Freelancer²
Wednesday, 5. April 2006, 21:15:28
My latest review is online. This time, it's one for the Dutch gamesite Telenet.Games. The article covers the latest incarnation in the Rainbow Six series, R6:Lockdown. I'm a vivid fan of the R6 games especially for the enormous amount of tactical gameplay it offers. But after a succesful start on the PC platform, the series sidetracked to the major consoles (PS2 and Xbox), resulting in numbed-down versions that took away a big part tactical side of the series. So I had my fingers crossed when the series returned to my favourite gaming platform...
I've always felt that shooters, especially tactical ones, should be reserved for PC for one reason only: the keyboard/mouse combo allows for a much greater accuracy than a controller. I'd take on anyone who believes to be a master at a console shooter, and I'm sure I'd own him (or her
) in a console shooter of his/her choice. If I can use my keyboard and mouse that is. But we're dwelling here, back to Lockdown.
I had something to say at the Ubisoft offices, I would have made sure they did not put the Rainbow Six title on it. I'm pretty sure that Lockdown will or has already disappointed a lot of R6 fans. Don't get me wrong, the game is pretty good, but it just doesn't cut it as a R6 game. Most of the tactical elements were toned down or removed completely. Take the prelimenary planning phase for example, in which you could easily plan out a whole mission and then just lean back to watch your plan be put in action by your AI teammates. Well, that's gone now. Instead you're thrown right into the action. You can give your teammates orders throughout the missions themselves though. If you're lucky enough, they won't screw up too much and actually survive. And if you're very lucky, they won't blow themselves up by throwing a nade against the door during a room entry. If there would be a correct term for the AI showcased in the game, it would probably be Artificial Stupidity...
Where Lockdown does excel in, is the graphics. They are simply amazing. Detailed and dynamic environments, great special effects, and sweet ragdoll physics. What else could you ask for? Combine this with a good load of nice sound effects, and you know we have a (in this case: partial) winner.
If you decide to play Lockdown, make sure to clear your thoughts of anything that could be linked to Rainbow Six, even remotely linked through some obscure mindtwists. If you succeed in doing that, I'm sure you'll have a blast with the game. The enormous choice in of weapons and gadgets, a somewhat decent SP campaign, and a good multiplay experience make this game a good choice to fight boredom with.
Since the title suggest 2 "freelancers", and the first part of this post is linked to my job as a freelance writer, there must be a second "freelancer" thing too... Well, I just discovered the game Freelancer, in which you get to play a bounty hunter in space. A friend of mine was ranting about it at work, and he got me interested in it. So I picked up a copy of the game, and I must say it has been quite a ride. The game is nice, combining fastpaced spacecombat with a freedom I've seldom seen in any kind of a shooter game. Next to blowing up other spaceships, it's also possible to play in a more serene manner, as a trader between factions and planets for example, trying to make money in a more peaceful way.
I'm off to explore again, see you in space maybe
I've always felt that shooters, especially tactical ones, should be reserved for PC for one reason only: the keyboard/mouse combo allows for a much greater accuracy than a controller. I'd take on anyone who believes to be a master at a console shooter, and I'm sure I'd own him (or her
) in a console shooter of his/her choice. If I can use my keyboard and mouse that is. But we're dwelling here, back to Lockdown.I had something to say at the Ubisoft offices, I would have made sure they did not put the Rainbow Six title on it. I'm pretty sure that Lockdown will or has already disappointed a lot of R6 fans. Don't get me wrong, the game is pretty good, but it just doesn't cut it as a R6 game. Most of the tactical elements were toned down or removed completely. Take the prelimenary planning phase for example, in which you could easily plan out a whole mission and then just lean back to watch your plan be put in action by your AI teammates. Well, that's gone now. Instead you're thrown right into the action. You can give your teammates orders throughout the missions themselves though. If you're lucky enough, they won't screw up too much and actually survive. And if you're very lucky, they won't blow themselves up by throwing a nade against the door during a room entry. If there would be a correct term for the AI showcased in the game, it would probably be Artificial Stupidity...
Where Lockdown does excel in, is the graphics. They are simply amazing. Detailed and dynamic environments, great special effects, and sweet ragdoll physics. What else could you ask for? Combine this with a good load of nice sound effects, and you know we have a (in this case: partial) winner.
If you decide to play Lockdown, make sure to clear your thoughts of anything that could be linked to Rainbow Six, even remotely linked through some obscure mindtwists. If you succeed in doing that, I'm sure you'll have a blast with the game. The enormous choice in of weapons and gadgets, a somewhat decent SP campaign, and a good multiplay experience make this game a good choice to fight boredom with.
Since the title suggest 2 "freelancers", and the first part of this post is linked to my job as a freelance writer, there must be a second "freelancer" thing too... Well, I just discovered the game Freelancer, in which you get to play a bounty hunter in space. A friend of mine was ranting about it at work, and he got me interested in it. So I picked up a copy of the game, and I must say it has been quite a ride. The game is nice, combining fastpaced spacecombat with a freedom I've seldom seen in any kind of a shooter game. Next to blowing up other spaceships, it's also possible to play in a more serene manner, as a trader between factions and planets for example, trying to make money in a more peaceful way.
I'm off to explore again, see you in space maybe
WIDGETIZE
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