Rainbox Six: Vegas (Xbox 360)
While Sam Fisher heads off into unknown territory as a Double Agent, Rainbow Six: Vegas goes where stealth isn’t that much of an option by taking a decidedly more direct approach to lead-driven diplomacy. The series has a long pedigree in providing plenty of tactical love to players with its thinking man’s approach to squad driven gameplay, with detailed blueprints, planning options, and a roster of valuable team members that won’t come back once they’re gone. But while it may seem that Rainbow Six: Vegas has ignored veterans with its friendlier approach to its realism, the action packed return of the series and the changes to its gameplay provide a mix of exciting on-the-spot tactics and thrilling shootouts that reward the strategist as well as would-be Jack Bauer’s.
After Dark
The story is part Clancy-esque real world thriller and part “24†inspired action filled with twists and terrorists. Vegas places the player into the boots of Logan Keller, newly anointed leader of his own team of Rainbow Six operatives, as they tackle their first mission south of the border. Tracking terrorist Irena Morales to Mexico, what starts out as a simple snatch and grab to bring her in will eventually take him to the glittering, neon lit streets of Las Vegas as it is torn apart by a surprise attack. He and his team will find themselves in the middle of a war that will rage through Sin City’s hotspots as they desperately try to stem the tide and learn the truth behind what is going on before it is too late.
In an interesting change in presenting the story, the team at Ubisoft Montreal opted to eschew cut scenes and instead blend everything into the gameplay to keep the player focused on staying within the action thanks to a PiP (Picture in Picture) element off in a corner of your view that brings you all of the intel that Joanna, the team’s information officer, will feed you. Conversations between the terrorists that you encounter will also add more color to what is going on, provided the player doesn’t take them out too early, and Logan’s team members will also voice their own opinions as they move through the mission together. Much of this works in giving the experience the feel of being as close to the action as possible. For some, it might even feel like an episode of i[24]i without the timecode.
Tactical Surprise
Fans of the series that have been with it through much of its run will probably be the ones that will notice how differently this newest chapter plays out. Much like what Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter had done with the Ghost Recon franchise, some of the realism has been changed to adopt a more action oriented, ’street level’ version of in-your-face fighting typical more of FPS offerings. Gone is the tactical map that had been used to plan your team’s activities, focusing more on squad based gameplay versus the ‘larger picture’ that series veterans may miss.
Instead, Vegas brings the tactical planning down to the moment of when you encounter a room filled with bad guys or a situation where the enemy is well entrenched leaving it to the player to decide right then and there in how they want to take them down. Thanks to an excellent squad command and cover system that can easily give Gears of War’s system a run for its Imulsion-fed money, this new approach doesn’t completely ignore its tactical roots and provides room for newcomers to get used to its often unforgiving action. There’s also a ‘realism’ setting for fans that want more of a challenge which Vegas can easily deliver.
Logan is partnered up with two AI teammates that are along not only to help watch his back but bring skills of their own that prove useful. One will be able to hack into anything with a keyboard to provide valuable intel, and another can bring down heavy firepower and disarm any explosive surprises that the team will run into. But they’re also armed with AI smart enough to take and follow orders, scope out targets, take cover, and provide backup for when the player needs it. They do their job well and in a game where being a lone wolf can stack the odds in Death’s favor, the player can count on them to do what they’re supposed to. It’s a refreshing change from having AI teammates that were useful only as cannon fodder to being every bit as important to the gameplay as they should be, especially since the enemy will eventually start thinking much like they do later on.
Orders are easily given out thanks to a simple point and shoot system that might remind a few players of IO’s Freedom Fighters. Giving your squadmates orders is as simple as pointing to a spot and clicking a button. Depending on where you send them, they’ll take up position and be ready to fight or take cover behind nearby obstacles. The only thing missing from this is a big, red EASY button on the screen for Logan to hit. You can even change their ROE (Rules of Encounter) to keep them from spraying the air and bringing attention to the team by having them fire back only when fired upon, allowing the player to set up surprise ambushes by having them get as close as possible before giving them the go ahead to fire at anything moving. They’ll also spot bad guys for the player, showing their locations on the minimap in the corner of the first person view to let you know what they’ve seen.
Point them at a door, and options come up for how they should go in. Use a snake cam on a door before sending them charging, and the player can also tag whoever they see on the other side as priority targets while scoping out the situation. Many of the open levels are designed to provide a variety of approaches, leaving it to the player’s cunning in hitting the bad guys from as many different directions as possible. The results are the some of the most adrenaline charged seconds in the game as a room is cleared out thanks to only a few moments of careful planning. Vegas is loaded with scenes like this.
It’s also very easy to get killed from left field, but Vegas’ exceptional cover system easily provides the protection that Logan will be using to direct his teammates from. The left trigger button quickly puts Logan behind whatever he’s standing next to and the context sensitive controls allow him to either blind fire around corners to lean out or peek from above cover to take aimed shots at the enemy. It’s intuitive, easy to get used to, and suffers none of the quirks that Gears of War has with its somewhat sticky “all-in-one” button control scheme. It feels as if player is more in control of their own cover as they run or crouch over to get behind it. Getting away from cover is as easy as releasing the left trigger and moving to a new position. The enemy is also pretty good at keeping behind cover and, later, will take even more of an advantage of this to lob their own grenades or lay down smoke in order to try and disorient Logan and his team.
The player also has a few helpful gadgets including flashbangs, grenades, C4, and the ability to modify most of the weapons that they can carry with them. The weapons in the game are based on real world counterparts and can be fitted with scopes, laser sights, or even an expanded magazine for bullets if it can take it. Weapon caches are found throughout the game and when the player finds one, chances are there’s something nasty coming up. There are also opportunities to rappel down walls and breach through windows to surprise anyone that might be on the other side with a lead surprise or lobbed ‘nade. Logan can even invert himself on the rope, turning upside down to get in the first shot before anyone even knows what is happening, tag terrorists for his teammates, or just observe the situation before making a move.
One change that Rainbow Six veterans may not like is that Vegas has also adopted a health recovery system similar to the trend that is following titles such as Gears of War and Call of Duty 2 where the player can take so much damage, hide, and slowly recover. The AI teammates benefit from the ability to be healed on the field as they’re injected with whatever gets them back into the fight…although if Logan goes down, no one oddly comes to save him. Logan’s teammates can die, though, if they’re not tended to which will effectively end the game.
Saves also add to the challenge since Vegas uses a checkpoint system. Fortunately, they’re not spaced so far apart as to make every step something to dread, but just enough to keep things interesting. There are one or two places in the game where the checkpoints weren’t exactly in the best locations, but those were the exceptions and not the rule especially when the game loads quickly enough from the last mishap.
Neon Lights
Vegas uses the same Unreal engine that powers Gears of War, although players may not notice because of the lack of detail with some of textures. Then again, the graphics in the game are based off of reality and not Epic’s sci-fi inspired “Destroyed Beauty” where everything simply has to look larger than life, but it’s still hard to not notice how flat and blocky some of the graphics can occasionally appear. But Vegas is still lit up enough lights to make you feel as if you are right on the Strip and the level design is packed with a lot of other detail to make up for how ‘down to earth’ the graphics can seem. Havok physics round out the effects with weapons tumbling from terrorists as they fly through the air like confetti thanks to a well placed ‘nade. The detail also allows players to get in precision shots in between someone’s legs if they’re standing in front of you, through narrow spaces in between bookshelves, or right at that elbow that is sticking out just a bit too far from the wall. Shooting at an enemy’s feet or arms still ‘kills’ them, though, instead of crippling their actions, but this is a minor gripe considering how well everything else comes together.
Not only are the levels huge, open spaces filled with chokepoints and cover opportunities, but they’re also filled with an incredible amount of ambiance. Chinese flavored music plays as a Chinese restaurant is cleaned out, an operatic recording plays in the background during a raid on a theater, and slot machines chime and explode from too much abuse, spilling their gilded guts. The feeling of a being in a warzone in the midst of Sin City is felt everywhere here.
Much of this is also due to the exceptional sound effects found in the game with every weapon barking its own distinctive fire (along with their own feel) and ‘nades thumping their explosive payload. Bullets ricochets echo, the terrorists bark out orders to each other and swear up a storm when their friends go down, and Logan’s team reports back to him on what they think they’re facing. All of the characters are well acted, not only in terms of how the animation makes everyone look good, but in the voice work that accompanies them although the bad guys can sound canned from time to time as they repeat their lines. There are also no subtitles available and because of the way that the story is told, it can be easy to miss out on some interesting pieces by being drowned out by other special effects during gameplay.
The presentation of the story may also feel pretty weak given that it doesn’t follow the traditional cut-scene segues that other titles do, managing to still succeed in making the player more a part of what is going on than in occasionally taking them outside of the experience to move things along. The helicopter mechanic of being flown from one hotspot in Vegas to the next, to the scenarios and their integrated levels, all work in keeping things seamless. But all of this requires the player to pretty much be on the edge of their seat in listening to everything that is reported and it can be easy to miss out on some things, making it feel as if the story is just so much a part of neon lit background. The ending is also in line with its episodic feel which works against it. Although the approach isn’t new to a venue like television, it doesn’t work that well for a game in which a player invests not only time but their own ability in getting to what is supposed to be a decent reward, even if it is to lead into another game. Gamers deserve more than the brushoff this brings to the table.
The game also makes use of in-game ads for items that won’t be repeated here since players will get their fill of these in the title. In one unexpected encounter, I was reminded of a show that I had been waiting for the premier of that night which I might have missed because of the fun, shortly before it exploded in the middle of a surprise firefight. The good news is that most of these weren’t too annoying and were where I expected them to be mixed in with the pseudo ads that dress up the scenes, although they could occasionally cluster together in an unsettling display of marketing love. Whether you love them or hate them, the ads didn’t feel as if they went out of their way to make themselves feel so out of place in making it appear that Rainbow Six had just walked into a catalog.
Multiplayer
Vegas’ multiplayer starts off with the “Persistent Elite Creation” system where players create their avatar. If the player has the 360 camera, they can mug for everyone out there by bringing their face…or whatever else they want to snap…into the game adding another level of customization. So if you want to run around with Jack Bauer’s face, well, here’s your chance. After the basics, the player can then equip what they think they’ll need. More armor at the expense of mobility? Assault rifles versus submachine guns? C4 instead of flashbangs? Cool camo for your pants or just go in with the shirt on your back?
As the player participates in more online goodness, they’ll also rack up ‘experience’ that goes towards a promotion system to open up more goodies, win or lose, such as new weapons or camo schemes adding an additional incentive to the online component. It won’t unlock a rocket launcher or some kind of super weapon that unbalances the game, either, as every weapon has its own pluses and minuses. Someone armed with an AK-47 can still be taken out by someone else using a standard issue pistol if they’re not careful.
Vegas’ exceptional multiplayer also rounds out the experience with a variety of game types and cooperative modes ranging from deathmatch style survival rounds, “Terrorist Hunt” where the player can either go solo in taking out a set number of bad guys or go online for help from friends, to “Attack and Defend” and “Retrieval” missions that pit two teams against each other to rescue hostages or score data. With multiplayer support for sixteen people in most game types, the ability to search for specific games, and a lobby system that shows off the results allowing the player to pick and choose where and how they want to fight within a variety of large maps, there’s lot to get into. All of the techniques such as the excellent cover mechanic used in the single player are available to players in multi with the added bonus of voice communication to help warn team members of the tango sneaking up behind their position. Ubisoft Montreal’s artists have even gone so far as to have the lips move on each avatar when the player starts talking.
But it also has its downsides, the biggest of which is in how the graphics look. Perhaps for the sake of performance, the levels are still filled with plenty of cover options and other bits of detail, but the overall look can appear downgraded. It won’t burn your eyes, though, and are still some of the most exciting playgrounds to be found online. But the bugs might not be so easy to overlook by players. Gunfire sounds can loop, or drop out entirely, on rare occasions especially in observer mode. In one “Attack and Defend” mission, the intelligence briefcase got ’stuck’ in midair somehow after the carrier was taken out. No one could retrieve for awhile as it just hung there without an ‘interact’ option. Somehow, someone managed to get at it. A patch had been released that addresses a large number of other issues, reported and not, but it’s still not exactly free from strangeness.
Fortunately, these issues are relatively minor with the action as engrossing as the single player’s. PC gamers that have long been veterans of the online scene might also find that the multi here may make them feel right at home, especially if they’ve had a crack at Counterstrike or the previous Rainbow Six titles. There was very little to no lag at all with plenty of players eager to mix it up. It might not be as gory as Gears of War’s viscerally savage handiwork, but with more players able to face each other down through a great selection of game modes, customization options, and extensive levels, it certainly feels as if it offers a much more robust experience.
Viva Las Vegas!
Rainbow Six: Vegas has been fired up with plenty of explosive, tension filled moments packed into every bullet. The strategic planning features that had been a part of the series since it started out may be missed by longtime fans, but the real-time squad commands and the detailed areas that give the player an opportunity to surprise the enemy with a variety of possible tactics take it into a direction that places them right in the middle of every firefight. The exceptional multiplayer and its many gameplay modes including co-op keep the gunpowder burning well after dark. With the odds stacked in its favor, Ubisoft’s trip to Sin City is a sure bet.
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