Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas Review

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas Review



The XBOX 360 has lots of games that are hits and plenty that aren't. One game, or rather one franchise, has always been quite popular among FPS (first-person shooter) fans. That franchise is "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six"; and with its newest game, "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas", the franchise proves to become even more popular. Currently, "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas" is only available for the XBOX 360, but it will be available to PS3 owners in February of '07.

If you got this game solely for single player purpose (which would be a shame), you won't be disappointed. Terrorists have invaded and mobilized in the casinos and big name hotels of Las Vegas. Obviously, this can not go unanswered, so a special assault team has been called in. You are the leader of this elite counter-terrorist assault squad. The goal of the terrorists is sketchy and only bits and pieces of information can be confirmed. What is known is that their plan involves the McGuffin device; which, if used, will kill millions of innocent people. Your teams mission is to find out the terrorist's intentions and basically stop them from completing their main objective. There will be a few twists and turns that might keep you guessing, but overall, the storyline is pretty straight forward.

The "Rainbow Six" franchise has always made combat a big aspect of the game, which isn't a surprise considering that the game would be dull without it. The big change in "Vegas" is the new feature of taking cover. Obviously, you could take cover in other "Rainbow Six" games by ducking or moving behind an object, but in this game you can actually put your back up against the object in front of you. From that position you can do a many different things.

If you want the incoming enemies to know you are there and to come no closer, you can use blind fire and they will retreat and/or take cover. Then again, if you want to be more accurate and take out enemies faster, you can pop your head out and take aim. If the object happens to be smaller and you need to crouch in order to take cover behind it, you can actually switch up your shooting method by alternating between "over-the-top" and "around-the-side" firing. Aside from shooting at enemies, you can also throw grenades while behind cover; but you have to be careful, as doing so can leave you vulnerable to incoming fire. Even though you will be moving and shooting via a first-person perspective, when you "take cover" behind an object, your perspective turns to third-person. The idea may sound confusing, but it is done rather simply and most players will find that this new feature is definitely appreciated.

You and your two squad mates can move very quickly, whether it be rappelling off of a rooftop, roping through a skyscraper window, or just breaching a room and eliminating all enemy forces inside. The rappel line has got to be one of the most interesting (and fun) aspects of entry. You can make your way slowly down the side of the building (free of noise), or you can do a few downward rappelling jumps and reach your entry point even faster (at the cost of making noise though). And, as if that wasn't cool enough, you can turn upside down and scout out the room without being seen by the enemy. This enables you to see the inside of the room and relay any enemy positions to your team members. Relaying enemy positions to your team isn't a waste of time; it actually enables your team to enter a room and eliminate all enemies within seconds. Charging into a room without any knowledge of enemy positions is very dangerous and usually results in your team's death; so be cautious.

Your teams overall AI is pretty sharp. Each of your team members will react to the environment and keep you updated on important information; such as enemy movement, grenades, etc. Team commands are very simple and can be performed by a simple press of a button. You can tell your team to enter an area from a certain "entry" point, stand-by at a specific location (such as a door or window), or just fall in line behind you. Obviously, there are many more commands you can issue to your squad, but you'll find out more about that while playing.

There are different difficulty levels that player may choose from. The realistic setting is not for the faint of heart or the easily frustrated. Unlike normal mode, where you can survive several hits before retreating, the "realistic" setting is in fact realistic. Thats not to say its "one shot, one kill", but lets just say you better not take multiple bullet wounds simultaneously. When playing on the realistic setting, enemies will react more quickly and be more alert to their environment; so that means you need to be extra careful. Sprinting from one room to another wildly is never a good idea; that goes for any difficulty setting. Therefore, if you ever need to get somewhere in a hurry, lob a smoke grenade to conceal your team's movement. Otherwise, you will be cut to ribbons before you can even utter the word "retreat".

Other "Rainbow Six" titles are not known for their spectacular looking graphics, but "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas" seems to have had a big leap in visual quality. The details of the soldiers, as well as their weapons & gear, are outstanding. The graphics aren't revolutionary and they probably don't compare to the graphics of a game like "Gears of War", but then again, not many games do.

This game shines its own light; it has great gameplay, a good storyline, impressive combat, excellent graphics & sound, and so much more. If "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas" is not on your "must own" list, you need to seriously think about adding it. It has everything a gamer could want in a FPS video game. So what are you waiting for?

NEW! You can get all the information and tools you need to make backup copies of virtually every video game you own with nothing more than a CD burner or DVD burner and your home computer. PLUS learn how to play all of your favorite games on your PC, no console, or mod chip needed!

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.


Article Copyright By Author. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.