Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Xbox 360) Review

Posted by Rod Oracheski on 04.02.2008

More of the same, and only 16 months later, but does Rainbow Six Vegas 2 do enough new to warrant checking out?

Though I was a huge fan of the first game (assuming we now consider the Rainbow Six Vegas series as its own spin-off line within the Tom Clancy universe of games), I have to admit I wasn't sure what to expect from the sequel. Coming out so quickly after the last game, was this going to be anything more than a simple facelift with the same gameplay and better graphics?

After all, it's been a scant 16 months since we first hit Sin City with the original Rainbow Six Vegas, yet here we are again - back in Vegas to save the world, one casino at a time.

Ubisoft Montreal had a tough job to do, with a cliffhanger ending in the first game to tie up and high expectations to fulfill. All that with only 16 months from the release of the first game, in November of 2006, to the second, in March of 2008. Did they do it? Let's take a look.

Gameplay:

If you played Rainbow Six Vegas, you know what to expect from the gameplay in the sequel - cover-based combat with tons of pop-and-shoot firefights, lots of flanking, and teammates that you can guide with simple 'go there' and 'come here' style commands. If this is your first excursion into the ranks of Rainbow Six, it's fairly easy to catch on. The Left Trigger handles your cover, simply hold it to tuck against a nearby object, switching into third-person view while you keep hidden behind barrels, columns, tables, etc...

While in (and out of) cover, pulling the Right Trigger fires your weapon. You can choose to blindfire from cover by simply pulling the trigger, and though this will expose less of your body (though still enough for snipers to hit) you're not going to have much in the way of accuracy. Alternately, you can push the left stick out of cover and spin out to shoot - this gives you far more accuracy, but the drawbacks of standing in the open seem obvious. Simply releasing the stick will put you back into cover while keeping your view on the action - a handy tactic for defending corridors during multiplayer matches.

The biggest change on the gameplay side of things is the addition of the sprint ability. Using the Left Bumper, you can trigger a short burst of speed. When sprinting you can't use weapons, which keeps it limited to the 'movement' side of things, leaving 'run and gun' well out of the picture. While it was a hard sell to the Rainbow Six hardcore, the addition of sprint opens up the gameplay quite a bit. It's now possible to sprint from cover to cover quickly, especially if you're not using movement-hindering armor, or sprint around a room to flank through a rear entrance without missing out on the battle.

There are a few improvements this time around, including the A.C.E.S. (Advanced Combat Enhancement and Specialization) system for unlocking new customization options for your character. This first saw the light of day as Persistent Elite Creation, though it was only for the multiplayer mode in the original Vegas. This time around it'll allow you to customize your character for either the single player or multiplayer modes - with separate profiles for each.

A.C.E.S. has three categories of skills: Marksmanship, Close-Quarters Battle, and Assault. Shoot enemies from long range, for example, and you'll earn Marksmanship points. Killing the same enemy while up close, or via blind fire, will yield CQB points. Toss a grenade at the guy, or kill him with a previously planted C4 charge, and you'll earn Assault points instead.

Advancement within each category unlocks weapons specific to that particular style of combat, with a new weapon every two ranks. Marksmanship ranks grant new sniper rifles, for example, while CQB unlocks shotguns, and Assault yields assault rifles. The off-ranks grant an increasing experience bonus, which helps advance in the other tracked stat - Rank.

Rank unlocks new armor pieces, ranging from ballistic goggles and helmets to armored vests and sleeves. Some of these unlocked pieces are simply used to differentiate your character from other players, while others offer damage-reducing armor value. This bonus comes at a price however, with the pieces offering the most protection also hindering your movement the most.

There's a real tradeoff in the customization, with some players preferring to go 'bare' and forego armor in favor of the ability to flank enemies with uncommon speed. Others will load up with every piece of high-grade armor they can find, happy with being a barely-mobile tank that can absorb considerable punishment before dropping.

You'll burn through the A.C.E.S. system fairly quickly. Playing through the game twice, once in single-player and once in co-operative mode, I maxed out both Marksmanship and CQB stats. Assault was a harder stat to raise, at least for my playstyle, as I seldom rely on the heavy weapons that can fire through cover (one way to advance) and explosives are limited. Ranks, on the other hand, will take considerably longer to max out as the experience required from rank to rank grows at a staggering pace. The A.C.E.S. and Rank systems are decent, a good way to extend the life of the game, but not quite as addictive as Call of Duty's advancement system. Maybe next time, gentlemen!

There's also an improvement to the AI this time around, and enemies will aggressively move to flank your position. It's possible to throw them off, tossing a grenade off to one side will draw a crowd to that location, for example, allowing you to ambush enemies from behind. They'll also do the same to you, however. In one multiplayer session a friend and I entered the second floor of a warehouse, raining fire on the enemies below. One ducked into an office though, disappearing completely.

After wiping out his friends, we switched positions to try and get a shooting angle into the office - only to find an open door and no terrorist. Wondering where he was didn't last long, as a door behind us flew open and he started putting lead into our backs. A nice bit of turnaround, and interesting to see the AI use the building layout that effectively.

I've seen reports of a lengthy list of bugs, though in three times playing through the games I encountered only two real issues. The first was an enemy shooting through a wall, and not using bullet penetration. It was a little confusing to begin with, trying to figure out where the bullets were coming from when there were no enemies visible. Staying in cover and watching the tracers highlighted his position, but I was unable to shoot him through the wall until climbing to his level and getting behind him.

The other issue was a considerable framerate drop during the final full-scale battle, but only during split-screen co-op play. That was the only noticeable drop in framerate throughout the game, however. I didn't encounter any during single-player playthroughs.

Also annoying, though not a true 'issue' I suppose, was that in split-screen when you get new information while in the field it'll pop up an info screen that covers around half of one player's screen. These don't come in when you're fighting, but when you just want to get back to the action it's a bit annoying.

Graphics

While the original Rainbow Six Vegas was a study in dark settings, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is a complete 180º in terms of atmosphere. You'll find mostly daylight environments this time around, and the game looks about the same as the first but there's really not much in the way of that step forward you expect in sequels.

To be fair, the game sports a solid framerate in single-player, though I encountered that one instance of bad slowdown in the split-screen co-op trial. As a bonus, you can really tear the environment apart this time around. It's especially rewarding to toss a brick of C4 onto the side of a slot machine and blow it up when an opponent goes near it, killing them in a shower of shrapnel, fire, and smoke - leaving a totally destroyed row of slot machines in its wake.

The vision modes (thermal and night vision) make a return, and I found them actually quite a bit more useful than in the first game - strange, since the first was primarily set at night. A lot of the environments are simply so busy, for example, that it's helpful to switch to thermal mode. The casino was one of those levels for me. Though it's brightly lit, I found it helpful to switch back and forth from normal to thermal vision to identify targets behind walls, etc...

Sound:

Though it's pretty much the same sound effects that were in the first game, it's still a top-notch example of audio. The weapon effects, in particular, are great - with that 'meaty' thunder behind them that a lot of games lack. The enemies could use more voice samples, as you'll hear the same "That bitch owed me money!" quip a time or two, but the voice acting and weapon effects are extremely well done.

Lasting Appeal:

Single-player mode, if you get hooked on the A.C.E.S. system and want to unlock the weapons, give you a good bit of playtime. If you're not into the idea of unlocking guns, it's unlikely you'll touch the single-player story mode again. The story is better presented than in the original, but still seems fairly disjointed and relies on you knowing some characters from past games to understand the references in this one. To be honest, when I hit the last standoff I couldn't really pinpoint why I was going to kill the enemy - at least until he started his monologue.

To extend the single-player experience a bit more there's always Terrorist Hunt, though that can be pretty rough on you when it's one on 50.

Co-op, whether split-screen or online, will give the game additional life. It's nice to see the story mode side of co-op get an improvement this time around, as you'll actually play through the story instead of just queuing up a series of levels to play through, as you did in the first game. It's a bit disappointing that story mode is only open to two players this time, where four players could get in on it in the first game.

Multiplayer, over System Link or Xbox Live, is the best bet for replayability, with five different gameplay modes to try out: Attack & Defend, Team Leader, Total Conquest, Team Deathmatch, and Deathmatch. Games can range from 1-on-1 to 8-on-8, with the option to set your 360 up as a dedicated server if you have a good connection and want to show it off. There's also Terrorist Hunt, which allows up to four players to take on up to 50 terrorists. Terrorist Hunt was one of the best 'shoot the shit' multiplayer modes in the original, and that carries on to the sequel.

Fun Factor:

Though the storyline is presented rather weakly, it really doesn't impact the fun you'll have blasting through the game's story mode, and has zero bearing on the game's meat and potatoes: online multiplayer. It's well-balanced and offers a degree of strategy that faster-paced shooters don't often have.

It's really nice to see a game still include split-screen, and two-player story mode or Terrorist Hunt will occupy an afternoon or three. Working on communication skills might not seem like 'fun' to begin with, but blowing through 50 terrorists in record time...now that's undeniably fun.

The 411:

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is more of the same, but does it a bit better and has a few new, and interesting, additions that elevate it above its predecessor. If you're strictly offline and won't be doing split-screen or System Link play, you'll have to judge whether the A.C.E.S. system and advancing the plot of the overall Tom Clancy universe is worth the $60 - because otherwise it's the same game you've played already.

Graphics	8.5	You could confuse it for the original, but the new daylight setting is a welcome change.
Gameplay	9.0	More of the same, only a bit more polished. The A.C.E.S. system adds interest, but doesn't last long.
Sound	8.0	Sounds like Vegas. Exactly like Vegas. Record some new one-liners for next time!
Lasting Appeal	9.0	As solid as they come online and the new maps are well designed, but let's see a shakeup for the next game.
Fun Factor	8.5	It's a slower-paced shooter, but the gunplay can get frantic. Cross your fingers to avoid potential bugs.
Overall	8.5   [ Very Good ]

Screenshots
All 18 Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Screenshots