Words by Prateek Sanan & Rohit Loomba Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0
"Rainbow Six: Vegas 2" is a must have Ubisoft release. While giving you the vantage point of a first person shooter, "Rainbow Six" also gives you command of two fellow anti-terrorist unit members, making this game a tag team effort to save lives.
It offers a variety of scenarios set in various locations, making it quite interesting to be able to explore your new environment while managing not to get picked off. As terrorists reek more than their fair share of havoc on innocent lives, you and your team are out to rid the world of evil, one bad guy at a time.
Players will be able to customize their character at the beginning of the game, selecting facial features, facial hair, and several other preferences. This customized character will then make his way through hostage situations, bomb situations, and drug deals. While it's hard to imagine what life in an anti-terrorist unit must be like, it seems as if "Rainbow Six" does a good job of capturing the excitement.
The environments in this game are fully explorable and interactive, allowing you to crouch and duck behind things you should be able to or hug the wall and slowly make your way to the corner where you can fire a variety of weapons such as AK-47s and Raging Bulls without turning the corner.
Game play is action packed, not leaving too many dull moments unless you choose to simply walk around a room after clearing it out. Commands are detailed and allow you to fully control your team and its entry and exit from locations, selecting the entrance you wish to use and the method of entry. Flash bangs and smoke grenades are just some of the tools at your disposal as you maneuver through well developed story lines. This freedom and variety of actions does come at a cost, however, as controls take a while to get used to with buttons being assigned multiple actions depending on what the current situation is. While the game lets you do mostly what you want, there are parts in the game where doors are unopenable and areas are inaccessible, forcing you make a specific decision, but these are rare and don't detract from game play all that much.
Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 Trailer
What does detract from this game, however, is the artificial intelligence. Computer controlled characters are repetitive and can be found in the same place doing the same thing if you die and pick up from a previous checkpoint. Computer controlled characters also seem unaware at times, making it possible to pass suspiciously close to them without them firing a single shot. More automation of the characters would make the game more challenging and fulfilling.
What really helps the game, even if you walk right past a seemingly blind terrorist without being fired at once, are the graphics. Explosions, gunfire, and environments are all rendered smoothly and in detail, making the whole experience seem even more realistic. The occasional in-game videos are also crisp and keep the storyline moving.
Relatively difficult controls and a somewhat lacking artificial intelligence don't make much of a dent in "Rainbow Six's" armor, leaving this game to be entertaining and challenging. For those looking for a unique command experience in a first person shooter style, "Rainbow Six" is the perfect game.
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