system: xbox 360
one sentence description: tactical FPS with vegas glam and special forces style
graphics: 9 | sound: 9 | playability: 7 | challenge: 9 | value: 7 | bias: 8
total: 8.5
the low-down
ahh, vegas. the casinos. the blackjack. the poker. the high rolla’s and the low ballas. the playboys and the showgirls. the explosions, the guns, and death and destruction. how i love vegas…rainbow 6 style.
i have to be honest though…it ain’t much different than the first one friends. that’s a good thing if you liked the first one. if you didn’t, well, then don’t bother. it’s still just as hard. your AI buddies are just as smart as they are completely stupid. the guns and explosions pack a good wallop. you die just easily. it’s just as hard to see where you’re getting hit from. it feels extremely familiar.
it adds in a little extra character building in the form of unlockable armor, weapons and outfits. and the environments are, surprisingly, different than the first one. that is the area of the game i have been most surprised (and pleased) with.
you reprise your role as bishop, leader of an elite team of anti-terrorist soldiers called ‘rainbow 6′. the story is relatively simple and not worth going into save that you’re going to capture a group of…you guessed it…terrorists. and they’re going to blow up vegas.
the things that make the game great are the things that make it frustrating as well. you can’t take a whole lot of damage before you die, which adds a certain level of realism to it. on the other hand, the game has a frustrating way of sending bad guys after you from places you can’t quite pinpoint. they blend in very well with the flashing lights and the general game backdrop. combine that with the ‘quick death’ thing, and you’ll find yourself restarting at a checkpoint more often than you think.
from an audio/visual perspective, the game is top notch. character animations are smooth, framerates are high and the environments look well rendered. when you fire a gun, it emits a pretty satisfying bang…or sharp muffled ‘thunking’ sound when the silencer is attached. of course, the tom clancy series is known for having more realistic weaponry, so it’s to be expected.
i won’t lie; the game is hard. you have to really think about what you’re going to do before you’re going to do it, and you generally can’t just charge into a room and start blasting. that approach will lay you out 9 out of 10 times. however, the thinking part of it is what makes it stand out. positioning your partners at one door and having them charge in while you drop in through the glass skylight in another area gives the game a very strategic feel to it, resulting in a sense of accomplishment when you actually pull off a complicated maneuver.
i like the idea of specialties in the sense of the game allowing you to play up your strengths. for example, if you’re into tossing grenades around or blowing things up with C4, you can up your level and become more proficient there. same with marksmanship. and close combat.
adding in a pretty decent multiplayer along with the character building gives you a lot of reasons to keep playing. you get to play dress-up with your character, and as you unlock more and more, you’ll find yourself outfitting him with more customized looks.
this one is worth the purchase.
pros
- the environments are well thought out
- looks fantastic
- customizable character
- has potential to be a lot of fun with another person
- good alternative take on what i thought would be a one trick pony (i.e. the idea of running through vegas blasing terrorists)
- intense
- realistic
- sound design is pretty great
- thinking person shooter
cons
- steep learning curve
- frustrating environmental issues make it hard to find where you’re being shot from
- it’s not a run and gun game if that’s what you think it is…
