This week I’m back with an oldie for Retro Game Friday. It’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six!

Plot: The plot is okay, but pretty standard Clancy fare. If you’ve read any of his other books you’ll get the basic picture, US government agents and/or spec ops agent(s) go against foreign antagonists to save the day. Pretty cut and dry.

Gameplay: This is a tactical shooter, which means that you are given limited assets and you can’t go in guns blazing to win. You have to use your head in order to make it through each level and plan ahead if you want to win. Most levels are actually really short in terms of actual gameplay, but the planning of each mission takes much more time and if you do it poorly you’ll most likely fail. This did a fairly decent job at pulling off this concept and set the stage for many future games in the Rainbox Six series.

Art: The art is pretty terrible now, but back then it was fairly awesome. Still it’s nothing great looking at it now.

Music: I don’t remember much of the music, but I remember it feeling appropriate it for the game.

Overall: A fairly decent game, but later entries do a better job and look better as well.

For those who like: Tactical Shooters, Planning, Forethought, Tom Clancy.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.