| Console: | PC |
| TV Standard: | Region Not Set |
| Developer(s): | Red Storm Entertainment, Inc. |
| Publisher(s): | Red Storm Entertainment, Inc. |
| Release Date: | 1998-05-15 |
| Players: | 4 |
| Co-op: | Yes |
| ESRB: | T - Teen |
| Type: | Action, Strategy, Shooter |
Rainbow Six is a tactical shooter, which focuses more on stealth and tactics than on sheer firepower. To add to the realism, all in-game characters, terrorists, hostages and Rainbow operatives, can be wounded or dispatched in just fractions of a second. Tools such as thicker body armor, automatic rifles, and grenades have little value before the player grows accustomed to the gameplay.
Before each mission is a planning stage, during which the player is given a briefing, and then chooses the operatives to be involved in the mission, their weapons, equipment and uniform/camouflage. In earlier games, the player pre-established orders and waypoints during this step. The planning stage determined elements such as the path the AI-controlled squads would follow during the mission, as well as where they will deploy devices such as flashbangs or door breaching charges.
