Rainbow was formed by ex-CIA operative John Clark (dubbed Rainbow Six) as an international counter-terrorism force, designed to be nobody and nothing to the media, to work around all the usual red tape, but get the job done for the sake of the people whose lives are at risk. Clark recruits the best the world's militaries have to offer, taking in highly trained soldiers from around the world and getting them to share a unified vision and tactics where hostage situations and terrorists are involved.
The bulk of the story entails the bad guys gradually realizing the bigger picture of what each other is up to and Rainbow attempting to thwart their every move, while also slowly putting together the pieces of why there's been so much international terrorism lately. It all comes to a head when all three sides become acutely aware of what the other is doing, primarily through good old fashioned Cold War espionage, and alliances change quickly as these three powers go head-to-head.
The Games
The first game — simply titled Rainbow Six — focused on re-enacting the action sequences of the book, putting the player(s) into the Nomex-Kevlar shoes of the Rainbow operatives themselves. Realizing that the half-dozen or so encounters in the book wouldn't make for a very satisfying game, some new missions and soldiers were dreamed up to intertwine with those from the actual story, adding some legs and variety to the series, as well as giving more of a hook than simply a book tie-in.
Within a year's time, the game saw two major improvements. The first came in January 1999 in the form of the Eagle Watch expansion pack. This included five new missions (some set in U.S. government buildings), new weapons, and some gameplay tweaks and fixes. Then, nearly a year after the release of the original, the entire game got an overhaul with the launch of Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear. This title featured 18 entirely new missions set all over the world, with a new storyline involving radicals who get their hands on some leftover misplaced nuclear warheads. I wondered where I left those…
In any event, the franchise has generally gotten better with time in terms of visuals and playability, though some of the realism has been sacrificed for the sake of more engaging multiplayer gameplay. It shows no signs of slowing down either, what with planned versions of a new scenario being readied for launch on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 by year's end.
Article comments
1 - Deano
I haven't played the game series at all but the book was, well episodic at best. Some parts were excellent, while others dragged intermittably, and the overall "evil environmentalists" SPECTRE-like plot to cleanse the world was a bit ...well, I was going to be diplomatic and say unrealistic but let's be blunt and say: stupid.
My hope is that the film draws more from the game then the original book.
2 - -E
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3 - Mark Buckingham
It took me a long time to get through the novel, much longer than it took to finish the game(s). I got hung up in some of the dry sections, but the more actiony segments made up for it, some of which weren't in the games at all.
Still, as unrealistic as the plot may seem, I know some save-the-world types who, given the proper motivation and means, might just go over the edge in their quest to save the world from humanity. Either way, the plots in a novel like this NEED to be big and crazy, just to make the victors seem that much more accomplished.
Sure, the games are more popular now than the book, but the games don't have the narrative needed to craft a compelling script out of. Just the characters. We'll just have to wait and see which way they go with it.
4 - Deano
I've been reading Tom Clancy since he first came on the scene with Hunt for Red October (still his best book) and he went seriously adrift in the 1990's with an inability to find a good "enemy" after the fall of the Soviet Union...I think Rainbow Six reflected that problem.
5 - Lion King
"The hope of the Easterners is that it will strike a blow politically against the countries who have made things so difficult for their way of life, and to make a decent profit along the way. However, these elements are unaware of the ulterior motives of the biotech firm" What a load of nonsense! Have you read a book?
6 - Mark Buckingham
Yes, about three years ago now, and it's getting a bit fuzzy. Do you have something useful to contribute?