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Rogue Spear Entertainment Booth :: Covert Ops
Developers: RSE, MagicLantern, Zombie
Previewed by: Aaron "Snicker" Benzick
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COE E3 Video Footage (4 minutes, 34megs; Magic Lantern developer giving the scoop on
Covert Ops Essentials) *REQUIRES: MS Media Player 6.4 or higher
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At this year's E3, Red Storm Entertainment has finally pulled the blinders off of
Rainbow Six: Covert Ops. While they haven't fully unleashed all there is to know
about this title, we sure have learned a lot more. The best way to think of this
game is as a stand alone mission pack for Rogue Spear with a bunch of extra
added content. RSE is not developing this title completely in-house but is
actually shared amongst three development companies. Magic Lantern is
implementing their ShowTech application environment which provides the interface
for the interactive guide part of this title. That part includes the videos, gun
information, and the testing. RSE is also helping in this section and creating a
few of the maps. Zombie Interactive, creators of the Spec Ops series, is
creating the additional original maps. The expected release date for Covert Ops
is 3rd Quarter 2000. After closer inspection of their brochure handed out at
their booth, it appears they are more specifically shooting for a July release!
Covert Ops is a two cd set that contains 9 new playable missions and a wealth
of information about special operations. What exactly does that mean? Glad you
asked, I found out at E3 ;-) This title is a stand alone title. This means that
you are not required to have another game such as Rogue Spear or Rainbow Six to
play. The first half of the game features interactive guides that provide a
wealth of knowledge in the area of real life covert ops. Some of the features
include an hour and a half of video with such things as interviews with experts
in the field of covert ops. Along with the video, you will find over 5 books of
technical info from sources such as the Army and SAS.
While reading all of this info you will learn things like what types of
weapons to use in certain covert missions and there will be images to go along
with the reading. For example, using what they call "image based
clusters" you can pick out certain portions of an image, like the scope on
a sniper rifle, and learn more about that piece. After your have done your
research, there are various tests that you can take that will earn you awards
and ribbons. Also included is a special feature on the making of Rainbow Six and
Rogue Spear.
The second section of Covert Ops is the actual levels that you get to play on
the Rogue Spear engine. Unfortunately RSE was not showing any of these new maps
off at E3. We did however learn that Covert Ops will feature multiplayer support
just like Rogue Spear. This is exciting news and means you will be able to play
the nine new maps with your buddies online. The maps are not story driven like
the ones you see in Rogue Spear but they are based on your training that you
learn elsewhere on the cd
This game looks like a great addition for any Tom Clancy enthusiast and the
introduction of nine new multiplayer maps will keep it interesting for the hard
core R6/RS gamer. I am personally looking forward to the new maps and the making
of Rainbow Six and Rogue Spear special :-)
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