Rating: 3 Pulses

ESRB Rating: M

A year-and-a-half after its predecessor, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is out, and apparently much hasn’t changed since the original was released.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, since the original Rainbow Six Vegas was good. Back then, however, gamers weren’t able to play Call of Duty 4, which has significantly raised the level of entertainment in first-person shooters.

Depending on the difficulty chosen at the start, frustration will flood the gamer repeatedly. At the beginning of RSV2, the player starts in the Pyrenees, where the main character, Bishop, is given the task to save some EU hostages. After this mission is completed, Bishop and his team return to Las Vegas. This time around, however, the game doesn’t focus on the pretty, vibrant side of Vegas. Players will fight their way through the parts of Vegas that aren’t too tourist friendly. ##M;[read more]##

RSV2 is a good game, but similarities to the original are vast. What happens in Vegas stays the same in Vegas. Other than the ability to sprint and use new maps and weapons, not much has been added.

Friends are no longer able to play as a four-man wrecking crew through the co-op story mode. This time, two is the magic number. Only the first player is able to give commands to the AI teammates, leaving the friend feeling more like a lackey. Gamers are provided with two AI teammates who sometimes forget not to stand in the middle of the casino during a shootout. For the most part, they can be great help, but sometimes they make ridiculous decisions. Also, the enemy AIs have improved since last time. They will actually use strategy to cause havoc. Players can expect the enemies to employ different tactics to kill them, whether it be ambushing the player or tossing a grenade to bring them out of a hiding place.

Nevertheless, this game is still enjoyable with a friend. The option for the friend to enter and leave without messing up the mission is also a nice feature.

Players will now be rewarded for their skills by racking up experience points that will eventually unlock new weapons, equipment and even pink camouflage for those who think that black and green are overrated. The reward system is a cool addition that gives the game an added replay value.

The best thing about RSV2 is its online play. Whether playing against or with people from around the world, the online play is purely entertaining. Trash talking to middle-school students probably isn’t the best idea, but trying to outplay strangers provides great fun.

Visually, the graphics are uninspiring, especially for PS3 owners. After seeing what the next-gen consoles are capable of graphically, it would seem that the visuals would have been a lot better. The audio, on the other hand, is solid. Expect some nice dramatic music during every shootout and some random terrorist conversations on the other side of many doors.

Overall, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is a fun game, but it just isn’t a game that will be talked about three to four months from now. This is probably because it is so similar to its original, but those unaware of the original’s gameplay should enjoy this game just as much as those who played the original for the first time.