I believe they have tried to address this with greater damage at close ranges in Black Arrow. We'll see next week.

 

Many of us have complained about the lack of a melee weapon. I would love to grab a guy from behind and use him as a shield, that'd be pretty cool :tu: