Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
| Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas | |
|---|---|
| File:Rainbow Six Vegas - Box Art.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Ubisoft Montreal |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 3.0 Build 4604 |
| Platform(s) | Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows, Mobile phone |
| Release | Xbox 360
NA November 12, 2006 PSP PS3
PC NA December 12, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Tactical shooter, first-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas is the fifth chronological game in the Rainbow Six series. It was released for Xbox 360 on November 21, 2006, while the Windows version was released on December 12, 2006. The PlayStation Portable version was released on June 12, 2007 for North America and in Europe, while the PlayStation 3 version will be released on June 29, 2007. The storyline introduces a new Rainbow team that has been dispatched to Las Vegas to defeat a terrorist organization that is conducting attacks at the city.
Gameplay
Rainbow Six: Vegas changes the series with multiple new features, such as a new health system where the player regenerates health while not taking fire. However, the regeneration is slow in comparison to other games, and if the player does not move to cover quickly enough, one or two more bullets will lead to death. The player's vision is also greatly impaired while damaged. This is similar to the health system in Gears of War, another game for the XBox 360. Furthermore, a third person view has been included for moments where players can blind-fire around corners to lay down suppression or covering fire. Other changes include larger enemy presence with much tougher artificial intelligence, a shift in focus where kills will be much harder to obtain, a reincarnated aiming system similar to the aiming system of the old Rainbow Six games and Call of Duty 3, a context-sensitive D-pad based command system for the player's squad and sections of gameplay where the player will scale buildings and cause environmental damage. This command system was borrowed from another Ubisoft game, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. The player can also give voice commands using the Xbox 360 headset, but team-mates are no longer audible through the headset.
The developers have also opted to not include any cutscenes, instead telling the story through video feeds played through the heads-up display, similar to Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. Most important was the developers' decision to remove the mission planning feature. Also, Vegas is the first Rainbow Six game where weapons can be obtained from dead enemies.
Rainbow Six: Vegas features real world weapons (over 40 in all), including numerous assault rifles, submachine guns, pistols and grenades, as well as other tactical explosives and devices.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer modes have gained a lot of praise for the same tactical action as the single player mode whilst adding some improvements. These include customizable characters (Xbox Live Vision Camera owners can "digimask" their face onto their character), the ability to choose equipment and add items such as laser-sights to weapons and to choose the armor's camouflage scheme. As the player progresses through online play, his/her character gains experience points after every match, and rises in rank. There are ten enlisted ranks and seven officer ranks. All together there are seventeen total ranks. When players rise in rank, they will unlock new equipment and weapons, intended to offer more options for customization without putting novice players at a disadvantage. There are currently ten multiplayer game modes; Survival, Team Survival, Sharpshooter, Team Sharpshooter, Retrieval, Co-op Terrorist Hunt, as well as four new modes, Attack & Defend, Co-op Campaign, Assassination, and Conquest. Multiplayer mode supports up to sixteen players, when "Dedicated Server" is selected during the match creation process, the host can sacrifice his ability to play and dedicate his connection fully to the other players to improve overall connection performance and reduce lag issues. With the use of the Dedicated Server option, up to sixteen players can compete in one match, excluding the hosts presence. Hosting a match on a Dedicated Server with all sixteen players also unlocks an achievement called "Master of Ceremonies" for the game. Each mode can also be customized, by changing options such as the amount of respawns each player gets and restricting certain equipment and weapons.
Plot
The player begins the game as newly appointed Rainbow team leader Logan Keller, with two squadmates, Gabriel Nowak and Kan Akahashi, on a mission in a border town in Mexico. Joanna Torres, Rainbow's intel officer, briefs them on their mission; their objective is to arrest Irena Morales, a terrorist ringleader. As the team reaches its landing zone in a helicopter, Logan fast-ropes down first, but the helicopter and the rest of the team is forced to retreat as a rocket-propelled grenade barely misses them.
Separated from his squad, Logan fights his way through the terrorist-infested streets and meets up with Gabriel and Kan at an old Spanish mission, their alternate landing zone. After infiltrating a trainyard and freeing a group of hostages, Rainbow eventually makes their way to a mine where Irena is hiding. After eliminating Irena's guards, they attempt to arrest her; however, Irena triggers a set of hidden explosives, caving in the roof and burying Logan under a pile of rubble. Gabriel and Kan are overwhelmed and captured by terrorist reinforcements.
As Logan slowly regains consciousness, he finds his weapons and goggles missing. Alone, dazed, and armed only with a pistol, Logan fights his way through an abandoned factory, eventually escaping with Jo in Rainbow's helicopter. Logan never finds Gabriel or Kan.
Domingo Chavez has a conversation with the new team leader about the incident, instructing him to handle a new crisis in Las Vegas. Logan objects, insisting that he search for his lost squadmates instead; however, Chavez surmises that the Las Vegas incident and Irena's activity may be too closely related to be a simple coincidence.
Upon reaching Las Vegas, Logan is taken outside of the terrorist-controlled Calypso Casino where he meets with his new team: Michael Walters, a British demolitions expert specializing in heavy weapons, and Jung Park, a Korean recon and electronics expert. The team infiltrates the Calypso Casino, clearing out the terrorists and rescuing a group of hostages from being executed on camera. Once they clear out the Casino, they must rescue Doctor Philipp Smythe, a NATO weapons researcher. After a brief gun battle, Rainbow extracts with Doctor Smythe, who tells waiting FBI agents that another weapons researcher, Dr. Williams, has also been captured. Rainbow takes on the case.
Rainbow is taken to the Red Lotus, a Chinese restaurant, in order to rescue reporter Trish Gracy, who was held hostage after an interview gone wrong. Once the team clears out the restaurant and rescues Trish, she informs them that the terrorists are using a news van as a communications hub. Rainbow makes their way down Fremont Street and eventually reaches the van. Jung hacks into the system while Logan and Michael fend off a wave of attacking terrorists. Afterwards, Michael places a demolition charge on the van, destroying the hub. The team is then extracted via helicopter and taken to rescue Dr. Williams.
Rainbow is dropped on the Vertigo Spire, a luxury hotel along the likes of the Stratosphere. The team finds and rescues Dr. Williams from the terrorists, and he informs them of two bombs, one which destroys the top floors of a building across the way. The other is a micropulse bomb placed in the Vertigo, which Michael disarms. Rainbow is then extracted to locate Gabriel and Kan.
The team is dispatched to Dante’s Casino, still under construction, and clears the roof. During this roof clearing, a bell in the tower falls, causing tremendous damage and a fire in the lower floors. In Dante's Arcade, the team finds and frees Gabriel, who is extracted despite his insistence that he fights alongside the squad. While searching the construction area, Rainbow finds Kan engaged in a firefight, who is fatally shot before the team can reach him. Dying, Kan reveals that the attack in Las Vegas is a distraction, and Irena's terrorists are planning a far bigger attack. While Logan tries his hardest to treat Kan's injuries, his former teammate dies in his arms.
The team proceeds to the theater to hack a terrorist server. Irena's target is revealed to be the Nevada Dam, a hydroelectric dam on the Colorado River. Rainbow then heads to the roof and extracts.
Rainbow descends onto a bridge in front of the dam where a wounded engineer informs Logan of the terrorists bombs on the bridge. The team makes their way to the second story of the bridge where Michael defuses the bomb with three seconds remaining. They then fast-rope via safety cables to the bottom of the dam. They enter the dam and save a hostage who informs them that the dam will buckle under the pressure of the lake and how to relieve the pressure. They do this by using an emergency release valve and then go further into the dam and find that it is a weapons research lab, where doctors Smythe and Williams inform the team the terrorists have a micropulse missile on top of the dam.
Logan presses forward, confronting Irena Morales herself and shooting her in the chest, fatally wounding her. With her last breath, Irena taunts Logan; while she may die, her partner will continue the fight against Rainbow. Finally, the team heads to the top of the dam and plant a charge to the missile which detonates it in mid-air, without triggering the micropulse payload.
Logan receives a transmission from Gabriel, who tells him that he is Irena's mole. Furious, Logan rushes to the chopper to see Jo and Brody Lukin, the pilot, kicked out of the helicopter, Brody unconscious. The team must protect Jo and Brody from terrorists; Gabe and his pilot attempt to escape. There are two possible endings:
- Logan does not manage to shoot at the helicopter. The game ends with Logan commenting that they need to find who was behind Gabe's and Irena's operation. The credits then roll.
- Logan commandeers a machine gun turret and manages to take a few shots at the escape helicopter, which then crashes making the player believe Gabriel to be dead. The game ends with Logan's above comments and a "To Be Continued" screen before going to the credits, which start with a brief overlay of news reports about Las Vegas being saved and also that only the body of the helicopter pilot was found and not the body of the co-pilot which implies that Gabriel has survived.
These cliffhanger endings of the game suggest a sequel to Rainbow Six: Vegas, although there has not been any official confirmation.
Reception
The Xbox 360 edition of Rainbow Six: Vegas was released to very positive reviews from major gaming news outlets, such as GameSpy (5/5) [1], GameSpot (9.1/10) [2], IGN.com (9.3/10) [3], and TeamXbox.com (9.5/10) [4]. IGN called Vegas the "best first-person shooter on the Xbox 360," while GameSpot described the game as an "excellent, immersive tactical shooter." G4's X-Play also liked the game, putting it on their 2006 Holiday Buyer's Guide, and also giving it a perfect 5 out of 5.
Rainbow Six: Vegas has won numerous awards, including "Best First-Person Shooter" [5], "Best Xbox 360 First-Person Shooter" [6], "Best Online Game" [7], and "Best Xbox Live Game" [8] in IGN's Best of 2006, as well as an "Editor's Choice Award" from GameSpot. Gaming Target also selected the title as one of "52 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2006". [9]
The PC version has also received positive reviews. However, some in the PC community have expressed disappointment that the game requires a video card that supports Shader Model 3.0. Many gamers with low-end graphics cards simply cannot play the game. A poll is being taken on the Ubisoft forum to patch, and thus remove, the Shader Model 3.0 requirement. [10] However, it is unlikely this will ever happen, due to the fact that Ubisoft has stated before that the reason they made Vegas SM3 only was due to the fact that delivering an experience comparable to the one on Xbox 360 would be impossible without an SM3 card. Moreover, a growing concern over lack of further support in form of patches from Ubisoft has resulted in daily discussions on boycotting and legal action.
On March 20, 2007, the North American Support Supervisor announced on the Ubisoft forums that Ubisoft "has and will always provide "support" for this title." And "As for the rumors of no further patching, I can confirm that the rumor is false. There is another patch in the works. Unfortunately at this time, we do not have a release date or a fix list. We have been listening and have heard your complaints. All that we ask is that you please continue to be patient." This has been met with much skepticism due to the lack of any specific details in the announcement. [11]
Collector's Edition
A limited collector's edition of Rainbow Six: Vegas was released featuring alternate cover art and a bonus disc. The bonus disc contained the making of Rainbow Six: Vegas, a documentary on the making of Rainbow Six: Vegas, and a Rainbow Six Retrospective, which features information on all Rainbow Six games in the series.
Expansion packs
On April 18 2007, the Player's Pack Red Edition was released as downloadable content on Xbox Live for 800 Microsoft Points (aprox. $10.00). The pack includes two new game modes, "Assassination" and "Conquest". Three new maps were also included: "Doscala Restaurant," "Marshalling Yard," and "Roof." The maps "Killhouse" and "Border Town" have been redesigned and packaged as two new "redux" maps. The expansion pack comes directly after an update was released for the game. All original game modes and maps are intercompatible with those featured in the "Player's Pack Red Edition". It is expected that more Downloadable Content will be made available in the future, probably utilizing Xbox Live's new policy. This enables game developers to add more Achievements (up to 80 in total) and Gamerscore points (up to 1250 in total) to games that already have reached the limit of 50 Achievements and 1000 Gamerscore points.
PlayStation Portable Edition
Rating Difference
Unlike the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and home computer editions of Rainbow Six Vegas, which reveived Mature ratings from the ESRB, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas for the PSP received a rating of Teen.
Online Play
Rainbow Six Vegas supports up to four-player online play, over either ad-hoc or infastructure. Some of the maps include Presido and Street from Rainbow Six 3.
Plot Differences
The plot on the PSP Rainbow Six Vegas is a similar, or parallel, story to the versions of home consoles. It follows the story of Brian, a shooter, and Shawn, a sniper,two up-and-coming Rainbow Six operatives.
Reception
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Altough Gamespot is the only major reviewer to have released a review at this time, Metacritic has cited the game as a score of 51/100. Gamespot, giving the game a score of 6.8, says that although the game is a "solid PSP shooter", its graphics can be bland, and the audio can skip to load itself. Fans were also dissapointed with the exclusion of casino levels, popular in the 360/PC versions of the game. Also, due to the exclusion of rapelling and other special manuevers, the game has not been received warmly. There is also complaints of a lackluster online mode with only two players per team. Go>Play Magazine, a British magazine, reviewed the game in February 2007, giving it an 87% (out of 100%). The magazine says that the controls are good, and the tag-team dynamic works rather well, and the lock on is wonderful. The few complaints went to that "it feels a little weird" and that Shawn, the sniper, cannot lock on to enemies. Most of these issues stems from Ubisoft's actions of building the game specificly to run off of the PSP instead of port the original game over seeing as how its too large for the handheld to run normally and stripping it down would serverely hurt the title overall.
References
- ^ http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/rainbow-six-vegas/747474p1.html
- ^ http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/rainbowsixvegas/review.html
- ^ http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/745/745678p1.html
- ^ http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1255/Tom-Clancys-Rainbow-Six-Vegas/p1/
- ^ http://bestof.ign.com/2006/overall/7.html
- ^ http://bestof.ign.com/2006/xbox360/7.html
- ^ http://bestof.ign.com/2006/overall/28.html
- ^ http://bestof.ign.com/2006/xbox360/29.html
- ^ http://www.gamingtarget.com/article.php?artid=6375
- ^ http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3801065024/m/8591038515?r=9481068515
- ^ http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3801065024/m/3711069245
External links
- Official Rainbow Six: Vegas PC forum
- The Official Rainbow Six: Vegas Site
- Rainbow Six Vegas (Xbox 360) Reviews at Metacritic
- Official Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas mobile game site
Tom Clancy's video games | |
|---|---|
| Rainbow Six | |
| Ghost Recon | |
| Splinter Cell | |
| Ryanverse | |
| H.A.W.X | |
| The Division |
|
| Other games | |
| Related | |
