Retro Game Friday: Rainbow Six

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.

Movie Monday: The Hunt for Red October

This week for Movie Monday I’m back with another true classic. It’s The Hunt for Red October!

Plot: This a military thriller in the truest sense of the words, and the plot is pretty amazingly done. It’s got pretty much everything you could want from political intrigue to heart-pounding action sequences. I can’t say much more without spoiling it, but I will say that this has the Jack Ryan character from many of Clancy’s other novels and movies featured prominently in this one as well.

Casting: Sean Connery is cast as the Russian lead, Marko Ramius who pilots the titular Red October and Alec Baldwin who portrays Jack Ryan. The rest of the cast is just as well done, but these two really took the spotlight and they did a great job of it. Ironically Connery was not the first pick for Ramius.

Cinematography: It’s very well done, and considering how impractical filming on a real sub is they did a great job portraying it. The effects weren’t super amazing, but they weren’t terrible either.

Music: The music was pretty great, which is pretty obvious once you consider it won an Academy Award for Sound Editing. While it’s mostly done in English, the switch between Russian and English at the beginning was pretty well done.

Overall: A fun movie that you probably ought to watch if you haven’t seen it before.

For those who like: Military Fiction, Thrillers, Drama, Action, Sean Connery and/or Alec Baldwin.

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

Retro Game Friday: Splinter Cell

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m back with a game that really took the Stealth genre and made it popular. It’s Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell!

Plot Synopsis: In April 2004, the President of Georgia is assassinated, allowing Georgian billionaire Kombayn Nikoladze to seize power with a bloodless coup d’état. In August 2004, former U.S. Navy SEAL officer and Gulf War veteran Sam Fisher is recruited by the National Security Agency to work within its newly formed division, “Third Echelon.” Working with his old friend Irving Lambert, Fisher is introduced to technical expert Anna “Grim” Grimsdóttír, and field runner Vernon Wilkes Jr. In October 2004, Fisher is dispatched to Tbilisi, Georgia to investigate the disappearance of two CIA officers.

Plot: The plot is pretty standard Military Thriller which should come as no surprise as this is part of the Tom Clancy franchise.

Gameplay: This game took the stealth genre and made it mainstream paving the way for future games like Assassin’s Creed. The main draw of the gameplay was the use of the light and shadows. You were encouraged to take your time and carefully move from shadow to shadow to get around. You couldn’t really go in with guns blazing and just shoot your way through the game. You had limited ammo, and even than your armaments were usually more non-lethal than anything else.

Artwork: Sadly the art has aged incredibly poorly, but at the time they were pretty damn good.

Music: I don’t remember any of the music sadly.

Overall: A fun game, but with a very aged art and gameplay compared to modern day games, it’s probably best left in the bargain bin.

For those who like: Military-Thrillers, Tom Clancy, Stealth.

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