The Game
In 2006, the Xbox 360 and PC were graced with the latest installment of the Rainbow Six (R6) series, titled "Vegas." It wasn't until 2007 that PS3 owners got a taste of R6 Vegas, but eventually rave reviews stretched across the three gaming platforms. The original Rainbow Six game debuted on the PC in 1998. Since then, versions of the original game as well as its many follow-ups or sequels have been released on a number of different platforms, including the Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. After ten years of games in the series, R6 Vegas 2 stays true to the first person shooter genre in which it began, with its intense tactical combat.
 |
As with many great games, a follow up to R6 Vegas was inevitable and it has finally arrived. The story in R6 Vegas 2 begins five years prior to the events in the last game, thus serving as a prequel to its predecessor. Once more, the game takes place in the glamorous the city of Las Vegas. This time, the bulk of the areas you'll visit during the course of the campaign are considerably less glamorous, as the glitz of the bars and casinos have been replaced with the city's back streets, back rooms, and business centers. While this disheartened many fans of the series who anticipated an entirely new city for the setting of the game, they'll be glad to know that the avenue the game's developers have taken is not a disappointing one. In fact, the environments chosen for the game are a lot of fun to play in.
Many gamers seek rich story lines in the games they choose to play. However, military games are not known for having them. This trend continues in R6 Vegas 2 as the story element takes a back seat to its engaging combat. While cinematic cutscenes are used to portray story progression in most games, R6 Vegas 2 utilizes interactive sequences in between missions that inform you of your team's next objectives. During these sequences, you have the option to choose new weapons and body armor for use in the mission that follows. Once you're geared up, you'll be ready to take on the terrorists that saturate Sin City.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
29 Comments
View All Comments
Donkey2008 - Monday, April 7, 2008 - link
Maybe Anandtech wanted to review the game because they found it interesting. I personally like the concept and would love to battle it out in a Vegas casino. With a PC version forthcoming, I found it useful to hear that the console game had framerate issues.Complaining about their rating or the fact that it's a console game is simply complaining for the sake of complaining. Good for Anandtech for previewing a game soon to be available to us PC users.
EddieTurner - Saturday, April 5, 2008 - link
Hey all! Just thought I'd shed some light on a few of your concerns.This rating system is one that I devised after the good folks at AT explained that they wanted something new that would steer away from the traditional point scale. It is still evolving. But for now, I've created seven senarios that I believe people can indentify with. After all, if you were to ask a friend what he or she thought of a particular game, I doubt very seriously that you'd get a reply that included two numbers with a decimal in between. Not everyone will agree with my final words, and I don't expect that to be the case. I'd hate for any of you to miss out on something you were truly interested in because of something I said. I am hardly the authority on gaming. However, I do have a passion for games and I play a lot of them. So may be it'll help to think of me as your neighborhood fellow gamer. Because that's what I am indeed. AT saw that in me and here I am.
Yes, this review is of a console game. But a game nonetheless. Considering array of different articles here at AT, I see no reason that such a product should be exluded from the site. Consoles are very much part a of the gaming world today. Sales figures will tell you that. As for me, I don't limit myself to a single platform. I go where the games are. And they're very much on consoles, as well as PC. The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii all have a fair offering in the tech-world today. So there's no reason they shouldn't have a presence here. Needless to say, you can expect a full review of Grand Theft Auto IV very soon. But I do have in mind a pretty intriguiing PC game to talk about next.
Oh, and I've never been repelling. Thanks for setting me straight!
ACasualObserver - Saturday, April 5, 2008 - link
While I might share some of the reservations expressed in other posts about console reviews at Anandtech, and there were enough caveats listed for the game to have me scratching my head at a "Sweet" rating, you've earned some serious points for taking the moral high ground and responding to criticism with a humble, enthusiastic and entirely positive outlook. Your forum post was in many ways more illuminating than your game review. There is a lesson there for all of us.Kudos sir, and welcome aboard.
simla - Saturday, April 5, 2008 - link
1) Much too long. I enjoy most of the in-depth hardware articles but still find myself skipping through the hyperbole in the middle sections. This much text on a game is beyond me though. Seriously.2) Ratings system, while trying to be 'cool' and unbiased is a little off the mark for me. 'Sweet' really doesn't mean shit for me - I'll still be using Metacritic for my games ratings...
3) Confused by the sudden move to console gaming coverage on what is self-labelled as 'the' PC enthusiast website. Stick to what you know and specialize. Personally, we don't need another all-in-one site that tries everything, yet knows ultimately ends up knowing nothing. I really hope this isn't a sign of a good website going the way of Toms...
dare2savefreedom - Saturday, April 5, 2008 - link
WTF,W
T
F
you guys don't review disney's princess enchanted journey pcdvd but u review a 360 game?
how much is m$ paying you guys, I'll double it.
I want to see the review for dpej with sli.
6bit macs and you guys never said a word.
Ever since anandy got married this places been going down.
poohbear - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
why on earth would you review an xbox 360 game on a PC enthusiast website?!?! are you guys really trying to insult us here?!? BLASPHEMERS THE LOT OF YOU!!!!!!jordanclock - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
It doesn't sound like the reviewer actually played through the game on co-op.I went through the game with my room mate on co-op and every non-character texture is downgraded to a blurry mess. Every single one. And the helicopter event at the end of the game brought the frame rate to what I would guess to be low teens, at best. This kind of problem came up in other parts of the game, to a lesser degree, many times. And it wasn't little things, it was 10-15 second spots that made it very difficult to play. What seems to be the culprit of this are the "physics." Whenever the frame rate dropped, it almost always occurred during firefights where there were lots of things that moved or broke.
Also, the lack of control of the NPCs by the second player is a pretty big issue. There were many times when I'd get stuck between the two or unable to get somewhere because they were in the way. Of course, being player two, I had no way to get them to move other than ask my room mate to stop what he was doing and tell them to move.
Playing on co-op is further hindered by the fact that whenever you receive a video message from the command, it covers up half of the second players view. It's a bit hard to aim properly when a giant Cisco logo is in your way.
I think the game lacked a lot of polish. I'm not even going to bother with the PC version unless a decent demo is released.
Hardin - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
Oh man don't even mention that helicopter. I was playing that level with my brother and we had to repeat that part several times because we died so much due to the terrible frame rates. The Cisco message was also very annoying because it blocked my view. And it was really hard getting used to the coop splitting the screen right down the middle.jordanclock - Monday, April 7, 2008 - link
The middle split wasn't too much of an issue for me since we were playing in widescreen. However, I could see major issues on a standard definition TV.All I know is that the game had a strong feeling of lack of polish. I can not see many reasons why a game should be released with any of the problems my room mate and I experienced, let alone all of them together. It completely turned me off from purchasing the PC version.
Blitzed Penguin - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
I love AnandTech and there unbiased review of PC hardware such as graphics cards, CPU, power supplies, routers, and my other techy stuff. They also post the latest and greatest news of what is going on the the PC world and what we can expect in the future.Whats with the article about an XBOX video game? Did UBI pay you guys to advertise? It has nothing to do with hardware or PC. You have it labeled as "software" but there is no "software" tab at the top of the screen. There are several other sites dedicated to video games that gamers are more accustomed to.
I could understand an article about the PC version maybe. AnandTech did use the first R6 Vegas as a benchmark and they could do the same with Vegas 2 (its a port and has limited graphics settings so maybe not). It is your site so you can change it how you want just giving my opinion. I just love the site and would hate to see it change.