Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas review

Gears of War has raised the bar for graphics and co-operative gameplay so high that many thought surrounding titles would pale in comparison. It may overshadow its peers this Christmas, but the truth is that the likes of F.E.A.R. and Call of Duty 3 can still hold their own, and are worthy alternatives in the genre. And this couldn't be more true of Rainbow Six: Vegas...Think Rainbow Six, think squad-based shooter, and the resulting Vegas is everything we have come to expect from the series in the past, albeit minus one squad member. Of course that's not necessarily a bad thing, especially when everything seems to flow so much better than before. For starters you'll find controlling your team a whole lot easier. If you want your squad to move to a location, you simply point at an area and press the A button and they'll shuffle over, protecting each other as they do so. If you want them to climb through a window, open a door or defuse a bomb you just point at an interactive object and press the order button. They'll automatically grab the best positions, provide cover fire and basically do their best to make sure they live another day. If the power is going right to your head you can also strap on your Xbox communicator and bark orders through it. Everything feels much more user-friendly now and certainly a lot more refined than previous outings.The enemy AI is still very competent, with terrorists doing their best to find cover behind cars, walls and any of the other objects in the game that provide a few moments of peace, wherever possible. They cover each other when displacing, and shout all kinds of obscene and funny things. They still show moments of stupidity where they'll just come out of cover and head towards you in a fit of rage, but these moments are few and far between.And the cover is of course yours to use as well, if you can find it. If you stand close to cover whilst holding down the left trigger, you'll automatically use your environment for protection. You can then opt to blind-fire your gun over the edge (less accurate) or snap out of cover fully for a more precise aim. Obviously to return fire properly you'll end up more exposed; it really is a matter of skill and judgement as you fight your way through the campaign and multiplayer scenarios.There are also a few new gadgets available; the snake cam will be familiar to Splinter Cell fans, and allows you to look around and examine a room for potential dangers before entering it. It's also especially useful in planning your tactics in advance - hostages near doors will be instantly killed if you decide to breach the door and so scanning the room before you enter can almost always save lives. Once you have decided on the best course of action, you can either enter the room yourself, deploying your own chosen method of prising the door open, or simply point at the door and get a squad mate to do the honours. You can now also enter from two different doors simultaneously by ordering a squad mate through one and opening the other yourself. The result is an exciting raid as your squad members all move in at once from multiple entry points.Also new to the series is the ability to tag terrorists to prioritise their order of demise. If you have a room of enemies and a few hostages, you will of course want the terrorists closer to the hostages wiped out first. All you need to do is point the reticule at the terrorists and press the select button, letting your squad take out the problematic guys while you sweep in and take out what's left. It's a fantastic addition to the series and you'll begin to wonder how you ever lived without the option.There is no health meter so to speak, at least not a visible one. On the normal difficulty level, a couple of hits will see the screen blur and you'll have a small amount of time to shuffle off somewhere safe. If you manage to get away from the firefight, your health will slowly regenerate until you are eventually on your feet again. On the realistic difficultly level, the same applies but you are even less likely to get away. Headshots mean an instant death on either level, and while some ardent fans of Rainbow Six might cough at the idea of health regeneration, we personally think it keeps the flow of the game running quite nicely. No-one likes a sudden surprise death to force you to restart, but if the masochist in you demands it, the realistic level is just for you - for everyone else, the balance of the normal level is just perfect.The single player campaign can also be played co-operatively either online or in split-screen, although four-player Xbox Live play is certainly the best way to experience it. It's here that you can really get a feel for squad-based combat, and with your Xbox communicator switched on, it's as close to the real thing as you can ever expect. The other online modes vary from four-player Terrorist Hunt to 14-player battles, divided into team and solo setups. Fans of alternate control schemes can rejoice too; Ubisoft Montreal included several stick and button schemes in Rainbow Six: Vegas, so there should be enough to cater for everyone.Customisation is an exciting thing, and is taken to a whole new level here with the 'create a player' facility that also incorporates the Xbox Live Vision Camera to scan the players face. The image is displayed on the character model's head in multiplayer matches and co-op sessions. A stroke of genius really, and we have already seen a lot of Gamestyle's members and staff using this feature online. There's also the possibility to change the character's attire, armour and weaponry to your heart's content. Mix and match these features to make sure there won't be a second avatar like yours running around on Live.Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas is almost perfect and easily the best iteration in the series. The compelling co-op play, the online multiplayer and everything associated with the single player campaign is completely worth the asking price. Not everyone will fancy the realism that Vegas dishes in spades, but give it some time and patience and Gamestyle guarantees you'll come away from this casino a winner.