Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Xbox 360)

It's Vegas Baby!

Rainbow Six 3 for the Xbox remains one of the system's most impressive team-based shooters on any console. The Rainbow Six games since simply haven't lived up to the benchmark Ubisoft set, but that is all about to change. Rainbow Six: Vegas is the series' Xbox 360 debut and once again Ubisoft looks set to raise the bar that other team-based shooters need to aim for. We had a chance to spend some time with the campaign and multiplayer elements of Rainbow Six: Vegas, and couldn't help but be impressed.

An intense single-player experience

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The cover system used in Vegas is simply superb, and is key to how the game plays. By holding the left trigger on the 360 controller your character will take cover behind the nearest wall or other object that's big enough to hide behind. In this position the view will switch to third-person and you have a variety of options at your disposal. If you're really being pinned down you can fire blindly around the corner, but peeking out and getting in an aimed shot is also possible, either to the side or above the object you're behind. If you're at the far edge of an object you can aim practically all around you, and grenades can be tossed out if you need to tackle a group of enemies.

Action over a vertical plane isn't something that games do all that often, and it works brilliantly here...

At times you feel like there's an army firing at your location, but with strict use of the cover system you can get yourself out of any situation. Rainbow Six has always been a team game, and Vegas is no exception. A simple point and click command system lets you move your team-mates about, open doors (in a number of explosive ways), and carry out other actions that you don't necessarily want to do yourself. They're smart too, so perfectly able to deal with threats if you position them carefully. If they do take a hit you can run in and give them an injection to bring them back, but in the middle of a battle it's far from easy.

One early highlight takes place near some escalators in a casino. There are multiple floors and, because of the location and the obvious threat that could come from above, a single shot sent me running to cover. Action over a vertical plane isn't something that games do all that often, and it works brilliantly here, giving the terrorists the upper hand in terms of numbers and strategic position. I was playing on the easier of the two difficulty levels, but it was still an exhilarating section of gameplay, with careful manoeuvring being the key to success.

It'll please the casual and hardcore crowds

We all know that the Unreal Engine 3 is capable of some stunning visuals (see Gears of War), and Vegas is indeed a great looking game, but it's the sound that really steals the show in the missions I've played. Saying games are movie-like is something that's said far too often, but it really is the case here, to the extent that I've never experience before. The music just fits the mood absolutely perfectly and you can imagine your actions taking place in a movie. Background sounds add to the atmosphere, with gambling machines running as if nothing had happened, and other ambient noises adding to the believability of the game world.

There are bound to be problems that crop up after extended play, but at this stage they look few and far between. At one point I found myself stuck on a wall after taking cover, and the frame rate needs some improvement prior to release, but I'm really picking holes in something for the sake of it. With the whole campaign playable with friends over Xbox Live the game sounds even better still, and there's more. As well as what looks like being one of the most impressive single-player games yet released for the Xbox 360, there's a competitive multiplayer mode to sink your teeth into.

Multiplayer modes galore

The game modes alone offer plenty of variety, with a plethora of co-op and adversarial multiplayer modes to get stuck into. Co-op comes in two flavours: Co-op Story and Co-op Terrorist Hunt, both of which can be played over four-player split-screen, online and via system link. With online play made so easy these days it's an enlightened move to include split-screen as an option since there's no replacement for playing with friends in the same room, whilst those with more hardcore tastes will find system link invaluable.

Putting your face into the game is a simple process

The adversarial modes are similarly team orientated, and come in a variety of flavours: Attack and Defend, with hostage retrieval, bomb defuse and item extraction scenarios; Retrieval, a variation on capture the flag with a biohazard canister located in the middle of the map; Team Survival, deathmatch with no re-spawn; and Sharpshooter, deathmatch with re-spawn. Survival and Sharpshooter are playable in free-for-all deathmatch style as well. Yet, despite the great choice of gameplay modes and maps, the real strength in Vegas' multiplayer is the bewildering array of options to customise not just the look, but also the gameplay style of your online avatar. I'll get to this part later on, but first let's take a good look at how the game plays.

Early rounds were played in Attack and Defend mode with yours truly aligned with the defending team (Bravo), tasked with preventing the attacking team (Alpha) from stealing a biohazard canister and returning it to their base. It's worth noting that this is different from Retrieval, which is points-based and tasks both teams with stealing the canister. In Attack and Defend, the game is over when either the attacking side are successful or time runs out.

... Rainbow Six: Vegas allows you to play through the single-player missions and tackle Terrorist Hunt mode with your friends.

In Attack and Defend, both teams have a choice of two different spawn points which affect the tactics each team will use. On the first map (Calypso Casino), Bravo team had the choice of spawning downstairs near the vault where the precious canister was located or upstairs where we could intercept Alpha team. Making this choice is a good example of the various decisions that need to be made as a team. As it was, we'd all just sat down and team tactics hadn't come up. Needless to say, Bravo team lost fairly easily. The next map we played was Dantes Hotel, and this time we played the bomb defuse scenario, which adds a slightly different dynamic to Attack and Defend since the attacking side need to hold the position around the bomb long enough to successfully defuse it.

Both these early maps gave an impression of intelligent and varied map design. There were no obvious bottlenecks that couldn't be avoided and, as in any good multiplayer game, the winning side were not only those who worked together but also those who mastered the map. This need to know the maps cannot be overemphasised and though campers - or as I like the call them 'children of the ninth circle of hell' - are bound to find somewhere to camp, there weren't any obvious locations that could be easily exploited.

The Unreal Engine 3 is put to good use

We then played a few rounds of Team Sharpshooter, which is essentially Team Deathmatch in a different brand of pants, on a variety of maps. Research Labs and Casino Vault were similar to the earlier maps, with an impressive size, different floor levels and a mixture of smaller and larger areas. The third map, named Kill House, was a slight change of pace as it was set in what appeared to be a Terrorist training camp, with dilapidated shooting ranges and buildings containing makeshift bedrooms. This map was considerably smaller and provided far more intense, less tactically-minded combat. Although we didn't play Survival, this mode should play out quite differently to Sharpshooter, with the lack of re-spawns making careful tactical movement essential.

Co-operative play is becoming very popular, and Rainbow Six: Vegas allows you to play through the single-player missions and tackle Terrorist Hunt mode with your friends. Co-op Story is fairly self-explanatory so we'll move straight onto Terrorist Hunt. In this mode you and your friends fight against AI controlled terrorists on a multiplayer map; the aim being to eliminate all the terrorists for victory. This actually proved very challenging and once again demonstrated the need to for team-play, going through the map systematically and covering each other as you go.

As you play online you earn points, which can be used to unlock new gadgets, weapons, clothing, and armour. One example of equipment that affects gameplay is the riot shield, which when equipped to the primary weapon slot, protects from projectile attacks. Whilst this seems like an unfair advantage, it will slow the player down when in use, and reduce their fire power considerably.

Playing through cooperatively should be superb

A neat gadget is GPS, which allows players to scan areas to locate enemies whose locations are then transmitted to team-mates. This can be countered by a radar-jammer and there are a whole host of different grenades and gadgets that can be used. To provide some balance you are restricted to one primary weapon, one side-arm and two grenades or gadgets, and Ubisoft were at pains to point out that whatever the level of respective players, the playing field always remains equal. Unlocking new items gives you more tactical options, but it doesn't make you more powerful.

Vegas' final party trick comes courtesy of the Xbox Live Vision Camera. By taking a front-on and profile picture, you can apply your handsome image to your online avatar. The results were, to my great astonishment, quite impressive, with the game producing convincing likenesses. The only weakness of the system is long hair, so be aware to tuck hair behind your ear and away from your forehead. If your hair doesn't come out well, however, you can always wear a helmet, and the facial likeness can't be faulted.

Many elements of Vegas' multiplayer mode will be familiar but the player customisation is very promising, and the gameplay is intense to say the least. The controls are tight and responsive, the maps are well designed and there's plenty of variety to keep fans and newcomers happy.

Rainbow Six: Vegas has looked like a promising tactical action title since the day it was announced, and playing it makes us want to the final game even more. Look for a full review near the game's November 24 release date.