In comparison to Raven Shield, all the versions look bad. The fact that the troopers are severely underdressed for CT ops make them look REDICULOUS. One tango was shot 3 times in the chest, and still didn't go down. Everybody's running around large rooms shooting each other like mad. Looks like there's another dumbed-down "life meter" damage system in place here, reducing the gameplay to a fragfest under the guise of a "tactical simulation". What the hell happened to Rainbow Six's trademark stealth & strategy? Trademark Tom Clancy realism my ass.

Didn't the PC versions have a life meter as well?

They (Rainbow Six, up to the last Rogue Spear game pack) had a status guage that's similar in appearance to Resident Evil's EKG. It would indicate the trooper's specific condition, rather than "how much health is left".

There were:
Green - Good health: no harm done.
Yellow - Wounded: Your body has been hit (where/whenever your protective gear fails) somewhere by a bullet or explosive blast. You can still function, but your performance may be hindered.
Orange - Incapacitated: You've been severely wounded to the point of unconsciousness, but you're not dead. Or you may have been shot in the head or chest, and survived, but you're no longer functional during the mission. Your character may return for action in a later mission.

The pre-Ubi Rainbow Six's had a precise damage model. Shots to unprotected enemy heads yielded a kill. Severe damage to an enemy limb via burst of shots or high-powered rounds yielded a kill (enemies weren't programmed at this time to walk around with "one arm" or "one leg"). A shot to the center of mass area (heart) yielded a kill, depending on the strength of the round. A burst of shots to the same point anywhere else on an unprotected chest with a low powered round like a 9mm, was also a kill. A single shot with a NATO round (5.56mm or larger) to an unprotected chest was usually a kill. ANY shot to the chest that does harm at least yielded a reaction from the target, like they'd lose their ability to aim, momentarily -- I don't see this going on in "Rainbow Six 3". There wasn't some silly rule like "5x 9mm shots to the chest = kill" or "3x 5.56mm shots to the chest = kill" damage rule. It was really a question of how much damage you'd do to an enemie's innards. The choice of JHP (major damage to internal organs) and FMJ bullets (round would pierce and exit the body) in Rogue Spear really had an impact on your kills.

And body armor here wasn't like "FPS body armor" you'd pick up in a Bond game -- there's no meter to deplete. If your armor says it can reliablly stop 9mm rounds, it will, and won't suddenly disappear after some set number of hits. Unfortunately, the armor available can't stop 5.54mm or larger rounds, so those bullets will easily break thru and put you into a "WORLD OF HURT!"

For the most part, this damage system also applies to the Rainbow troopers, tho they are allowed to continue fighting with a limp and/or hindered aim accuracy. And since most tangos had AK assault rifles that had no problem piercing thru your characters' body armor, you always had to move carefully and neautralize a threat the same second you encounter it. There weren't really any opportunities for firefights/exchanges (especially in close quarters) cuz tangos always aimed at your head, so it was kill (now!) or be killed (now! + 1 second). And the stages were designed that way, where you had to exercise stealth in your approach and really minimize physical exposure to the enemy. This is where the series' classic stealth/strategy and tension are derived.

But now with "action-oriented gameplay" as Ubi suggests, your dudes have a much easier time standing up to 5.54mm AK rounds and have little problems running into rooms guns blazing, literally exchanging bullets with the enemies despite the tango's fortified positional advantage.

So basically they made it into Counterstrike?

Damn, you're a genius!
Your comment sums it all up.