I just finished this game on Uplay after finishing Rainbow Six 1998. Let's call it trying out these "classics". After a horrific buggy experience on Rainbow Six, my expectations were rather low and this game has certainly met those expectations. The AI is much improved from Rainbow Six, enemies no longer have purely cheap and unfair advantages and your teammates are no longer completely braindead. AI-controlled squads move tactically and clear corners well. Gunplay is more enjoyable as you clear large spaces of enemies before moving on to the next corner. The game is not without its flaws however. There continue to be frustrating moments in about 40% of the missions involving impossible attacks (especially involving tanks) and a new feature, enemies that spawn (a completely unfair and near unbeatable trick since they appear and attack immediately en masse). With tireless trial and error, they can be overcome but they do take away from the game because it is once again not a tactical challenge but a cheap way for the game to make itself more "difficult" by killing you unfairly. Finally, the gameplay is rather thin. The larger maps are interesting but operators vary mildly only in equipment available. The skill point system is in no way deep but does have a tangible impact after a while. The gameplay is therefore not too deep. The engine is respectable and its core gameplay of long-range tactical shooting and directing fireteams is done quite well, especially considering the era. This is a game I can recommend to someone interested in the history of FPSes, is willing to tinker a little with settings and can tolerate some frustrating moments. All in all, it was not nearly the torturous experience of the Rainbow Six 1998 predecessor.
BUGGY AND BORING: I will be evaluating this game as a gaming experience for people playing it today, not as a product of 1998. While I will not prejudice its obvious backwardness in graphics, mechanics, etc, I will be critiquing the simple experience. Firstly and perhaps most importantly, there are many game-breaking bugs. I am not talking about graphics or clipping, I'm talking about objectives disappearing, characters being unable to move and regular crashes. There were several occasions where missions became literally impossible to complete. I have had to edit the victory conditions in the game files to progress. Secondly, this game does not really promote "tactical" gameplay. It was a step in that direction from the likes of Doom. However, due to the extremely unintelligent AI, this game plays in a very particular way. You have to move extremely slowly, looking all around you before taking a step. You simply repeat and try to shoot enemies when you see elbows. This is why I consider this an "elbow-shooting simulator". Obviously unrealistic but it is the only way when enemies react and kill you instantly. The planning phase is supposed to help you create plans to outmaneuver opponents but it fails. There is no way to reliably sneak up on people, take them by surprise, distract them, overwhelm them with speed. If left to AI, the team will often run to their own deaths. You will have to take over and elbow-shoot a lot. At first the experience was extremely frustrating and I felt I absolutely hated the game because it didn't feel fun to adjust to AI idiosyncracies. The voicing is good and the sound is atmospheric without much nuance or emotion. The sound becomes very annoying after you die for the 47th time. Eventually, I got the hang of it and there were nuggets of fun when you achieve objectives stealthily and avoid most of the action. The bugs alone make it not worth your time and combined with cheap-feeling and unfair gameplay, it's too painful to recommend.
