Rainbow Six Lockdown

As much as people air concern over whether EA will one day acquire - and maybe assimilate - Ubisoft, another pressing question is whether anyone would notice. Together with the upcoming Prince of Persia 3, the Rainbow Six series is at the heart of claims that the publisher is slipping into a familiar business model that champions regular updates to a cluster of bankable franchises.The heavy delays experienced by Lockdown, the series' fourth instalment, make this a difficult accusation to prove

Tom Clancy's best-selling techno thrillers have probably done as much to fuel paranoia about international terrorism as the ranting of bin Laden, Bush and Blair, but they don't half inspire decent videogames. Clancy's original Rainbow Six novel, a chunky doorstop of a book, has spawned around ten squad-based shooters over the years (we lost count trying to add up all the PC expansion packs) and the latest, Rainbow Six 4, looks set to continue the series' strong pedigree.Developed once again by