Speaking of dying, the game uses a checkpoint save system, so when you do die, you'll get a chance to start back at the latest checkpoint. While you can quickly heal fallen teammates in single-player by injecting them with the magic medical serum if you get to them in time, if you fall your teammates won't be able to save you in the similar manner, so it's back to the checkpoint. At least the checkpoints are reasonably spaced, and there's usually one before ever major set-piece battle, which is helpful. Most of these larger battles are fairly scripted, but they're pretty intense nonetheless. Bad guys come rappelling down from above, and the AI in general is good about using cover and grenades as effectively as you do. There's nothing quite as eye-opening as seeing a frag grenade land right next to your character, or as frantic as trying to get away and behind cover before it explodes.
Wait, where are the slot machines?
The single-player campaign in Rainbow Six Vegas isn't quite as lengthy as in many other realistic shooters, but the game compensates for this by having such interesting and repayable tactical battles. You can go back again and tackle the game in realistic mode, or you can experiment with different approaches. And there's plenty of replay value to be found in the extensive multiplayer suite. The single-player campaign can be played cooperatively on PlayStation Network, both in story mode and in terrorist hunt, which pits you and your buddies against a bunch of randomly placed terrorists. You can also play with up to four players cooperatively, which is an interesting number since the single-player campaign features only three Rainbow agents at a time. Still, realistic difficulty is tough enough that you can really use effective team tactics to tackle some of the harder missions, and there's something very cool about being able to strategize with your buddies while in the middle of a fight. The only setback to co-op mode is that instead of automatically loading the next level in the chain when playing in story mode, the game recycles the existing map. You have to set up the server ahead of time to advance to the next level in the story, or load it manually.
In addition to co-op, the PS3 version of Rainbow Six Vegas features an incredible amount of multiplayer content. It features all of the content that appeared in the Xbox 360 version, as well as that version's two downloadable content packs, which translates into an impressive amount of maps and modes. Retrieval is a particularly good mode, modeling itself after the typical capture-the-flag-style game, and featuring respawns so you don't have to sit out if you get killed. There are a number of modes that feature no respawns, if you want the "authentic" Rainbow Six experience of no second chances. The levels themselves are adapted either from the single-player campaign or created specifically for multiplayer, such as a university library that's alluded to in the story. The action in multiplayer is just as intense as in the single-player game, especially since you can use the same cover tactics that you used in the campaign.
What's also interesting about multiplayer is the persistent character that you can customize over time by unlocking new weapons, armor, and accessories. For instance, you can unlock tougher body armor, though the downside is that it lowers your mobility. Body armor comes in various pieces, such as the torso, shoulder pads, and legs. The weapons in multiplayer are all taken from single-player, and there's a healthy assortment of real-world and prototypical military gear in here, divided into shotguns, submachine guns, light machine guns, assault rifles, and sniper rifles. Each weapon can be customized individually with various scopes or sights, and there are various grenade types that you'd expect, like fragmentation, smoke, and flashbang. Unfortunately, the PS3 version lacks the face-mapping feature seen in the Xbox 360 game, so you can't add your face to your avatar.
Rainbow Six Vegas sports some excellent graphics, as you can battle it out in a glittering, first-world setting. The amount of detail on everything is impressive, but it's almost photo-realistic when it comes to your Rainbow troopers, as you can admire all the high-tech gear these commandos bring into a fight. The beautiful visuals certainly bring the diverse Vegas casinos to life. They're all fictional, of course, as no real-world casino would want to have its virtual counterpart shot up in a game such as this. However, if we do have one lament, it's that that the game doesn't really make the most of its Las Vegas setting. Sure, you're fighting it out inside casinos full of slot machines and card tables, but you get the feeling that the game could have been set anywhere else and it wouldn't have made much of a difference. But if you're going to set a game in Las Vegas, then set a game in Las Vegas with an Elvis song or two, or at the very least a Wayne Newton tune. Las Vegas is an over-the-top and surreal experience, and Rainbow Six Vegas doesn't quite capture it. The overall frame rate is very close to that of the Xbox 360 version, though the loading times are the same, even though the game does cache information to the PS3's hard drive the first time you start it up.
You'll feel like an elite commando playing this game.
The voice acting in the game varies, with the lead character sounding a lot like an angry version of the executive officer from Star Trek: Enterprise, but for the most part it's all about the evil terrorists making evil threats and the good guys spouting all sorts of hoo-ha. There are helpful voice cues, such as when your teammates yell out that they're swapping magazines, which means you need to provide cover while they're otherwise unable to fire. And the bad guys are pretty helpful about yelling out their tactics to one another, though the game's premise has many of them being ex-Special Forces, which is an awfully rookie mistake. The sound of guns firing is pretty authentic, though at this point every realistic shooter has the same level of effects. Still, the game sounds as good as you'd expect.
Rainbow Six Vegas for the PS3 is an excellent game for those who like cutthroat tactical shooters or intense multiplayer action, and it makes for an incredible value with its rich single-player campaign and considerable multiplayer content. Thankfully, Rainbow Six Vegas ignores the city's official motto; if everything that happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas, then we might have been deprived of this excellent, immersive tactical shooter.
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Where to buy
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (PlayStation 3):
$12.00 - $22.99
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$22.99 | Yes |
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$12.00 | Yes |
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