"Solid game, but it could've been great."

Gameplay:
The strongest aspect of the game. I really enjoyed the different weapons, the cover system, and the team-oriented play. The AI is all respectable, and there was only one instance where my teammates got stuck and I had to reload the checkpoint. If you've been away from Rainbow 6 for a while like I have, it's definitely worth trying this one out for the gameplay alone.

Graphics:
I honestly expected a lot better. I had been playing COD4 and UT3 until this released, and seeing how incredible the graphics were in UT3, I expected Vegas 2 to be on par with that. Vegas 2 uses the Unreal 3 engine, which in UT3, provides a spectacular experience with overall great performance. Unfortunately, Vegas 2 can't even compare when it comes to either looks or performance, which is really disappointing. The graphics look fairly dated now, and some of the environments, weapon models, and textures really stand out as being ugly. On top of that, the game has serious performance issues even on a Geforce 8800, which is sad considering that both COD4 and UT3 look better and run almost flawlessly. It's not uncommon to enter an area and have your frame rate drop into the 30s. Hopefully some of the performance issues will be patched later on.

Sound:
Another disappointment. I have a surround sound setup, but Vegas 2 doesn't really seem to utilize it. It's nearly impossible to tell where fire is coming from unless you see it. After playing COD4, I expected much better. The music gets the job done, but it's really nothing special.

Multiplayer:
I really like the modes offered for multiplayer. There are three basic modes here: story, terrorist hunt, and versus. Story and terrorist hunt are both co-op modes which encourage good teamwork, and I found them to be the most enjoyable as long as your team is good. Versus is just what it sounds like, and while I personally didn't enjoy it as much as the co-op modes, it was still a ton of fun. The biggest issue with multiplayer is lag. In most games, I found myself frustrated as I lagged behind cover or scored a headshot only to the enemy turn around like nothing happened. These issues could be fixed in a later patch, but as of right now, they're pretty glaring problems.

Overall:
I give the game a 7/10. It's a solid game, but between the graphics, performance, and lag issues, it still has a long way to go before it's great.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/22/08

Game Release: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (US, 04/15/08)