Rainbow Six Siege has its place. It’s an energetic, imaginative multiplayer FPS with some smart mechanics and a good mix of arcade pace and simulation-style gravitas. It’s a solid online shooter – but it’s not Rainbow Six, not in the real, classic sense. Rainbow Six is slow, tense, and your life is balanced on a knife edge. It almost feels like a survival horror game, something close to tank-control legends like Silent Hill and Resident Evil. Rainbow Six Vegas was maybe the last R6 game in that original mold. But the best one, for me, remains Rainbow Six 3, and now 21 years later, it’s all yours for less than $3.
There are different versions of Rainbow Six 3. The console port is a bit lighter, and cuts out the pre-mission briefing and planning, and only lets you control a single character. The original PC cut of the FPS game is more thorough.
Originally released in 2003, it’s a white-knuckle, one-shot-and-you’re-dead-style tactical shooter that shares DNA with the legendary SWAT series, and – mechanically at least – feels like inspiration for the likes of Ready Or Not. There aren’t that many enemies. The levels are small (compared to contemporaneous peers like Halo and Medal of Honor), and combat is normally over in a flash.
Every room in Rainbow Six 3 (or to give it the full title, Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield) is a mission unto itself. You need to pick your movements carefully, order your teammates into position, and check every corner before you advance. Guns feel and sound lethal and the entire campaign has the energy of a buzzwire maze, where a single slip spells game over.
If you want a nerve-shredding, super-tough, tactical FPS, Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield is now cheaper than ever, and available for $2.49 / £1.07. Just head here.
Check out some of the best old games ever made, if you have nostalgia for the age of classic Rainbow Six, or maybe look ahead to the best upcoming PC games on their way to you.
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