The Wargamer

Introduction

As a long time fan of the Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series, I'm always predisposed towards new Clancy products.  When it's released, Athena Sword will be the latest game in the modern warfare tactical shooter franchise, as well as the first expansion pack to last year's Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield.  However, Athena Sword has been the subject of continuing delays: when we first saw the game at last year's E3, the mission pack was projected to be completed for the fall.  It has since slipped through the Christmas holidays into the new year, and is now projected for a March release, one year after Raven Shield's initial release.

Regardless of the delays, Athena Sword will still pack a hefty offering for fans of the Rainbow Six franchise.  As a mission pack, it fulfills its obligation to add new content with eight new missions, five new multiplayer levels, three classic missions from Rainbow Six, Rogue Spear, and Urban Operations, new multiplayer game modes, seven new weapons, as well as the variety of bug fixes and game enhancements introduced in Raven Shield's long patch history.  Outside of that feature set, the expansion pack is particularly noteworthy because it is being developed at the Italian offices of Ubisoft, and the developers are using their own expertise in the local attractions to create attractive settings for Athena Sword's missions.  The missions are centered around the Mediterranean Sea, in touristy locations such as Monte Carlo, Greece, Milan, and (the less hospitable) Croatia.  All of this will be combined into altogether excellent and authentic tactical shooter package that is the Unreal-powered Raven Shield game engine.

More details on Athena Sword's features can be found on the official Raven Shield web site.

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