It is finally out! The sequel to the latest Rainbow Six Tactical Shooter title is out with a bang and it promises hours of unyielding gunfire! Well, unyielding unless you survive that is. The Rainbow Six series has endured years of constant refinement. Albeit, not all of the moves done by its developers were good ones. Dumaan narin kasi siya sa consoles kaya medyo may topak siya noon (sorry ha.. biased ako sa PC yokyokyok). Anyway this new installment has a lot to offer. So lets dive right in!
First let’s get the bad news out of the way. Rainbow Six Vegas 2 looks like a game made 3 years ago instead of a game designed to be the latest tactical shooter. The graphics are blocky despite the wonderful textures. The bloom effects aren’t as impressive as shooter standards today like COD4 and Crysis. So in the graphic department, it needs a lot of work if Ubisoft wants a part 3. Effects are uninspired as well, hardly what you would expect from the Rainbow Six series which was, for a time, the cutting edge of tactical shooters. Heck, SWAT 4 looked better. I shot this one guy through a window and he hit the window with his head, it broke like a rock hit it, instead of a guy’s head being pushed by a bullet traveling 450feet per second. Oh, I have to mention the grenades, they look like gigantic apples painted green. I know I’m nit-picking now but I just have to mention it.
Second, in the sound department, they’ve done a little better. But again, compared to industry standards, they sound muffled and not that powerful. In most First Person Shooters (FPS) you want to FEEL that you’re firing a powerful weapon. The weapons offered in this game are either lacking in power or they sound powerless. Flashbangs give thuds instead of the “umpf” that leave enemies stunned and confused. So far the sounds in the game haven’t impressed me at all. The music doesn’t feel as heart pounding as other titles I have to mention. They could have done better if they just put some heavy metal rock in it and give it a little edge.
Now for the good news (o baka di rin ganun ka good). I’m used to playing VERY realistic tactical shooters like Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter as well as the old Rainbow Six games like Ravenshield. So when I say tactical, they better be tactical. I mean you need to take cover, you need to work as a team, you need to use all the tools at your disposal to achieve your goal. Rainbow Six Vegas 2, like some of its many predecessors, feel more like a run and gun shooter instead of a tactical shooter. Sure you run to cover then fire from there but the immersion, the sense of danger the utter thrill of the fact that one bullet could waste you. It has failed to capture what I truly love about tactical shooters.
It does, on a better light, offer the tools one might need in a tactical shooter. Customizable armor, CQB weapons such as pistols, shotguns, submachine guns, a snake cam (camera na ilalagay mo sa ilalim ng pinto para mamboso yokyokyok), lockpicks and a tactical communication device you use to talk to your teammates. You start out with a small kit of weapons and armor and gradually unlock them (kahit single player puede siya i-unlock) as you move up in rank. Parang gumaya nga sa Call of Duty 4 eh, may experience points pa. Good thing about it is, you can change your character’s clothes (parang barbie fafa! ahem ahem.. G.I. Joe pala) as well as his armor giving a more variety to your gameplay.
There are also some achievements that you can garner as you play the game. It rewards you for close quarter combat, for sniping, for using your flashbangs, for hand to hand combat and a lot more! So longevity isn’t an issue. You will keep coming back for more both for multiplayer and singleplayer.
All in all, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is a solid title that will be worth your money. But, if you’re a hardcore tactical shooter lover like me, I’d tell you to pass and wait for a better title like Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 3 (meron ba? yokyokyok).
Graphics – 7
Sound – 7
Gameplay – 8
Longevity – 9