Rainbow Six Retreat: Rainbow Six Series Overview

Team RAINBOW
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Latest Updates:
This page last updated on: 2006 Feb 14

Added Lockdown PC image

Introduction::

For many, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series represents the ultimate in the "tactical shooter" genre, as these games are the best balance of realism and solid gameplay available today.

The purpose of this page is to provide fans with a one-stop resource center for information regarding each of the installments of this series. Information will be provided in the following areas:

Overviews of each of the games

Interviews/Previews/Reviews

History of game development

Strategy resources

Information on the latest patches

Available platforms and system requirements

The Rainbow Six Series::

The following is the list of titles that comprise the Rainbow Six series along with their respective original release dates. Click on the links below to find out more in-depth information about each of the games.

Abbreviations:
PC = PC CD-ROM
Mac = Macintosh
DC = Sega Dreamcast
PS1 = Sony PlayStation (PS one)
PS2 = Sony PlayStation 2
N64 = Nintendo 64
GC = Nintendo GameCube
GBC = Nintendo Game Boy Color
GBA = Nintendo Game Boy Advance
Xbox = Microsoft Xbox

Rainbow Six (Aug 1998)
PC/Mac/DC/PS1/N64/GBC

Soon after Team RAINBOW is created, it is already called in to stop several international terrorist attacks. They soon realize that these attacks are related to a plan to create a deadly worldwide epidemic.

Eagle Watch (Jan 1999)
PC/Mac/DC/N64

In this mission pack for Rainbow Six, Team RAINBOW is deployed to stop terrorists at famous international landmarks.

Rogue Spear (Sep 1999)
PC/Mac/DC/PS1/GC/GBA

This full-fledged sequel to Rainbow Six, sees RAINBOW facing two new powerful foes: the Russian Mafia and a powerful leader who hates the West ...

Urban Operations (Apr 2000)
PC/Mac/DC/PS1

The follow-up Rogue Spear mission pack features missions with RAINBOW operating in dense urban environments.

Covert Operations Essentials (Sep 2000)
PC

This stand-alone product is a new approach to the Rainbow Six series. Besides featuring some of the toughest maps ever based on the Rogue Spear engine, COE also features a training section which includes an encyclopedia about the world of counter-terrorism.

Black Thorn (Nov 2001)
PC

Someone is out to destroy Team RAINBOW, and can anticipate their every move. This stand-alone mission pack is the last R6 title based on the Rogue Spear engine.

Raven Shield (Mar 2003)
PC, Xbox, PS2, GC

This is the full-fledged "Rainbow Six 3" sequel to Rogue Spear developed using the next-generation Unreal engine.

Athena Sword (Feb 2004)
PC

This is the first expansion pack for Rainbow Six 3.

Iron Wrath (Jun 2005)
PC

This is the second expansion pack for Rainbow Six 3 and is available as a free download.

Lockdown (Feb 2006)
PC, Xbox, PS2, GC

This title represents Rainbow Six 4. Team RAINBOW is called on to fight a deadly bioterrorism threat.

Special Edition Bundles::

These respective R6 products were released a year after the original game and mission pack came out, and provide an outstanding value to gamers who have not yet discovered this excellent series.

Rainbow Six Gold Pack (Jun 1999)
PC

- This includes the original Rainbow Six, Eagle Watch, and a Prima strategy guide. This bundle was one of the top 15 best-selling games of 1999.

Rogue Spear Platinum Pack (Mar 2001)
PC

- This bundle includes Rogue Spear and Urban Operations.

Rainbow Six Collector's Edition (Nov 2000)
PC

- This product contains seven CDs and a comprehensive Prima strategy guide covering all five installments of the Rainbow Six series. One of these seven CDs is a special bonus third Covert Ops Essentials disc called "Covert Ops Additional Intel." (Click this link to see a picture of the bonus CD). This bonus CD is not available elsewhere and contains even more behind the scenes footage, interviews and tactics, not included in the original COE release.

Counter-Terrorism Classics (Dec 2003)
PC

- This includes the original Rainbow Six, Rogue Spear, and The Sum of All Fears.

Rainbow Six 3 Gold Edition (Feb 2004)
PC

- This bundle includes Raven Shield and Athena Sword.

International Editions::

The Rainbow Six series has been published world-wide in English, French, German, and Italian. However, the most notable versions of certain Rainbow Six games have been published in South Korea by Kama Digital Entertainment. Although not considered "official" Rainbow Six products outside Korea, these releases deserve special mention as they contain exclusive new characters and maps.

Urban Ops Korean Edition (May 2000)
PC
- Kama officially obtained a license from RSE to develop two exclusive maps (Seoul subway station and soccer stadium). These constitute a separate "Korean Missions" campaign in addition to the two campaigns found in the original Urban Ops. This product is currently not available for sale outside South Korea.

Rainbow Six: Take-Down (Jul 2001)
PC
- With the success of Kama's version of Urban Ops, RSE approved another Korean-only product called R6: Take-Down. The story and all 26 original maps are based in Korea. This stand-alone game will feature a new interface significantly different than Rogue Spear. RSE has mentioned that there are discussions about the possibility that this title may be released outside South Korea.

Rogue Spear: Black Thorn (Nov 2001)
U.S., U.K., French, German Versions
PC

The U.S., U.K., French, and German versions of Black Thorn all differ slightly because of modifications made after the September 11th terrorist attacks. The main difference is that the European versions contain the original "Airport Terminal" map that was changed into a "Bus Station" in the U.S. version. The story in the last mission also differs in the U.S. version where the setting takes place at an auto show instead of the 2004 Olympics. To see the story and locations of Black Thorn in its original form, see the Team RAINBOW Missions List.

Breaking News::

May 13, 2003

Ubi Soft issues a press release announcing Athena Sword. It states the mission pack will be due in the fall of 2003.

April 18, 2003

The name of the Rainbow Six 3 expansion pack "Athena Sword" is revealed in a list of titles being shown by Ubi Soft at E3 2003.

February 13, 2003

Ubi Soft issues a press release that states Raven Shield has gone gold and will ship to store shelves by March 18, 2003.

March 4, 2002

Ubi Soft announces plans to develop the next installment of the R6 series. The new game is titled Raven Shield and is slated for release in fall of 2002. The release date is later pushed back a couple of times to further polish the game.

September 17, 2001

As a result of the September 11th terrorist attacks, Ubi Soft announces that they will delay the release of Black Thorn. A modified version of Black Thorn is eventually released on November 1, 2001. See the International Editions section for more details about the differences between the U.S. and European versions of Black Thorn.

July 29, 2001

RS Retreat receives confirmation that Kama Digital Entertainment's Rainbow Six: Take-Down has reached store shelves in South Korea. Visit the 3d Retreat Forums to check out images of the final product and an English translation of the official Take-Down FAQ.

May 17, 2001

Rogue Spear for the Game Boy Advance is officially announced at E3 2001 with the following promotional statement: "Team Rainbow is back in full force on your GBA. Lead the Rainbow team of elite multi-national special operatives against deadly terrorist organizations. Life or death missions put you in real world settings across the globe. Equiped with a true multiplayer mode for up to 4 players, Rogue Spear on your GBA will seem so real, it’ll leave you and your friends falling into a 2x2 cover formation."

Screenshots of the GBA port of RS can be found here.

May 10, 2001

Games Domain posts an interview with Ubi Soft CEO, Yves Guillemot. He confirms that R6 fans can look forward to future installments in the series as he states Ubi Soft wants to sustain its growth trend by supporting its development with major brands like Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six. He also mentions, "I must admit I am a big Rogue Spear fan."

May 1, 2001

The first public mention of "Rogue Spear: Black Thorn" appears when IGN.com updates their 2001 E3 list. RSE's John Sonedecker confirms that this title is not the English version of Kama's R6: Take-Down.

February 22, 2001

Rogue Spear Retreat posts an English translation of Kama's official FAQ for R6: Take-Down. You can find the whole FAQ posted here.

February 5, 2001

South Korea's Kama Entertainment formally unveils at a press event that it will be developing a stand-alone game called Rainbow Six: Take-Down. It features 26 Korean-themed maps and will be released in June of 2001. There is mention of a possibility that the game may be released outside Korea by Red Storm under a different name.

January 25, 2001

Red Storm releases unsupported 3D Studio Max plug-ins for fans to create new maps for Rogue Spear/Urban Ops. The plug-ins and a tutorial are available at the official Rogue Spear download site.

August 29, 2000

Ubi Soft announces that it has acquired Red Storm. The press release says that since RSE was founded in November 1996, the combined sales of Rainbow Six and Rogue Spear have totalled more than 3 million copies globally.