Tactical shooting at its finest
Rainbow 6 has been a successful franchise since Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six first appeared on the PC in 1998. It introduced the world to squad based tactile shooters that were actually playable. Since then it has spawned multiple sequels on every imaginable format, from the gameboy to the Xbox 360.
Rainbow 6 Las Vegas is a great game in almost every way
In 2006 Rainbow 6 Las Vegas was release on the Xbox 360 to universal acclaim gamers and media alike. A few months later it was ported to the PC. Taking the role of Logan Keller, you and your team start out in Mexico trying to capture terrorist Irena Morales. During the failed attempt Logans team is captured and he is trapped. After being extracted, Logan is sent to Las Vegas to lead a new team and the real story takes off. And what a story. There are more twists and turns than most Agatha Christie novels!
Gameplay is similar in some ways to previous versions, however the removal of the planning stage give it a more arcade like feel. The next biggest change is the new health system. Similar to the one used in Call of Duty 2, when injured you need to find somewhere to hide and recover. This makes the environment your biggest ally, diving behind cars or walls to recover in the middle of a fire fight is quite a rush! Another nice feature is the transition from first person to third person in certain situations. This allows you to hide in cover and just peak out to shoot.
The controls work very well, with the mouse and keys utilised the way of most FPS games. What makes this a little different is the fact that you have team mates to order about. The Artificial Intelligence is really pretty good. You don’t see your team mates getting stuck behind walls or getting lost! They are also bright enough to find cover when they need it. Controlling them is as simple as pointing where you want them to go and pressing space.
There is lots of action here, flying down zip lines, rappelling from helicopters and of course all out gunfights. You character moves a lot like Sam Fischer of Splinter Cell fame, so you get a feeling of being in total control of what he does. Depending on your difficulty settings you will find that running into a room and starting a fire fight is not always the best option! Making use of your team mates to clear a room for you becomes an essential element.
Rainbow Six Vegas is a very good looking game, if you have the hardware to run it. I must admit that my PC struggled a little, but that is the downfall of console ports. Explosions look amazing, smoke effects and environmental effects all look very realistic. The casinos look great and are fun to blast apart, whilst the troopers look almost real.
One downside I found was the save system. Rather than the quick save that many pc players are used too, you have a checkpoint system. Die and you are taken back to the last checkpoint. Although annoying at first you soon get used to it.
Multiplayer is well catered for, Survival, Team Survival, Sharpshooter, Team Sharpshooter, Retrieval, Co-op Terrorist Hunt, as well as four new modes, Attack & Defend, Co-op Campaign, Assassination, and Conquest for up to 16 players to enjoy. The only trouble is there are very few populated servers out there to play in!
Rainbow 6 Las Vegas is a great game in almost every way. Building on a good heritage, this is just different enough to feel fresh without making players of the old games feel like they need to learn it all again. Although the single player campaign is a little short, put it onto realistic mode and you will be there for days and weeks trying to get through! With it’s real world settings and weapons, fantastic plot and intuitive team based tactical action this is a real winner.
The Bad: No quick save, a bit short, multiplayer servers are hard to come by.
Gold Y Award