!&#@* Ubisoft.

[pogozorro]

That's it.

They've killed it.

Lockdown is a goddamn FPS. No tactics, no AI response.

It reminds me of FEAR, except without the neat slow-motion.

I will NOT be buying this.

[Creole Ned]

For those wondering, Ubi has released a demo of Rainbow Six: Lockdown (http://www.rainbowsixgame.com/uk/newspost.php?id=14504). It features one team adversarial map and one single player map (with co-op). I have not taken a look-see yet so am reserving judgement for the moment.

[Circuit]

When did we ever play RS using any sort of tactics short of "find all the terrorists and shoot them", though? :) If the maps and weapons are cool and it's fun in multiplayer, I'm in.

[Creole Ned]

I think that oversimplifies what made the Rainbow 6 games fun and is a bit of a "all games are Pong" argument. The objectives in Serious Sam and Raven Shield are the same - kill the bad guys. But no one would ever confuse the games.

I think pogo is suggesting that there are changes in Lockdown that take away from the feel that is specific to the R6 games, turning it into a more conventional Quake-style shooter. That would be a bad thing, in my opinion, as we already have Quake (and plenty of clones).

However, without pogo providing any actual details (other than a comment on AI), it's hard to tell what the changes (for the worse) might be. :)

[pogozorro]

The level was a linear affair with enemies jumping out miraculously prepared for you, even while stealthed.

Once you die, that's it. Your teammates are apparently linked directly to your nervous system.

The guns feel generic and don't have the natural recoil from previous games.

The AI is dumb. In some cases, Serious Sam run at the enemy/player dumb.

There is no planning phase like before and you give orders (Go here. Stay.) via voice or by using the spacebar and having your AI assistants react accordingly, even if it means standing in FRONT of a car in a firefight instead of behind.

Everyone moves so damn fast. While I wish I could jog at 30 mph, it feels wrong in a supposedly realistic, tactical game.

Enemies take multiple, MULTIPLE shots to die. This includes headshots.

The enemy AI has none of the "What's that noise?" response and instead steps around corners and shoots, whether you are there or not.

The physics feel floaty, as if you are a disembodied hand holding a gun. There is no sense of place.





It is all rather intangible, but Lockdown is a Counterstrike clone, not an R6 game.

[pogozorro]

When did we ever play RS using any sort of tactics short of "find all the terrorists and shoot them", though? :) If the maps and weapons are cool and it's fun in multiplayer, I'm in.

Also, while in multplayer we didn't always do so, I loved the single-player just as much.

This, not so much.

[jackrabbit]

Having played R6:3 and Ghost Recon 2, I'm faily certain that anyone working at Ubi that cared that they used to make good games is either dead or stopped taking their medication.

I'm also pretty worried about Splinter Cell 4 as the screens look like crap, there is no gear, and Sam Fisher is in prison.

Time will tell on Splinter Cell, but I'd prefer they stop calling the other franchise "Rainbow Six" as it's an insult to the origins of the game.

[Circuit]

Splinter Cell 4 looks pretty good from what I've read and seen about it. Sam's not in prison the whole time. The story goes something along the lines of him being put in prison to get close to an important member of some secret anti-government organization and break him out. He then has to become accepted by that orgainization and balance his mission objectives with maintaining trust within the group. I'm actually quite a bit more interested in this than I was with past Splinter Cell games. The first was great, but the next two seemed rather same-ish from what I played. That's not necessarily a bad thing and I couldn't form a complete opinion on them since I never played them all the way through. Plus, I'm not really a big fan of stealth games in the first place, so I can only handle so much.

[jackrabbit]

normally, I hate stealth games. Or more reasonably, games that throw in "stealth levels". But I think the Splinter Cell series was based on the idea of it and gives you adequate opportunity to stay hidden, feel anxiety, and still not be unreasonably difficult.

I also think Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow was a bit derivative, but it gave use multiplayer, which rocked. The game was okay and the story was strong (probably stronger than the first game) but it just felt less important than the first. The problem with the first is that it was pretty vanilla as far as tools, gadgets, and actions.

For me, Chaos Theory brought all the things I loved about 1 and 2 into one magnificent looking package, plus more gear, more moves, and an amazing story that tied in events from 1 and 2. I felt like I was part of something huge without necessarily being the only hero involved in the game. I felt as though my actions helped the overall story, but I didn't feel like John McClane and everything pivoted on me. Obviously I also associated with the character and felt like I was Sam Fisher, and not that he was just an avatar I was controlling - so the immersion factor was high.

I'll hold out on Playa Hating* on Splinter Cell 4 until I've beaten it, but of the three, this one appeals to me the least from what I've read about it up to this point. It may turn out to be the best of the series, but I have a history of being wrong anyhow.

* OMG I SAID PLAYA HATE, LOL!