An anonymous cell of terrorists attacked various high-profile targets in 2007, starting with the G8 meeting in Switzerland and ending with a Venezuelan oil refinery in the Caribbean. Their demands aim to disrupt the oil flow between the United States and Venezuela. Team Rainbow, a veteran international anti-terrorism force, is called in to halt the terrorists and figure out who is behind the attacks.
Rainbow Six 3 is a console-exclusive entry in the long-running series. It does away with the complex strategy and planning features that the franchise was known for on the PC in favor of a more focused first-person action experience. There are 14 single-player levels in the game (15 in the PS2 and GameCube editions). In each, the player takes charge of Domingo ‘Ding’ Chavez, who leads a group of three Rainbow agents. Each mission’s objectives include eliminating terrorists, defusing bombs, and protecting hostages. Ding’s teammates will help with the task on their own. Still, they can also be given specific orders via a context-sensitive menu, such as holding positions, advancing, clearing a room, or defusing a bomb. It is also possible to issue delayed commands only executed when a specific signal is given. The Xbox version includes voice recognition, allowing team orders to be communicated via a headset.
Each squad member must be equipped with a primary and secondary weapon and additional equipment before each mission. Almost two dozen realistic weaponry accessible, as well as several sorts of grenades (hand-thrown or launched through a launcher), charges and mines, and a gas mask. Thermal and night vision are always available and do not require any specific equipment.
Despite the emphasis on action, the game maintains realism: there is no running or jumping, more than a few hits are fatal, and there are no means to replenish lost health.
Aside from the single-player narrative, a custom mission feature lets the player hunt terrorists on unlocked campaign maps.
Among the multiplayer modes are:
- Mode of cooperative campaigning
- Custom cooperative mission mode
- Sharpshooter mode is a timed deathmatch with respawning in which the player with the most kills wins.
- No respawns are in survival mode; therefore, the last person standing wins.
- There are no respawns in Team Survival mode; therefore, the last team standing wins.
Platforms have different multiplayer features: The GameCube lacks competitive options, the PS2 only allows six online players instead to the Xbox’s sixteen, and both coop modes are only available through the split screen on the PS2 and GameCube.
