Tom Clancy must be really blooming rich by now. He’s sold millions of books, ‘advised’ on a multitude of films and the various games with his attached name are almost as popular as Santa.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (pause for breath) is the least tactical of the Clancy titles. Set before, during and after the events of the first Vegas game – where one your team mates cheekily double crossed you – it aims to offer much more of what we all loved during the first romp through the Sin City.
Let’s strap on that body armour and see what ‘Tangos’ we can take out. As in kill, not wine and dine them at a nice local bistro. An invite might be a touch difficult when they’re trying to blast your brains out.
They say:
Another Mansized exclusive – there’s no reviews anywhere else yet
We say:
Same as always, Vegas 2 is all about fulfilling objective after objective. You’ll be constantly given brand new areas to reach and actions to perform. It’s a little like the sublime Call of Duty 4 in that regards.
Unlike Call of Duty however, Vegas 2 is far slower pace wise. You and your two team mates will be constantly inching your way through the levels, making use of every semblance of cover you can spot. Think the fantastic cover option in Gears of War tweaked to even higher levels of perfection.
Overturned tables, piles of bricks, rubbish bins, almost anything in Vegas 2 is a hiding spot. It’ll only take a few hits to kill you, so keeping your head safely behind some decent cover is absolutely essential if you want to stop these terrorists killing thousands.
Thankfully you’re able to clad your character in all kinds of armour to help you keep your life intact. Everything from knee pads to gas masks are available, each of which affects your speed of movement and ability to stay breathing.
Be prepared to experiment with your choice of weaponry too. There’s a mass of powerful weapons from single shot pistols through to huge assault rifles. And there’s a whole heap of add ons for each, allowing you to outfit your character with exactly the kind of killing tools you desire.
You’ll constantly be given brand new options too. Each kill you make earns you experience points which eventually opens up all new avenues of armour and weaponry for you to try out. There’s some really cracking stuff in there if you manage to hit the highest levels.
Don’t expect the single player campaign to last you too long. A good half dozen hours is all you’ll need to see the final credits roll to a fairly satisfying conclusion. The ending is not quite as powerful as Call of Duty 4, but it’s certainly a hell of a lot better than the kind of drivel we’re usually faced with.
But the single player isn’t all. Not only can you play through the entire game via co-op, but there’s a mass of terrorist hunting missions to explore and play both on and offline. If you can really get to grips with things, you’ll find yourself wasting months on Vegas 2’s varied and exciting multiplayer options. Online, it’s a real treat.
Again, compared to Call of Duty 4 visually, Vegas 2 doesn’t win many points. Be prepared for some dull and dreary levels for the initial hour or two and while your colleagues and enemies move in a solid enough manner, their manipulation of the environment swings wildly from brilliant to terrible in a blink of an eye.
One second they’re blasting through a wooden table to take out an unseen enemy. The next they’re kicking over a stupidly placed bucket, only for it to defy gravity and fly a fair few metres before settling on its side. Crazy.
And presumably due to the intelligent AI of your compatriots, the frame rate really suffers at times. Vegas 2 isn’t really pushing the 360 graphically, so it’s odd that you’ll see stutters and judders every half hour, even when the action hasn’t really fired up to its worst.
Then there’s the grenades. These buggers will come dropping smack bang next to you without any kind of notification, handing over many a death that you simply couldn’t avoid.
It might not be much more than a tweak of the original, but it’s a hell of a ride. The story mode is the real thrill ride and the additional modes will keep you hooked for weeks. It’s not quite a Call of Duty 4 beater, but it’s recommended all the same.
Like this? Try these:
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas – Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Tom Clancy’s GRAW2 - Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Gears of War – Xbox 360
FORMAT REVIEWED
Xbox 360
OTHER FORMATS
PS3
POSTED...
Tue 18 Mar at 9:01pm
