Rainbow Six 3 - that's the Xbox, non "Raven Shield" version - does something I think is interesting.
Any Xbox Live account comes with a microphone headset, that much you probably know, and a couple games are starting to use it. There's a SWAT game I read about where you can yell at guys, for example. "Put down those Goddamn muffins!" or something to that effect. In R6, you can use it to give almost any command to your squad - Move, Secure Hostage, even up to the Mack Daddy of all voice commands, "Open Flash And Clear On Zulu." We haven't had many problems with the recognition that Proper English Pronunciation couldn't solve. Voice commands are cool, but they made a decision about how they work that someone should be promoted for.
When you receive a mission briefing - or one of your team members speaks to you - all of that comes through the headset, with the characteristic radio clicks intact. As a person who is always seeking a greater degree of translation into the game world, having props like this is more than just novelty. It's remarkable. The combination of issuing voice commands and having them responded to via the headset as you move through hostile terrain is significant. Anyway, so yeah.
We played through Raven Shield in its entirety on co-op, so while we're already familiar with the names of each of map they have typically made sweeping changes to the layouts. So while we probably had an advantage in the game we were able to find last night, there are certainly a couple of surprises. I said "game we were able to find" because like all "launch days," very little launching actually occurred. I was already investing my evenings in Crimson Skies, in the space of a couple weeks Live has begun to look like a very good time investment.
(CW)TB
