Flashing neon lights, beautifully detailed environments, a tactical system that has still gone unrivaled: There was a lot players were assaulted with back in 2006 as Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Vegas hit shelves alongside it's Unreal Engine counterpart Gears of War. Vegas was a huge hit, and a must-have title for 360 owners far and wide. I know a few people who bought a 360 simply to play that game, and there are still players playing it on Live today. Ubisoft has been left with the question "We've created one of the greatest 360 games out there, so what next...?" Fast forward to 2008 and fans finally have the answer with March's release of Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Has Ubisoft hit the jackpot and won it big with this sequel, or have they crapped out?
It is always nice, from an editorial standpoint, to review sequels, as I have a previous game to directly compare the new one to. The first thing players will notice is familiar to everything they know and love from the original; I added this to my ever-growing shelf of games last weekend, and pulling out the original Vegas box, Vegas 2 bares a striking resemblance. Loading times have been reduced somewhat when compared to the original, but they are not cut down as much as Ubisoft lead me to believe. From the get-go you can see that the game is based upon user-customization this time around, as the first thing you are prompted to do before you even begin is create your character: Customization options include gender, armor and clothing, and weapons.
Vegas 2 features two different weapon sets: One set that will be used while playing Story and Terrorist hunt, allowing two main weapons and a side arm, and the other set used while playing in multiplayer adversarial matches, consisting of one main weapon and a side arm. Something a lot of people may not notice, Vegas 2 also supports outfitting presets similar to that of Call Of Duty 4; while in outfitting during a match, hitting the left and right triggers switch to different weapon presets, allowing players to quickly change their outfitting if, among other reasons, the host is more than hospitable in your request not to start the match four seconds after the previous one ends.
A new future that is just awesome is the ability to rank up while doing pretty much anything; killing terrorists in campaign earns you experience points (based on who killed them, how they were killed, and the difficulty). These points contribute to promoting your character to the next rank. Playing in adversarial/terrorist hunt missions also earn your character experience. For example, if I start out playing campaign and earn 100 experience points through playing through a few levels, then I jump into Team Deathmatch and earn another 300 Exp., then my character has a total of 400 Exp. points towards ranking up. This is a great new feature, and may lead player to playing the campaign a lot longer, and for more than just the achievements as was the case in the original Vegas.
Another great addition to the ranking system is that of the ACES (Advanced Combat Enhancement and Specialization) points. ACES points carry across all modes as well, and are separated into three different areas: Marksmanship, Close-Quarters-Combat, and Assault. Points are earned in a specific area for killing your enemies in specific ways (CQB points are awarded for getting up in your opponents face and blowing them away, Marksman points are awarded for picking off your opponents from a distance, Assault from kills with explosives, or through cover, etc.), and the points gained contribute to ranking your character up in the specific area. There are 20 levels of each, each level alternating between a big experience bonus, or a new weapon unlocked. Yes, only armor and cammo are earned from ranking up this time around; weapons are awarded for leveling up your ACES.
Still, there are a few things I would have liked to have with the ACES; first, your prize is not advertised to you, and the awards just don't seem as satisfying as I remember unlocking similar items in Call Of Duty 4. So unless you are checking your ACES screen every time you rank up, you may not even be aware of all the weapons that you have at your disposal. The other glaring issue with this is if I headshot an enemy through cover, I get +1 to my Assault, but nothing to my Marksman. While this is fine when all need to be leveled up, but once I have maxed out Assault, I would rather have the Marksman points, and the game has no way of differentiating and divieing up the points. So when your CQB is at level 20 and you get a headshot at close range, you get the CQB points rather than the headshot. It seems to me the prudent thing to do would be to disable the points in that area once it is maxed, and award the player for points they need, rather than those they do not.
Alright, now that we have covered ranking up, lets take a look at the next newest feature, the ability to sprint. Sprinting is performed by holding the left bumper in, and allows the player to run between areas of cover, giving them that extra boost needed to get through open areas unscathed, and is also useful to avoid grenades. Yes, grenades are pretty much useless in Vegas 2 and they will not make the Restricted list nearly as often as the original. Sprinting follows Call Of Duty 4's rules: Nothing can be performed while sprinting (shooting, reloading, etc.). Often times I will be trying to reload my Glock, and begin sprinting before it is cocked, leaving me to have to reload it all over again. Sprinting may seem odd in a Rainbow Six game, but it is something that was desperatley needed, and it is in use players will grow to love it.
Another new, somewhat unadvertised feature, is that of disposable cover. Again, while not as gratifying as Call Of Duty 4, this was a much needed addition. Those of you who snipe from the windows in Streets, you will have to find a whole new way to hide now! This is a must-have feature in any next-gen shooter, and Vegas 2 doesn't disappoint: There is nothing more satisfying than blowing away the table that cocky terrorist is hiding behind.
As far as Gameplay goes, Vegas 2 suffers (and I use the term loosely) from the same thing GR:AW 2 did: Ubisoft seems to go with the "If it isn't broken, don't fix it" philosiphy and none of the core gameplay has changed from the original. Take away the bells and whistles of the new ranking system, and, with the addition of sprinting, you've got the original Vegas. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay in Vegas 2 is great, however it brings nothing to the table we did not see 18 months ago.
One highly touted feature was the ability to play co-op through the entire campaign, and have your friend drop in and out seemlessly without disrupting the story. Again, I think Ubisoft talked up just a little bit more than they could deliver: While Ubisoft put in the cutscenes, mission briefings, and tutorials that were missing in the first game, it begins to fall apart after that. Co-op campaign was reduced from four players to two, though you are still accompanied by your two AI teammates. Only the host player is able to issue commands, however, forcing the second player to sit by as the first player orders teammates around. If the host goes down, your AI teammates have no one to tell them what to do until he respawns. Another unfortunate downfall of being able to jump in and out of co-op seemlessly is that player 2 is not part of the story at all. It's not huge, but it seems a better thing to do would have been to simply give your character three AI teammates to control, and when a second player joins let them take the part of Knight.
The campaign takes place before, during, and after the events of the first Vegas, and while it does tie up some of the loose ends we were left with in Vegas, it does leave more to be desired: It is extremely short, spanning nine or so levels, each separated into three or four short scenes. As I began to really pay attention and get into the storyline, it seemed like it was over. Of course, no one plays Vegas for the storyline and single-player, we play for the multiplayer!
Multiplayer features 12 new maps, and two new adversarial game types: Team Leader and Team Objective. Team Leader consists of each team having a leader who can see the opposing team leader's location. Team members can respawn so long as their team leader is not killed, and the object is to either kill all the players on the other team (By taking out the leader so they cannot respawn), or by getting your leader to the extraction point (usually somewhere near the opposing teams spawn). Also, if your team leader kills an opponent, that person cannot respawn for the rest of the round. A very interesting gametype, and I am loving it! Team Leader has some big Experience rewards, and games are over fairly quick so even if you cannot respawn, you are not stuck sitting there for 10 minutes.
Team Objective has three satellites on the map that are visible on all players HUD: The object is for your team to take all three satellites, and then hold them for thirty seconds. I have played a few rounds of this, but it usually lasts way too long for my liking: 30 seconds is an eternity to hold three areas the other team can see, and the rewards of this gametype just aren't worth the effort. I took the satellite, I should at least get some experience, right?
The rest of the game types have gone unchanged: Sharpshooter and Team Sharpshooter have become Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch respectively. A new feature, if it is enabled, is the ability to allow prospective players to "Join In Progress", meaning that if they join the room in the middle of a 15 minute Team Deathmatch, they can spawn and get into the action right away, instead of sitting and waiting for 7 minutes. Of course, this feature is only available if the host enables it, though I believe it is enabled by default.
Graphically, Vegas 2 is, again, similar to it's predescessor in that not a whole lot has changed. The character models are well detailed, and the graphics have been polished and a little refined from the previous incarnation, however Vegas 2 will not stand on its graphics alone. The environments also seem a bit lacking when compared to Vegas, but this may due in no small part to the bland environments: The majority of the campaign is spent away from the bright lights of the Sunset Strip and out in areas such as the Nevada Desert and Cuban Villa.
Of course, Vegas 2 can be granted the fact that the environments are more interactive; gun turrets are featured throughout the campaign, and most of the environment is destructable. There is quite a nice sense of awe to throw a frag grenade through the top floor window of the Villa, and wait to see all of the windows of that floor get blown out seconds later. There are some glitches, such as the constant gunfire heard, having no sound, or the level not fully loading up in Co-op, which I wish could have been fixed. Of course, we live in the days of downloadable patches so all is not lost in that department.
I know this is what some of you have been waiting for: Achievements! The achievements in Vegas 2 are, yet again, a little familiar with the original. There are the obligatory ranking achievements granted for gaining the rank of Private, Officer, and Elite, as well as the achievement-collector-on-a-budget's bane of taking a picture of your face with the Live Vision Camera. Completing the campaign on Realistic, which doesn't seem as huge a feat as it did back in the first one.
The majority of achievements are obtained through gaining 100 kills with particular weapon types, and by performing certain feats X number of times in a particular game type, so those looking for a quick achievement rental may want to pass up Vegas 2 in leui of Avatar or Eragon. There is also an achievement for gaining all weapons, which is done by maxing out all of your character's ACES. All in all, the achievements will have you playing for quite a while, and may force you to play gametypes you normally wouldn't, which is certainly not a bad thing. Of course, multiplayer is riddled with boosters/glitchers, and that gets quite annoying to the honest folk.
After everything is said and done, Vegas 2 is somewhere in Limbo: It is more than an expansion pack to the original, but is not a full sequel in the conventional sense. The campaign, while tieing up the previous story, starts a new one all it's own, and is short enough to leave players asking "What exactly happened?"
Players must also keep in mind that Vegas 2 is a "Tactical Shooter", meaning the run and gun antics of Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 will just not work in this game, which I've found is a big turn off for some people. If nothing else, it will take some readjusting before you get your controls back if your a big Call Of Duty player. Vegas 2 is a great game, and I do not want to sell it short: Another visit to Sin City has been long overdue after the original's success, and fans of Rainbow Six Vegas will have to look no further than to whet their appetite on this, however those fans looking for a new sequel that brings something compeletly different to the table may be more than a little disappointed.
I give Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and 8.5 out of 10: While it would have been nice to see a more in-depth campaign, and a few more changes, Vegas 2 holds its own and will duck and cover it's way into your heart. Built upon the original's stellar gameplay and addicting multiplayer, Vegas 2 will keep us busy for hours on end.
Final Score: 8.5/10
Features
It is always nice, from an editorial standpoint, to review sequels, as I have a previous game to directly compare the new one to. The first thing players will notice is familiar to everything they know and love from the original; I added this to my ever-growing shelf of games last weekend, and pulling out the original Vegas box, Vegas 2 bares a striking resemblance. Loading times have been reduced somewhat when compared to the original, but they are not cut down as much as Ubisoft lead me to believe. From the get-go you can see that the game is based upon user-customization this time around, as the first thing you are prompted to do before you even begin is create your character: Customization options include gender, armor and clothing, and weapons.
Vegas 2 features two different weapon sets: One set that will be used while playing Story and Terrorist hunt, allowing two main weapons and a side arm, and the other set used while playing in multiplayer adversarial matches, consisting of one main weapon and a side arm. Something a lot of people may not notice, Vegas 2 also supports outfitting presets similar to that of Call Of Duty 4; while in outfitting during a match, hitting the left and right triggers switch to different weapon presets, allowing players to quickly change their outfitting if, among other reasons, the host is more than hospitable in your request not to start the match four seconds after the previous one ends.
A new future that is just awesome is the ability to rank up while doing pretty much anything; killing terrorists in campaign earns you experience points (based on who killed them, how they were killed, and the difficulty). These points contribute to promoting your character to the next rank. Playing in adversarial/terrorist hunt missions also earn your character experience. For example, if I start out playing campaign and earn 100 experience points through playing through a few levels, then I jump into Team Deathmatch and earn another 300 Exp., then my character has a total of 400 Exp. points towards ranking up. This is a great new feature, and may lead player to playing the campaign a lot longer, and for more than just the achievements as was the case in the original Vegas.
Another great addition to the ranking system is that of the ACES (Advanced Combat Enhancement and Specialization) points. ACES points carry across all modes as well, and are separated into three different areas: Marksmanship, Close-Quarters-Combat, and Assault. Points are earned in a specific area for killing your enemies in specific ways (CQB points are awarded for getting up in your opponents face and blowing them away, Marksman points are awarded for picking off your opponents from a distance, Assault from kills with explosives, or through cover, etc.), and the points gained contribute to ranking your character up in the specific area. There are 20 levels of each, each level alternating between a big experience bonus, or a new weapon unlocked. Yes, only armor and cammo are earned from ranking up this time around; weapons are awarded for leveling up your ACES.
Still, there are a few things I would have liked to have with the ACES; first, your prize is not advertised to you, and the awards just don't seem as satisfying as I remember unlocking similar items in Call Of Duty 4. So unless you are checking your ACES screen every time you rank up, you may not even be aware of all the weapons that you have at your disposal. The other glaring issue with this is if I headshot an enemy through cover, I get +1 to my Assault, but nothing to my Marksman. While this is fine when all need to be leveled up, but once I have maxed out Assault, I would rather have the Marksman points, and the game has no way of differentiating and divieing up the points. So when your CQB is at level 20 and you get a headshot at close range, you get the CQB points rather than the headshot. It seems to me the prudent thing to do would be to disable the points in that area once it is maxed, and award the player for points they need, rather than those they do not.
Alright, now that we have covered ranking up, lets take a look at the next newest feature, the ability to sprint. Sprinting is performed by holding the left bumper in, and allows the player to run between areas of cover, giving them that extra boost needed to get through open areas unscathed, and is also useful to avoid grenades. Yes, grenades are pretty much useless in Vegas 2 and they will not make the Restricted list nearly as often as the original. Sprinting follows Call Of Duty 4's rules: Nothing can be performed while sprinting (shooting, reloading, etc.). Often times I will be trying to reload my Glock, and begin sprinting before it is cocked, leaving me to have to reload it all over again. Sprinting may seem odd in a Rainbow Six game, but it is something that was desperatley needed, and it is in use players will grow to love it.
Another new, somewhat unadvertised feature, is that of disposable cover. Again, while not as gratifying as Call Of Duty 4, this was a much needed addition. Those of you who snipe from the windows in Streets, you will have to find a whole new way to hide now! This is a must-have feature in any next-gen shooter, and Vegas 2 doesn't disappoint: There is nothing more satisfying than blowing away the table that cocky terrorist is hiding behind.
Gameplay
As far as Gameplay goes, Vegas 2 suffers (and I use the term loosely) from the same thing GR:AW 2 did: Ubisoft seems to go with the "If it isn't broken, don't fix it" philosiphy and none of the core gameplay has changed from the original. Take away the bells and whistles of the new ranking system, and, with the addition of sprinting, you've got the original Vegas. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay in Vegas 2 is great, however it brings nothing to the table we did not see 18 months ago.
One highly touted feature was the ability to play co-op through the entire campaign, and have your friend drop in and out seemlessly without disrupting the story. Again, I think Ubisoft talked up just a little bit more than they could deliver: While Ubisoft put in the cutscenes, mission briefings, and tutorials that were missing in the first game, it begins to fall apart after that. Co-op campaign was reduced from four players to two, though you are still accompanied by your two AI teammates. Only the host player is able to issue commands, however, forcing the second player to sit by as the first player orders teammates around. If the host goes down, your AI teammates have no one to tell them what to do until he respawns. Another unfortunate downfall of being able to jump in and out of co-op seemlessly is that player 2 is not part of the story at all. It's not huge, but it seems a better thing to do would have been to simply give your character three AI teammates to control, and when a second player joins let them take the part of Knight.
The campaign takes place before, during, and after the events of the first Vegas, and while it does tie up some of the loose ends we were left with in Vegas, it does leave more to be desired: It is extremely short, spanning nine or so levels, each separated into three or four short scenes. As I began to really pay attention and get into the storyline, it seemed like it was over. Of course, no one plays Vegas for the storyline and single-player, we play for the multiplayer!
Multiplayer features 12 new maps, and two new adversarial game types: Team Leader and Team Objective. Team Leader consists of each team having a leader who can see the opposing team leader's location. Team members can respawn so long as their team leader is not killed, and the object is to either kill all the players on the other team (By taking out the leader so they cannot respawn), or by getting your leader to the extraction point (usually somewhere near the opposing teams spawn). Also, if your team leader kills an opponent, that person cannot respawn for the rest of the round. A very interesting gametype, and I am loving it! Team Leader has some big Experience rewards, and games are over fairly quick so even if you cannot respawn, you are not stuck sitting there for 10 minutes.
Team Objective has three satellites on the map that are visible on all players HUD: The object is for your team to take all three satellites, and then hold them for thirty seconds. I have played a few rounds of this, but it usually lasts way too long for my liking: 30 seconds is an eternity to hold three areas the other team can see, and the rewards of this gametype just aren't worth the effort. I took the satellite, I should at least get some experience, right?
The rest of the game types have gone unchanged: Sharpshooter and Team Sharpshooter have become Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch respectively. A new feature, if it is enabled, is the ability to allow prospective players to "Join In Progress", meaning that if they join the room in the middle of a 15 minute Team Deathmatch, they can spawn and get into the action right away, instead of sitting and waiting for 7 minutes. Of course, this feature is only available if the host enables it, though I believe it is enabled by default.
Graphics
Graphically, Vegas 2 is, again, similar to it's predescessor in that not a whole lot has changed. The character models are well detailed, and the graphics have been polished and a little refined from the previous incarnation, however Vegas 2 will not stand on its graphics alone. The environments also seem a bit lacking when compared to Vegas, but this may due in no small part to the bland environments: The majority of the campaign is spent away from the bright lights of the Sunset Strip and out in areas such as the Nevada Desert and Cuban Villa.
Of course, Vegas 2 can be granted the fact that the environments are more interactive; gun turrets are featured throughout the campaign, and most of the environment is destructable. There is quite a nice sense of awe to throw a frag grenade through the top floor window of the Villa, and wait to see all of the windows of that floor get blown out seconds later. There are some glitches, such as the constant gunfire heard, having no sound, or the level not fully loading up in Co-op, which I wish could have been fixed. Of course, we live in the days of downloadable patches so all is not lost in that department.
Achievements
I know this is what some of you have been waiting for: Achievements! The achievements in Vegas 2 are, yet again, a little familiar with the original. There are the obligatory ranking achievements granted for gaining the rank of Private, Officer, and Elite, as well as the achievement-collector-on-a-budget's bane of taking a picture of your face with the Live Vision Camera. Completing the campaign on Realistic, which doesn't seem as huge a feat as it did back in the first one.
The majority of achievements are obtained through gaining 100 kills with particular weapon types, and by performing certain feats X number of times in a particular game type, so those looking for a quick achievement rental may want to pass up Vegas 2 in leui of Avatar or Eragon. There is also an achievement for gaining all weapons, which is done by maxing out all of your character's ACES. All in all, the achievements will have you playing for quite a while, and may force you to play gametypes you normally wouldn't, which is certainly not a bad thing. Of course, multiplayer is riddled with boosters/glitchers, and that gets quite annoying to the honest folk.
Overall
After everything is said and done, Vegas 2 is somewhere in Limbo: It is more than an expansion pack to the original, but is not a full sequel in the conventional sense. The campaign, while tieing up the previous story, starts a new one all it's own, and is short enough to leave players asking "What exactly happened?"
Players must also keep in mind that Vegas 2 is a "Tactical Shooter", meaning the run and gun antics of Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 will just not work in this game, which I've found is a big turn off for some people. If nothing else, it will take some readjusting before you get your controls back if your a big Call Of Duty player. Vegas 2 is a great game, and I do not want to sell it short: Another visit to Sin City has been long overdue after the original's success, and fans of Rainbow Six Vegas will have to look no further than to whet their appetite on this, however those fans looking for a new sequel that brings something compeletly different to the table may be more than a little disappointed.
I give Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and 8.5 out of 10: While it would have been nice to see a more in-depth campaign, and a few more changes, Vegas 2 holds its own and will duck and cover it's way into your heart. Built upon the original's stellar gameplay and addicting multiplayer, Vegas 2 will keep us busy for hours on end.
Final Score: 8.5/10
