TECHNOLOGY

- reported by Ah Fatt.

Number 2 video game publisher Ubisoft has announced some new releases of game titles for spring 2006.

First is the long-awaited PC version of Rainbow Six: Lockdown, which will be released on February 7. Fans of the tactical-shooter series were greatly disappointed when Ubisoft chose to release the console version of the 4th instalment in the Tom Clancy video game franchise last year.

In Rainbow Six: Lockdown, players assume the role of Ding Chavez who is the team leader of Rainbow. He leads his team-mates to stop a dangerous enemy who is targeting Rainbow. In one mission, Rainbow's sniper Dieter Weber is captured by terrorists and Chavez must lead his team to rescue him.




Actual screenshot.









Ah Fatt spoke to Benjamin Lim, 15, from Singapore, who is a long-time fan of the Rainbow Six series.

Ah Fatt: Now that the Lockdown game got PC version one, are you going to buy or not?

Ben: Yea, I'll most probably buy the game. I've played all the past games on PC with the exception of Black Thorn, Covert Ops and Urban Ops, starting with the original Rainbow Six and up to 2003's Raven Shield.

Ah Fatt: What do you think about the Xbox version of the game ah?

Ben: To hell with the console! I don't understand how can anyone play a shooter game using two analog sticks and a few buttons! It's simply ridiculous, and it is an insult to the diehard PC fans who constitute 99.9% of the Rainbow Six fanbase.

Ah Fatt: Wa...so ji dong! Relax sia! Ok la, have fun when you buy it next week.

Ben: Thanks.

However after playing the single-player demo of Rainbow Six: Lockdown, Benjamin called Rotters International up to change his view on the game.

Ah Fatt: So how's the game ah?

Ben: It's not really that nice. They kicked out so many players like Homer Johnston (sniper) and assign you a stupid team comprising of Loiselle, Yacoby with a shotgun and Raymond with her machine gun for an urban mission! What bulls*** is that? And then there's no tactical planning - you just basically go around and shoot terrorists while reaching your objectives. It's like Black Hawk Down! What an insult to the Rainbow Six series! The games just get worse!




A very ji-dong Benjamin.





So Benjamin will not be buying Rainbow Six: Lockdown. He is deciding between Forza Motorsport and Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers, which is suposedly to be released on March 22.

The next Ubisoft game to be released is Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. Ah Fatt had a sneak preview of the game courtesy of Ubisoft, and the graphics on the Xbox 360 were simply stunning. Ah Fatt rates it a 8.5 out of 10.








Box-art of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter










Actual screenshot.





Finally there is the 4th instalment in the Splinter Cell franchise. Ubisoft had created wonders when it released the first Splinter Cell game in 2002 and continue to do so, their latest release being Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory in March last year. Master-spy Agent Sam Fisher is back for more action, but this time he will be a double agent in a terrorist organization called John Brown's Army, which is operating on American soil. Players will choose between moral values and decide whether they should help the good or evil. The game has multiple endings and the recent trailers just make the game more mysterious. Not much media has been released and fans just keep speculating what they would see in the game.

While Splinter Cell: Double Agent was slated for a March release this year, Ubisoft announced that they had pushed back Double Agent's release date to September 2006. Rumour has it that the September release was supposed to be in line with the worldwide release of the next-gen Sony Playstation 3. There is little word about Double Agent on the PS3 till date.






Splinter Cell: Double Agent screenshot









Ah Fatt spoke to Benjamin once again, who is also a hardcore Splinter Cell fan.

Ah Fatt: So now Ubisoft pushed back the release date to September, what do you have to say?

Ben: Ta ma de! I thought I could play the game during the March hols, but now it's been pushed back to September, and that's when my common tests are going to commence. What the hell...but never mind, I'll just keep waiting for more info about the game. Seriously, this game is going to rock.

Ah Fatt shall now return to playing Maple Story.


Rotters International offers its deepest apologies for not updating our website for the past few days. The reason for our temporary closure was that our staff was actively involved in a 3-day festival known as the Ang-Pow Collection, which is celebrated in conjunction with Gamble-With-Your-Relatives Festival and the Eat-All-The-Junk Day. But not to worry, Rotters International is back in action, so be sure to hear from us frequently.

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