I bet the ninth mission of Rainbow Six: Lockdown on PS2 is among the hardest levels ever devised. After a six-year layoff, I finally picked this game up again and swiftly made my way through the first 8 missions until I hit that perpetual roadblock codenamed Leviathan. Now I remember why I practically gave up on this game; it is nigh-unbeatable.
Difficulty aside, I had forgotten how much fun Lockdown was. I understand that it is regarded with great scorn among hardcore Rainbow fanatics for its more action-y style, but it hits my tactical sweet-spot just fine. I find the other Rainbow titles (save for the N64 edition) to be somewhat tedious and difficult, and more often downright boring. They may be a truer simulation, sure, but they make for a pretty boring time, especially for those of us more accustomed to the kinetic-kitsch of TimeSplitters and 007 shooters. Lockdown is very much like a first-person Freedom Fighters, in that it incorporates highly tactical team maneuvers with more casual, and certainly more visceral, run-and-gun. And your teammates are usually intelligent in providing you with back-up; I say usually because they have an annoying tendency to jump around in your line of fire as they scramble to find cover. But they do a wonderful of checking corners for enemies before running out of cover, as well as facing open doorways (where ambushes usually take place) when you instruct them to hold.
Unfortunately, I think this game may have been forgotten by time (and certainly by me as well, hence this rediscovery), so I encourage you to take another look at it if you enjoy shooters dipped in equal parts squad-based simulation and arcade candy-coating. Amazon has it used for just $.17, so get on it.
Here's a sample of what I'm up against. I believe this is a video taken from the PC version of Lockdown, but it works nonetheless:
No comments:
Post a Comment
You're on the mike, what's your beef?