by Lewis O'Brien

6.6.08

The expectations to the follow up of one of the most popular games of 2006 for the Xbox 360 were very high and it seemed like Ubisoft had made it an impossible task to improve on the formula the first game’s devoted players loved. Staggeringly, they did a great job on this sequel.

The game follows Bishop, who was a non-playerable character in Vegas 1 and Logan’s (the protagonist of the first game) team leader before the events of prequel. The story is similar to the original Vegas; you go in, you kill some terrorists and save some hostages. It’s a simple concept but one that doesn’t really need to be developed in the game’s gun-battle heavy circumstances.

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2’s main highlight has got to be its amazing fire-fights which are set in locations which allow for tactical manoeuvres. These battles make you feel like you are not only part of the action, but right at the centre of it, a feeling which the last one also achieved.

In some areas it’s difficult to see any change between this game and its prequel. Vegas 1 was good but changing existing problems –such as the AI for your team-mates who will either behave superbly or just plain stupidly could have been rectified. You get a sense that Ubisoft built on the original game’s strengths rather than its weaknesses.

The new A.C.E.S. system is a great addition, you can level up your Marksman, Close Quarter Battle and Assault skills by getting kills for that respective talent. As these increase they unlock better weapons. The introduction of gaining experience on the single player campaign to rank yourself up without going online is another nifty feature. The RPG style system was well implemented and the developers must be applauded for this.

Ubisoft have also finally decided to give a Rainbow game a sprint button (can I get a hallelujah?!). This gameplay mechanic gives the game more pace and tension as you can now use a quick burst of speed to cross open ground rather than just power walk across while being shot in the head, thus reducing the frustration factor in the game, while leaving a sense of achievement after every level.

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 essentially gives you a different view to the events of the first game, because of this you don’t need to own Vegas 1 if you want to understand this game. At the same time the small additions make the game feel slightly better than the first and give it more replay value rather than just collecting dust once you’ve finished it. A good buy, I enjoyed it, you’ll enjoy it, so why aren’t going down to a game shop now? Seriously. Go.

8/10

Lewis

- Lewis O'Brien