Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas

"Counter-Strike on steroids."

Considering all the Tom Clancy games out there, you would have thought I have at least played one of them. But alas, I had not, and Vegas was my first experience. While Vegas is a great game, there are some serious problems in the online portion which detract from the experience. Now on to the review!

Graphics- 9/10

Playing single-player is worth it just to witness the incredible graphics. The lighting, along with the extremely detailed environments (and often destructible) make for a very fun playthrough. Character models also are decent and get the job done.

Online, on the other hand, is a different story. The graphics are down-sized by quite a lot for speed purposes. While many complain about this, I still find them pretty sharp and smooth. No complaints from me.

Sound- 9/10

Each gun has its own unique sound, grenades explode all around you, and feet patter around the corner. This part of the game definitely stands out, and I give mad props to the developers. Unfortunately the soundtrack is weak (an orchestrated ST would've owned).

Gameplay- 7/10
Offline
Single-player gameplay is pretty deep, considering all gadgets available, along with your teammates your commanding. A superb cover system makes for some intense battles against terrorists, along with realistic firing/shooting. The A.I. is pretty smart, and on realistic difficulty, you'll get the dreaded "Load Last Checkpoint" screen a lot.

The way the health system works is quite cool, too. When hit, your screen will fade to a different color, and the darker it gets, the closer to death. What makes it so neat is when your on the brink of destruction, it's harder to operate (like in real life!) because your vision is heavily impaired.

Online
Yes, this is where the game falters. The core mechanics of single-player apply here, but cheap tactics are definitely used. Grenades will be your number 1 killer at first. That, along with the fact that more experienced players have better guns and armor, making them VERY hard to kill at times. Despite all of that, it's still a blast. Flanking an enemy in Calypso Casino by blasting through a window is just hardcore. The amount of maps and game modes is also a plus.

Unfortunately, the rank system heavily influences the community in a negative way. People will do anything to rank up. Anything. Along with that nagging issue, getting in a game is very tough. Being booted by an idiotic host is common, along with joining a game after it's just started, forcing you to wait 20 minutes.

Replayability- 10/10

A pretty long and challenging single-player, along with awesome offline and online capabilities will keep you coming back for a LONG time. Ranking up alone will keep you busy for a good 2 months. And yes, there's bots!

Closing Comments

A great game, one that both CS and Halo fans can enjoy. I highly recommend it to every 360 owner.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/07