This time, the target is you.
- NA release: 27th September 2005
- EU release: 30th September 2005
- JP release: N/A
- Developer: Red Storm Entertainment
- Publisher: Ubisoft
- NGC Magazine Score: 44%
- Mods Used: None
The Rainbow Six series are serious tactical shooters with a lot of strategy, with a niche but loyal fanbase. When trying to expand to new audiences, you always run the risk of disappointing your core fans. With Lockdown, Ubisoft decided that those fans didn’t matter in the slightest.
The opening scene features a squad of people taking out guards to some heavy metal, with the usual viral outbreak threat terrorist plot. This loud music extends to the menus, and it doesn’t feel like it suits a tactical game at all. Even the main squad you play as are all edgy and dysfunctional, and it’s all rather embarrassing.
But it makes sense when you play the game. There’s no tactics whatsoever, it’s just a generic first person shooter where you mow down hundreds of goons. There are objectives, but completing them is just making your way though linear levels, killing everyone and pressing the occasional button.
There are two difficulties. The enemy doesn’t get smarter, it just affects their health and accuracy. On normal, the enemy can’t hit anything at all, even missing you at point blank. On challenge, they’ll shoot anything within seconds – and as your squad is so useless the only way to proceed is to get them to stay behind while you kill everyone – if they follow you they’ll be taken out with ease, often resulting in a failed mission.
Lockdown completely abandoned the technical part of itself, but does nothing to make it appeal to new people other than a completely futile attempt to be cool. Even Shadow the Hedgehog did a much better job.
Poor
The cornerstone of team-based game is always the intelligence of both enemies and your team. And the sad fact is, team Rainbow aught to be appearing in Chuckle Brothers sketches, not fighting the war on terror.
Joel Snape, NGC Magazine #111
Remake or remaster?
Only in a Rainbow Six collection,
Official Ways to get the game
Rainbow Six: Lockdown in available on Steam.
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