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Genre: Strategy/Shooter

Format: 2 CDs

Developer: Ubi Soft

Mac Publisher: Aspyr Media

Minimum System Requirements: 733MHz G3, Mac OS X v10.2.6, 256MB RAM, 1.9GB free hard disk space, 32MB ATI RADEON or GeForce 2 MX class 3D hardware acceleration, 4X CD ROM, 56Kbps or faster connection internet connection for online play

Review Computer: 800MHz iMac, 256MB RAM, GeForce 2 MX, Mac OS X v10.2.8

Network Feature: Yes, Mac to Mac only, GameRanger supported

Price: $49.99

ESRB Rating: M for Mature (violence)

Availability: Now

Official Website: [url=http://www.raven-shield.com]http://www.raven-shield.com[/url]

Raven Shield. The latest in a series of modern, ultra-realistic anti-terrorism games, released in a time when concerns about real-world enemies seeing to undermine America through the use of covert attacks are at an all time high.

So, naturally, the enemies in this game are Nazis.

Go ahead, slap your forehead. I did. It's finally happened: I'm now tired of shooting Nazis. I'm only marginally less tired of shooting zombies. Every freakin' game! I'm convinced that somewhere, someone is working on a Civil War game where the enemies are time-traveling bio-zombies intent on bringing the Third Reich back to America in the 1800s, and only one man can stop them!

Note to game designers: That dime is now officially spent. Any more games with Nazis, zombies, or Nazi zombies will automatically get a zero rating. I mean it.

So, Rainbow Six is a game series that prides itself on realism. One bullet kills, you can only carry one rifle and a sidearm, and there are no magic health packs or power-ups (though there are plenty of crates).

You command an elite counter terrorist force from the United Nations. Boy, that sounds like a joke, doesn't it? Anyhoo, your job is to asses the situation you're facing, assemble and equip your team, and then plan in minute detail how your troops will navigate the terrain, kill the bad guys, and protect the hostages.

The planning portion is what makes the Rainbow Six games different. Although you can command three different teams of up to eight operatives, you can only control one person at a time. In fact, if you're really into planning, you can play in "observer mode" where you simply watch your troops carry out your orders. So, you'd better like following little dotted lines and triangles around like Bil Keane, because a single mistake can foul up the entire mission, and then it's back to the planning section until you get it right.

You also have the option of using a pre-made plan, but there are two problems with that. First, you're missing half of the game (which, arguably, you're also missing by playing in Observer Mode), and second, most of the pre-made plans are needlessly complicated. Playing a hostage rescue mission in a labyrinthine tunnel system, I reviewed the map and discovered that the computer's plan completely ignored a maintenance stairwell that bypassed the heavily-defended tunnel mouth and led directly to the level with the hostages.

Whatever plan you use, your best bet is the coordinated strike—using two teams to hit the enemy at once. You're given some means of controlling your other teams. In the planning stage, you can dictate what routes they'll follow, as well as the "Rules of Engagement:" Assault for shoot-on-sight; Infiltrate is the same as Assault, but your soldiers will only use suppressed weapons to conceal their presence; and in Recon they'll fire only if fired upon. In addition to their defensive stance, you can control their actual stance: stooping into a crouch for cover or belly-crawling, sacrificing speed for stealth.

But, all this is part and parcel of previous Rainbow Six games. What new does Raven Shield bring to the table (besides Nazis)? Well, it's now easier than ever to get your team members to help you out, thanks up to a handy popup menu. For example, you can direct them not only to open doors while you stand at the ready, but also to open the door and toss in a grenade, tell them what kind of grenade, or tell them to clear the room after opening the door. Team members can also secure terrorists who have surrendered or perform other special tasks, freeing you from the need to switch to the team member and do it yourself.

Following routes has been tidied up a bit as well. Waypoints now float in front of your character with a distance meter showing how far away you are from them, rather than existing in a separate screen in the heads-up display (HUD). In fact, the whole HUD has been greatly simplified and moved out of the way, giving the player a greater amount of screen space to see the game. Instead of displaying your troops' faces with a little heart meter next to them, their health is indicated by a full dot (healthy), a half-dot (wounded) or empty dot (down).

The other big improvement in the game comes in the terrorists themselves. Whether through improved AI or improved level design, they seem to act more intelligently, taking advantage of cover and catching your teams off guard with greater ease. When playing the previous Rainbow Six game, Rogue Spear, I discovered that I could "break" the game by playing it the opposite way it was intended—sending in one soldier armed to the teeth like a toned-down John Woo film. In Raven Shield, this approach leads to quick, repeated death. Your own troops also act intelligently, I'm happy to say, staying out of your way and guarding your back if you pause in a spot to watch for unfriendlies.

The levels are well designed and creepy as all get out. I knew I was fighting Nazis, of course, but I half-expected some zombies to come shooting out of windows as well.

The graphics are, as always, top notch, and quickly overwhelmed my iMac. Turning most of the graphics down to medium solved this problem with no appreciable loss in quality. Is the sound high quality? They sound like gunshots to me. Raven Shield also has a helpful training section to teach you how to control your troops, and a printed manual which takes you through the planning portion.

Some problems: first of all, the game has some stability issues. More than once, loading a level caused it to go to a black screen and stay there. Also, cinematics didn't always display correctly. Both issues were sporadic.

Rainbow Six has long been one of those "hobby games," and Raven Shield is no different. You'll have to spend a lot of time with the game to learn its intricacies in order to fully appreciate it. It's the shooter of choice for obsessive compulsives. I can't say if its realistic or not, but boy, is it unforgiving. And I found myself being sucked in once again, spending hours adjusting my plans, getting shot, and going back to make more adjustments.

I only wish the game had been a bit more innovative in terms of its story arc. Hey, I hate Nazis. But every time we need a "safe" villain, one we can hate in a game without worrying about offending anyone, it's time to unfreeze Hitler's brain. Red Storm: pick up a freakin' newspaper. There are actual terrorists out there. Our forces are fighting them right now. Take your head out of Sgt. Rock for five seconds and turn on CNN.

That's all I'm sayin'.

Bill's been using Macs since the late 80s. When he's not making smartass remarks to amuse Kirk Hiner, he enjoys fighting for the user.