Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2

Added March 30th, 2008 by Justin McBride

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is the second title in the Rainbow Six Vegas franchise to be released in a little over a year. The 2006 original completely revamped the Rainbow Six franchise, earning favor from critics and many longtime fans. Now, as Sin City is once again being threatened by heartless terrorists, it’s up to the men and women of Rainbow Six to stop them. Expectations were high for this sequel but those making a return trip to Las Vegas may find things strangely familiar.

Anyone who has finished Rainbow Six Vegas knows that it ended with what is perhaps one of the worst cliffhangers in gaming history. Not only that, the story itself was rather unremarkable, even by the relatively low standards of the genre. It’s worth noting that Rainbow Six Vegas 2 does a nice job of wrapping up many of the loose ends from the first game and actually tells a more engrossing tale this time around. Taking the lead role away from Logan Keller, the protagonist of this second installment is Bishop, a newcomer to the series and grizzled veteran of Rainbow Six. The story begins five years prior to the events of the first game as Bishop leads a three man team composed of himself, Logan Keller and Gabriel Nowak. As the story advances five years from there, most of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 takes place concurrently with that of its predecessor, and you’ll notice many references to previous events.

Of course, the fairly standard “stop a group of faceless terrorists from setting a bomb off in this building” and “save the hostages trapped in this building” themes do make an appearance here and are becoming quite stale and generic. Overall, the storyline is forgettable, especially compared to the better storylines of the genre.

Although, anyone who picked this game up expecting a riveting storyline was bound to be disappointed in some respects. The gameplay is still the star of the show here and it delivers in spades as tense, tight and tactical gameplay that made your first trip to Vegas a great one returns once more in the sequel. Vegas 2 receives a noticeable upgrade in challenge, making firefights more intense, bullets more lethal and efficient use of cover a must. The excellent cover system from Rainbow Six Vegas makes its way into this one with minimal changes, which is a good thing. Sliding into and out of cover is still as effortless and intuitive as it was originally. Tactical action games live and die based on its cover mechanics and the fact that this one is so good makes the combat that much more rewarding.

The Persistent Elite Creation system has been expanded quite a bit in Vegas 2. The first time you play the game, you’ll be prompted to create a custom character which appears in all single and multiplayer modes. The revamped experience points system, referred to as ACES (Advanced Combat Enhancement and Specialization) is universal across all modes, giving you points for kills and granting extra experience points for headshots, killing enemies from behind (real honorable there, guys), kills at long range and so on. ACES rewards are divided up into three categories (Marksman, Assault and CQB) and each one tops out at level twenty. Along the way, as your level increases, you’ll unlock new weapons, armor and clothing, giving you a nice incentive to hone your skills.

While one wouldn’t normally think of sprinting in what is supposed to be a more methodically paced, tactical shooter, the new sprint button is implemented incredibly well. Should you need to get closer to a group of enemies quickly without exposing yourself to a hailstorm of bullets, the sprint feature is an amazing asset. Before you know it, those frequent dashes between cover feels natural.

The main thing Rainbow Six Vegas 2’s gameplay elicits, perhaps more than anything else, is patience. An itchy trigger finger will not serve you as well as patience and efficient use of your squadmates. This is especially true online, in which a slower pace and great teamwork will win over a sharp aim and a gung-ho attitude every time. The story mode can be equally frustrating and difficult if you rush things. Although there is a regenerating health system, it doesn’t matter much since only a couple well-placed shots are required to take you down; especially at close range. Because of this, the game’s many exciting firefights require you to pick your shots skillfully.

During the majority of the campaign, you will be accompanied by two squadmates. After the first mission, the two squadmates that followed you are replaced by Michael Walters and Jung Park, the two Rainbow Six operatives that served alongside Logan Keller in the first game. They are a great asset during many missions, as they respond quickly to your many commands, such as “stacking up” at a doorway preparing to enter and lay waste to any terrorists that wait inside. From here, there are a good number of ways to attack each situation beyond simply rushing in, guns-a-blazing, such as throwing a flashbang grenade and then rushing in, taking down the terrorists as they stumble around in a blind daze.

Unfortunately, not all memories of the time spent with my two squadmates are fond ones. Many times, I’ve witnessed my teammates walking blindly into my crosshairs as I’m trying to line up a crucial shot or stand next to me, fully exposed, as my character stands in cover, unable to pop out and take a shot at the group of terrorists down the way. It’s also particularly annoying to watch my teammates foolishly run around out of cover only to be mowed down and in need of me to rush out and save them. Enemy AI isn’t exempt, as they often find themselves walking into my crosshairs as well or running into a grenade I’ve thrown in their direction. For the most part though, the AI problems were outweighed by the positives.

As with many games in the Rainbow Six series, the many co-operative and adversarial multiplayer modes of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 are easily the star of the show. Terrorist Hunt, which has garnered many fans over the years, returns once again in Vegas 2 in top form. It’s a brilliant and entertaining way to team up with up to three friends (or go it alone) and take on a horde of terrorists populating one of the twelve well-balanced multiplayer maps. Further enhancing the co-op side of things, two players can team up and take on the campaign. It’s a bit disappointing that the four player co-op of the original was stripped down to only two while still including your usual pair of AI squadmates. Only the lead player can issue commands to those AI operatives so the second player’s role is a bit reduced, but it merely leaves you with less micromanagement details to worry about and more time to focus on taking down the bad guys.

Adversarial modes are as fun this time around as they were with the original Rainbow Six Vegas. All of your favorite modes return and bring with them two new modes, Total Conquest and Team Leader. The latter of which is pretty fun, in which one player on each team is the Leader and has to make it through the level, fighting through opposition from the other team, and make it to a designated extraction point. Total conquest mode is similar to the Domination mode in Call of Duty 4 where teams must take control of three points and hold them for a set length of time to win. These new modes make a fitting complement to an already diverse lineup, and the game is better for it.

The visuals are, again, more of the same. The character designs are well detailed, the textures are decent, the lighting is great and it looks far better in HD. What Vegas 2 has that its predecessor didn’t however, is some occasional crippling slowdown. Simply put, Vegas 2 doesn’t run as well as its predecessor despite looking only marginally better at best. These framerate issues usually appear when there is a lot happening on the screen at once, which is usually one of the most inopportune times for it to happen. It doesn’t really hurt the gameplay to a considerable degree but it is annoying to say the least. The audio is pretty much what you’d expect to hear from a realistic military shooter such as this. Weapon sounds are the star of the show here but there’s also some reasonably impressive voice acting. Overall, Vegas 2 is aesthetically pleasing, but don’t expect it to blow you away.

Throughout the review, you may have noticed the many allusions made to the first Rainbow Six Vegas. This was done intentionally, as, during my time playing Rainbow Six Vegas 2, a feeling of déjà vu kept nagging me. Vegas 2 is very similar to its predecessor and these similarities almost made it feel like it was an expansion pack, even though it’s clearly more than that. Granted, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is as fun as its predecessor ever was and, in many ways, even better. The story mode abounds with fun and excitement, and the multiplayer will keep you entertained for a long time to come. Despite the great upgrades in the form of the sprint button, a revamped experience system, the aforementioned great gameplay and new modes, this title doesn’t feel enough like a true sequel. In short, if you’re a fan of the original Vegas or have more than just a passing interest, then by all means, check this one out; just don’t expect profound amounts of innovation.