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Rainbow Six Vegas 2

Score: 8.5 / 10

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 can quickly, easily and accurately be summed up as Rainbow Six Vegas with a “2” tacked on the end of it. (Honest.  Go read my review of the original.)  Well, at least for the single-player campaign, which precedes the events of the first game than bounces through a lot of the events of the original and finishes with a great climax.

The basic controls and overall feel of the game – ordering your mates to cover, etc., scouting rooms before bursting in, leaning out from cover, switching back

 

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and forth between, regular, heat, and night vision, and so on – is the same as last year’s original game so the real difference here is that you can play the whole campaign co-operatively with another player. (The player hosting the game still controls two squadmates; at least for the sections you have squadmates.)  This works extremely well and with an improved 

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“faces application” via the Live CAM, you can really personalize the experience by putting yourself in the game.  Many have said the only real way to play Gears of War was with two players and the same can be said of Rainbow Six Vegas 2.  Sure, it can still be played “offline” but you are missing out if you’re not playing with a buddy.

But to highlight the necessity of playing Vegas 2 online, Ubisoft listened to complaints leveled at the original game’s multiplayer failings, not the least of which was the inability to send invites to those on your friends list in ranked matches.  It has been delivered!

Besides the typical deathmatch, team deathmatch, hostage rescue, and extraction, Ubisoft provides Total Conquest, Team Leader, and Demolition.  The latter of these modes feels a lot like a game of Counter-Strike, where one team is trying to set the bomb off while the other team is trying to defuse it, which can also be said of Team Leader.  Team Leader is similar to Counter-Strike’s VIP missions – get your Team Leader to the extraction point and win, and as long as he stays alive the rest of the team can respawn.  Of all the multiplayer modes my favorite is Total Conquest where your team has to capture three satellite transmitters and hold them for 30 seconds, which actually feels a lot like Team Fortress 2, only with a less comical undertone.

If Vegas 2 has any faults it's with the AI squadmates, who generally do what you tell them to do but will often get caught up on their own agendas. Ordering them to fall-in helps a lot but they'll often take cover where you don't want them to.  This is understandable to the extent that many of the environments are quite complex, but there's still room for improvement in whatever Clancy game that might follow Vegas 2. And really think before ordering them to throw a frag grenade.  It was often the case where a direct order to flush out some tangos with a grenade would result in an explosive landing at my feet.  They throw like girls!  Unless you're talking about the tangos -- they must practice a lot because their throws are nearly always pinpoint perfect!

Even with the minor warts, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 still provides a great experience, both on and offline.  And that's what we all want from our "sequels."

- Omni

(April 15, 2008)

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