Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 review

Release date:
18th March 2008 in America
20th March 2008 in Europe and Australia
24th April 2008 in Japan

Also released on:
PlayStation 3 and PC

If you select extras then comcast gift and enter comcast faster when prompted you unlock the new multiplayer map. After you've unlocked the map and can download Streets from Rainbow Six Vegas. You'll have to have a Ubisoft account linked to your gamertag to do it.



Improvements from Rainbow Six Vegas

The game's graphics have been slightly improved since the game is using an updated Unreal Engine. Everything looks a little more detailed and there's less slowdown. Honestly I can't notice much of a difference, but it's there, trust me. This game isn't the graphical masterpiece that some newer games are so don't expect too much.

Other noticeable differences are that the enemies can now use ballistic/riot shields. This can make things tricky in any situation. They can also use thermal or night vision goggles to see you when you throw smoke grenades. In Rainbow Six Vegas all you had to do is throw a smoke grenade and were completely invisible. What's even worse than that is that the enemies used to throw them at you so that's just totally stupid.

Destructible environments now play a key role in the game. Previously if an enemy was behind a wooden crate then you just wait for them to slip up and show them self. Now you can just throw a grenade and blow it up killing the enemy without even breaking a sweat. This also applies to you so you have to find something solid to hide behind instead of finding the nearest thing you see. You can also destroy other things like fire extinguishers and barrels of gas. This adds much needed realism which the game was lacking in the original.

All the weapons from the previous game are here with 11 new additions. Your selection includes the usual types of guns you'd expect like sub-machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles and shotguns. Choosing the right weapon is usually the key the success, but you can always pick up what you need from a terrorist. I find the best strategy is to stick with the weapons the terrorist have so you're never low on ammo. Alternatively you can find a "outfitting station" in story mode. This is a large box which lets you choose from all the weapons and equipment you've unlocked.

All experience gained is available and transfers throughout all the game modes. For example if you play multiplayer and rank up you'll have the same equipment and weapons available in story mode. This is a great improvement and I don't understand why this wasn't implemented in the original game. You also get experience even if you fail a mission thanks to the new A.C.E.S system.



A.C.E.S (advanced combat enhancement specialisation)

This is a new addition to Rainbow Six Vegas 2 which involves you performing specific action to gain rewards. Doing this will unlock weapons and equipment relevant to the you play the game. This is a great idea because everyone plays differently. An example of this is if you get a lot of head shots you'll eventually be rewarded with a new sniper rifle. The actions, what you need to do and brief descriptions are as below;

Close Quarters (CQB)
This will involve close range shots and using your explosives or flash bangs. You'll more than likely get most of your experience from this since the terrorists like to gang up on you.

Assault
Getting multiple kills and using grenades or C4. You can order your team to do this for you can get some easy experience points.

Marksmanship
Using a scope and getting long range kills and head shots. The hardest of the three categories since precision timing is required.

P.E.C. (persistent elite creation)

This was in the previous game and has been expanded upon. Every action you do gives you experience and will eventually help you get to the rank of Elite. A nice feature added to the menu is the ability to see all the ranks you can unlock with the relevant weapons, camouflage and gear shown.



Single Player

The single player now has a drop in/drop out feature which lets anyone join your game without interrupting the gameplay. The host will play as Bishop and if someone else joins in they play as Knight. All aspects of the communication are now fully available in co-op unlike the original.

Another great thing you can now use your custom character in single and multiplayer story modes. This isn't really a big deal, but at least if you have the Xbox Live Vision Camera you can use your own face. The only way to get your custom character in the original was to play co-op story with up to three friends. The in-game voices are different depending on whether your team leader is a male or female character. This doesn't really add much to the game, but it's nice to have the option available.

As well as having your primary and secondary weapons you can also use gadgets. These include a snake cam which lets you see underneath doors and breaching charges which attach to doors and explode at the press of a button. A new addition is the thermal scan which scans your map for heat sources. Your gadgets are limited depending on the difficulty you choose.

Your team mates now wear the same camouflage as you so this will make them easily distinguishable. The AI of your team mates is also greatly improved. They now “leap frog” towards cover, this means one will cover the other whilst moving. There is no longer unlimited gadgets at your team's disposal . In the original you could order your team to "frag and clear" a room out about 30 times before they ran out.



Multiplayer (online and offline)

The load times have been dramatically improved. Everyone now loads the map at the same time instead of the host loading then everyone else following. There's no longer a set ammount of points given to you for winning, each kill you get gives you a set ammount of EXP depending on the difficulty or mode. You can see who's talking by looking at the top left of your screen.

There's now a kill cam which moves the camera into a position to show who killed you. Call of Duty 4 has this feature so obviously people will say it's a total rip off. New host options are available like "join in progress", sprinting and bullet penetration which can be turned on or off.

Team Leader
Each team has a leader who must be eliminated. Your leader can see the opposing team leader at all times by a star on their HUD. This means communicating the enemy leader's location is essential. Once the team leader is killed it stops their whole team from spawning. Also if the team leader kills someone on the opposing team they can't spawn in until the match is over.

Total Conquest
You have to take control of three satellite transmitters and hold them all for a certain amount of time. If one of the satellite transmitters is taken by the opposing team then countdown will be reset.

Sharpshooter/Team Sharpshooter
This is your standard deathmatch mode. Nothing special here, get the most kills to win.

Attack & Defend - There are three different modes depending on which map is selected.
The first is item extraction which involves the attacking team trying to get briefcase and the defenders trying to stop them. Next is hostage rescue which is self explanatory. Finally is demolition which one team has to detonate a bomb and the other team stops them. The bomb will have a set countdown timer so you'll need to protect whoever's planting it. Anyone who's played Counter-Strike will be familiar with this mode.

Terrorist Hunt
You play any of the multiplayer maps with the enemy density set to low, medium or high and kill terrorists. The harder the difficultly the more point you'll gain and you also get points from your team mate's kills. This is my favourite mode.



Final Thoughts

There's a glitch where if you got to Elite on the on the original Rainbow Six Vegas you miss out on an achievement. It's for the rank of Private First Class which is skipped due to an EXP bonus. Hopefully this will be fixed in a patch because I've missed it.

I give this game a THUMBS UP. It has a solid story mode with co-op and the multiplayer will keep you playing for at least a few months.

Score: 9/10

References

http://www.rainbowsixgame.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Clancy%27s_Rainbow_Six:_Vegas_2