Rainbow Six Vegas (Xbox 360) > Reviews > Think Before you Run in

Author's product rating:   

Playability & Enjoyment	Excellent - very playable game
Addictiveness	Very hard to stop playing
Graphics	Excellent
Difficulty & Complexity	A difficult game - needs a lot of patience
Value for money	Excellent value

Advantages:	Story, Graphics, Tactics needed, Amount of Euipment
Disadvantages:	2 player multiplayer mode

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Well this was the first time I played one of these games it was on offer so I said to myself why not. I must say that I have not been disappointed this game is great fun and surprisingly addictive.

It all started with my journey through the single player missions of the game.

Number 1 Mexico Streets

So mission 1 first impressions were good, the graphics were impressive and accidentally throwing a smoke grenade proved that the smoke effect was impressive.
This is essentially the training level teaching you how to use the hide and peek manoeuvre, zoom, night and heat vision those sorts of things.
There did seem to be a lot of dying however as I tried to hide and then look round the corner and instead just ran out and got shot, but unperturbed I continued. At about halfway I was given access to new guns, now being and idiot I opted for a sniper rifle and a shotgun. So I was very good at killing people far away and those really close anything else not so good.
In the game you have 2 team mates that you can command though so you can just use them to help you if things aren't going well.
This mission also had my first hostage situation. Attempt 1, Run in the door like an idiot….everyone died including me. So think again, attempt 6, (let's ignore 2-5) you get the option to stack you're party up against the door and then burst in and do several actions. I chose breach and clear stun everyone in the room and kill them. It was a proud moment for me. The rest of the mission involved trying to find various people not for me to ruin it for you.

Number 2 Las Vegas Strip

Our first trip into the world of Las Vegas is a good one the scenery is pretty impressive (Bright lights and all of that). This starts with an attempt to get inside the casino, which required a lot of the hide and peek skills. After a lot tries I was in and the game just became a lot harder.

Number 3 Some Casino

Now once you manage to get inside the shotgun is great, especially if you have a tendency to panic when anything moves (ahem). Now once inside the game strategies change considerably open the wrong door and you die. Go in a room at the wrong entrance you die. In fact at this stage dying seemed to a common occurrence but I was beginning to master some of the techniques in the game

Number 4 Some High Building

This one was good since it was set in "Some High Building" the scenery and graphics were some of the best the game has to offer, giving you a bird's eye view of Las Vegas. This level made great use of rappelling down walls and bursting into windows. This looked cool and was lots of fun, but until I realised I couldn't just burst in a window and expect to win it made for slow progress.

Number 5 Dante's Casino

This was by far the best level for me getting to use the night vision and heat vision to find you way in the dark. Apart from that it was pretty similar to the other casino levels.

Number 6 Dam

So little did I know I was almost there just as I was finally starting to get to grips with the more advanced techniques that help in this game. This level actually made the sniper worthwhile. As there was a lot of finding alternate routes for easier kills makes you think more.
So I reached the end of the single player, after a lot (and I mean a lot) of deaths and fun, to get a cliff hanger ending. Which if I was honest did annoy me.

I was now ready to move onto Xbox live.

To start you pick the look of you character and choose what starting equipment you would like him to have. One cool feature of this game is to use Xbox vision to put your face on the character created. Rainbow Six Vegas has a system that gives you points as you play missions. The more you get the higher your level and the better you're guns (and that's what it's all about). So I was ready to go against real people and actually watch myself get shot.

Attack and Defend

Right my first game was attack and defend, I was defending in Calypso Casino (one of the many multiplayer maps which take reference from the single player game). Essentially I was trying to stop people from stealing some package. Well it didn't go well, choosing the M60 was probably not a good idea (You just shoot the roof). They stole the package within 2 minutes. Something annoying then happened they wait for the full 10 minute match before going to win because they gat more points. So I didn't play that again

Survival and Team Survival

The second game I played was a game of survival, I had a rapid fire shotgun it's impressive, the greatest panic in any game I've ever played. The game went as follows, games starts, bang, I died, no more lives, game was over ten minutes later. That was the only time I played that game.

Sharpshooter Team Sharpshooter

Now this was more like the multiplayer games that I like as many lives as I need and first to 15 kills. My super speed shotgun was doing the business for me and I was going up in level. The host seemed to be getting upset though and banned my gun from the game. Well my kill count quickly dropped so I moved onto the final game mode.

Terrorist Hunt

This is the single most addictive thing I have ever played. Basically the aim is to work though the multiplayer maps and kill a certain number of terrorists. The game has 3 ranges low, medium and high densities of terrorist. The high level is very hard but it is done in such a way that you always believe you can finish it. I think this is a dirty trick, after spending 7 hours on a single level (losing an entire evening). When playing through these levels I noticed some of the funny comments the terrorists come out with. The only drawback on this is the fact that only 2 can play at a time.

So I have led you through my experience of this game and excluding the 2 player problem this game is great. There are several routes through levels allowing you to pick and choose different tactics. Whether one person snipes from a roof as someone else lure the enemies out or everyone runs in like and idiot, they are all catered for. The controls may take a little of getting used to but are great once perfected.

At 16+ this game is at the appropriate age as the enemies seem to enjoy a little bit of swearing at you.
With a price tag of 35-45 and a very good replay ability factor I believe this game is a great buy and wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone