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Categories: Commentary
Tags: fps, rainbow six, xbox 360
Team Rainbow’s second Vegas outing is all about the bells and whistles. Having left the fundamentals untouched — squad-based tactical shooter set in parking garages, industrial complexes, and casinos — Ubisoft goes the EA route, concentrating on features. This strategy pays off for Rainbow Six 08 as both the single and multiplayer aspects are significantly enhanced.
The biggest change is having a single avatar which follows the player through the campaign, terrorist hunt, and multiplayer modes. This unified character has a customizable appearance which is quickly hidden behind layers of unlockable weapons and armor. The second change is the introduction of two RPG elements: a ranking system and A.C.E.S. Previously players could only level their way up the military pay scale in multiplayer, but Vegas 2 lets the player gain experience in every mode with every kill — and even rewards the player for kills made by teammates. As players increase in rank, new clothing and armor options are available.
A.C.E.S. “Advanced Combat Enhancement and Specialization” is all-new and has three components: Marksmanship, Assault, and Close-Quarter Battle. Players earn points for making specific types of kills — grenades, scoring headshots, killing enemies blinded by smoke — raising the levels of each component and unlocking new weapons.
Vegas 2 also has some player-friendly touches. The main campaign is fully co-op, instead of Vegas 1′s CliffsNotes scheme. A third difficulty level, Casual, is more forgiving. Single-player terrorist hunt now brings two squad members along for the ride. Respawns have been added to the splitscreen terrorist hunt. And the squad you command now carry 10 of each grenade-type, which can be used on the fly. It’s hard to emphasize how cool it is to have your squad chuck grenades wherever you tell them too.
I will always miss the Classic Rainbow Six planning and outfitting, but I like where Ubisoft is going with this. I can only hope that Rainbow Six 2010 brings something new to the table in terms of story. The Rainbow series have always been focused on meat-grinder levels. I’d much rather see Call of Duty-esque action set pieces. I’m tired of being part of a team. I want to be the star of the movie.