www.Multiplayergames.com - Multiplayer Games

Following a disappointing sophomore effort with Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, this second spin with Rainbow Six Vegas follows a similar path. Dated visuals and familiar mechanics hardly make this title feel fresh, and the one man army scenario near the end of the single player campaign defeats any sense of realism left after taking down thousands of terrorists around the city. This remains a fine example of tactical first person shooters, yet this is far too familiar territory.

Taking a three man squad into instantly recognizable, famous locales around the city of lights is always appealing. Many of the missions here take place during the day, a stark contrast from the prior game where nearly everything was set in darkness. Level design provides a nice break from a standard corridor shooter, with vertical segments challenging the player on their rappelling abilities while making for an excellent change of pace.

A.I. is relatively excellent. Your partners come equipped with nearly ridiculous marksmanship skills, and can clear out multiple targets when outnumbered. Under fire, they do falter, failing to take obvious cover and sticking to the exact spot you ordered them to. It’s irritating to have to make a rescue under fire that could have been avoided. Thankfully, full co-op is available for the campaign mode to alleviate these issues. However, this has been pared down to two players from four.

The story leads a rather standard (and wholly predictable) double cross scenario, though is nicely ties up the open ended finish from the first Vegas title. This campaign fails to have the memorable moments contained in the original, slapping together a small building explosion and nicely done final boss battle that stands out from the previous fire fights. The rest of the missions are stop and pop shoot outs with little in the way of background theatrics.

Rainbow Six offers a compact, easy to grasp control scheme. This now includes a sprint button, making it far easier to get out of a situation you should have approached differently. The cover system remains one of the best in the genre, allowing for a wide array of options to make it out of any situation alive. It can be inconsistent causing the player to pop up in the wrong direction or send the camera into a tizzy.

While this is a first person shooter at heart, much of the game will be spent in third person. The camera pans back when rappelling or taking cover, and you’ll do a lot of the latter. Rainbow Six forces trial and error gameplay. Multiple attempts lead to multiple strategies for breaching every door. While the franchise has long since abandoned the intricate planning before every level, there’s enough of its tactical side intact to appease the hardcore audience who have been with this series since its inception.

Experience earning has wisely been added to single player. It now applies to all modes, so anything unlocked when pushing through the campaign mode is available when you jump into versus play online. Those same earnings carry over to the brief Terrorist Hunts. These quick missions offer easy to set up and complete challenges against a set number of AI controller enemies. Here, four players can work in tandem, making the decision to cut the number in campaign co-op rather baffling. It’s an easy way to grind out levels prior to tackling full online versus against those who own all equipment pieces.

Each level carries a decent visual sheen to it, though walls can appear bland and flat. The blood spurt when shooting an enemy is overdone, particularly when hitting an appendage. Character models stand out against the backdrops, loaded with personal details depending on armor chosen (or even your own face with the help of the Vision Camera). Some heavy and repetitive advertising - an entire level is based around MLG competition with their logo prominently displayed everywhere – may be an attempt to add to the realism, but in the end, feel forceful.

Versus multi-player provides a fun experience, and the addition of leveling up makes this a fine choice for those tired of Call of Duty 4. Team Leader is the best of lot. Here, players must protect a VIP, and they can respawn indefinitely when he’s alive. Once dead, the spawns stop. It’s a fun take on a familiar game mode, and comes in addition to the usual suspects of team and solo deathmatches.

Players looking for a return trip to Vegas are given what they ask for here. The scenery is accurate and intriguing, core gameplay still amongst the best on the market, and the intensity is high throughout. Replay value is equally worth the money with the array of multi-player choices. Rainbow Six needs to find a new home in a new city. A third round trip is pushing UbiSoft’s luck.