Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
by UBI Soft
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Video Game Reviews of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
Customer Review: One of the best shooters out there
Summary: 4 Stars
First of all, I will not compare both PS3 and XBox versions. This review is intended for people who only plan to buy the PS3 version.
After I saw the previews I was really exceited about the game. I'm a big fan of Tom Clancy's games, and wanted to experience a more tactical and realistic shooter, rather than your tipical "shoot everytyng that moves" game.
I might say I was a bit dissapointed at fisrt because the graphics didn't stood up to the previews (FYI i was using a 1080i Sony LCD). I had similar responses when I asked players online. Then I decided to swith the PS3 output otion to 720p, and the graphics got sharper (this will not be the case with all HD TVs, but you can give it a try).
Overall, I had a great experience playing every level, AI for both (friends and foes) is really high, and you can actually command your teammates to take out hostiles, and they try to use common sense. Its not 100% perfect, but if far better than most games out there. Detail level for every map is astonishing, kudos for Ubisoft, since the Vegas experience was great.
As far as storyline, don't expect much. Bad guys take over, good guys hunt them down end of drama.
I enjoyed the fact that this game is a mixture between a FPS and 3rd person shooter, which is nice, because you can take cover behind objects and still shot, which is realistic. Although even though you're facing the other way while crouching, you can see all the map ahead of you, since the camera is on a 3rd person angle. You could also rappel, smash windows, etc.
You have an extended arsenal of weaponry to your disposal, as well as several high tech gadgets that are extremely useful in combat, specially because you are always outnumbered.
I found the sixaxis to be utterly useless, you end up switching to normal analog controllers instead. Its just clumsy and you never learn to use it that well.
Finally, online play is where I lost all interest for this game. Most of the maps are really cool, a village in South America, the inside of a luxury casino, to name a few. Once you get inside a game its a great experience, the problem is getting into one. Loading times are just unreasonable, so much lagging and poor voice transition. You could easily spend 20 minutes to half hour just to start a game, just to find out it already ended. I'm sure Ubisoft will fix issues like this in the future, but I didn't like to waste time in menus and extensive loading times. The fact that you could play online co-op almost made it worthwhile though.
It was a great game overall, but in todays online world, major issues should be fixed first.
PROS:
- Immersive action
- Great graphics and attention to detail
- Realistic AI from team
- Great reproduction of Las Vegas.
CONS
- Weak storyline
- Excessively long loading times on multiplayer
- Terrible multiplayer interface
- Sixaxis is useless.
Customer Review: From a Tom Clancy Fan
Summary: 4 Stars
My thoughts:
Friendly AI works astonishingly well, almost too well. Sometimes I set my men to clear a room and before I can squeeze my own player through the doorway they've shot down three guys and rescued a hostage.
Realism: Picking up enemy weapons seems dumb to me. An actual specialist would never do this unless forced to by lack of ammunition. Highly trained counterterrorism specialists aren't ones to go "Hey cool, look at this neat gun...I'll use this!" They use what they're trained to use. Slight distraction to me.
Autosave: Great feature, I think it helps to add a bit of tension to the game where you take more precaution and act more sensibly. It still doesn't go as far as Ghost Recon originally did with the whole tension feeling though.
Graphics: Character models are awesome. Lighting is great. The thermal goggles are amazing and realistic. But I will admit that when there's just a bunch of gunfire in a level that isn't completely filled with polygon rich slot machines, I get this feeling that I'm playing Black on my PS2.
I also took this to a friend's house and played it on his 27" tube tv. Bad idea. The words on the screen are almost impossible to read and it just doesn't do the game justice.
Comments: I'm really mad at Ubi Soft for taking the $$$ and filling the streets of Sin City with absolutely nothing but Dodge vehicles. It's pretty lame to wander around the streets and think, "Hmmm, everyone here must really love brand new Dodge cars, trucks, SUVs, cop cars, utility vans." Heck, the helicopters probably have a Ram Logo on the front or something. Just removes the player from a sense of realism...realism that Tom Clancy games are generally famous for.
Even so, I still love this game.
Customer Review: Great game, but difficult
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm not a big FPS fan, so I'm not the greatest fragger in the world. RB6: Vegas is a lot of fun though. There are a few shortcomings, but they don't detract from the game's overall value.
As mentioned by at least one other reviewer, the save points in the Single player mode a bit too far apart. I've had the game for a week and I'm stuck on a particular level. I get oh so close to the end, only to be killed. Another minor gripe is the fact that there are only 2 difficulty settings, and the easiest is not easy by any means. I've seen no way to repair your health mid-level (no med packs, nothing), and it doesn't take many hits for you to die. Combine that with the infrequent checkpoints and you will run into some frustrating moments. An omission that I found to be glaring is that the M4 assault rifle, probably the most used by special forces teams next to the MP5, is not to be found.
The enemy and your team AI are both superb. Enemies will take cover, flank you, snipe you, etc. They communicate with each other when one of them spots you as well. Your teammates are also fantastic. Controlling their actions is very easy. I've yet to run into a situation where one of them gets stuck on something (like a trying to walk through a wall or something stupid like that). They're also good to use to do a lot of the dirty work, and man do they work effeciently!
Customer Review: Fantastic.
Summary: 5 Stars
To start things off in a most demanded manor, I believe, I have played both this version, and the Xbox 360 version. I declare myself not a "fan boy" of either system, therefor my opinion is neither bias nor swayed by personal significance. The games truly play realistically identical. It would come down to one's preferences as to weather which is superior over the other. For instance, for this games intents and purposes, I prefer the PS3 controller. It feels at home in my palms as I play online and off, though thats not to say there aren't minor annoyances, of the two, I simply prefer the PS3 controller for this game. The Bloom Lighting, of which I believe it is called, in the 360 version was distracting. I find the balance within this version to be much more enjoyable. I also appreciate the PS3's free online play, which might I add, works incredibly well for this game. Now, on to the grading!
Graphics: 8.5/10. Graphics, in my opinion, were never the strongest point in most of the Clancy games. That being said, it is by no means a poor sight to behold. Nice models all around, textures good, the gunfire rocketing across screen and the explosions look great. The graphics are toned down a bit for online play, though not so much that the game isn't distinguishable from its single player game.
Online: 9.5/10. This is where I spend my time. Online is a magnificent achievement in both a fun and technical aspect. You start off by creating your soldier with a decent amount of available "equipment." All but a few weapons are unlocked, and it could be well argued that the unlockable weapons are not the best in game; I don't use them regularly. As you play online matches, you gain experience points depending on the game type, length, and weather you win or lose. These points contribute to the ranking up, (leveling up, in a sense) which in tern grants you access to different (but not necessarily better) armor, camouflage, weapons, and accessories. There are a few bugs here or there, but thats almost to be expected, and by no means nothing of which is distracting (not immediately going up/down ladder, ropes dancing aimlessly, things of this nature). Online play is nearly lag free. There are occasional hiccups in game play mostly depending on the room, but for the most part, and especially seeing as I play wirelessly, I am completely satisfied with the online performance/experience. Did I mention it is free to play online? This, along with free statistic tracking and rankings (much like PC games) is impressive. One of the only drawbacks of online is the voice chat. Yes, it is nice to be able to communicate with your team members, but expect rabid taunting, amongst other things, constantly. Still, I would advise getting a headset. I use the H500 Motorola, which some say doesn't work well with R6V, but mine has consistently worked spot on for me.
Story (Offline): 9/10. Now, to be honest, I haven't finished the campaign, though I have gotten quite far. It plays well, the AI seems smart, very few bugs, none of which I even see a point to note, let alone none I remember. From what I have played would satisfy my palate more than adequately if I didn't have or know about online mode. The main characters accent/voice does irritate often, though; lucky we don't hear him enough to make much of a difference. ;)
In closing, if you're looking for a first person shooter to sick your teeth into until some of the more anticipated titles are released, or a game to stand on its own merit, I don't believe you will be disappointed with Rainbow Six Vegas for the PS3. If, like me, you had to choose between this and the 360 version, again, it comes down to preference and availability. If you like the feel of the 360 controller over the PS3's, subscribe to Xbox Live, and plan to play online, go with that version. Or, before you buy one, rent them and see which you prefer before you are out the money and stuck with something you don't want. See you in Sin City.
Customer Review: Tom Clancy disappoints.
Summary: 1 Stars
You know what fires me up?? I mean, really really gets my blood boiling? When you have a franchise that has such an outstanding reputation like Tom Clancy, and you have a console that has unprecidented capability - and the mix is like oil and water.
The low down -
Graphics - 4 out of 10. I play on a 50'' HDMI plasma. So I tend to get disappointed when I buy a game that isn't HD compatible. This game fits RIGHT in with some of the mediocre PS2 graphics.
Gameplay - 3 out of 10. If I enjoyed the feeling of walking through mud, and turning at a glacial speed, then I would have given this game a much better rating. Even by turning the X and Y turning values higher, this game is all over the place. Headshots don't register, there is no "breathe-bob". So, basically if you have your crosshairs squared up with someones masked pretty little mug, you're most likely going to shoot up and to the right, down and to the left... pretty much anywhere but where you aim.
Multiplayer - 7 out of 10. The only aspect of the game that I mildly enjoy. The many different games will you keep you entertained for hours, as well as the three different co-op modes.
The bottom line is that I enjoy games like BF2, or 2142. If you die for instance, there is that faint glimmer of hope that a medic might come up and save you fom waiting anothe 10 seconds.
The graphics are far below standard for such a wonderful system, the story is worthless (unless you don't have a high speed internet connection), and walking around the maze type levels is as monotonous as watching Carrot Top do another stand up routine.
To be honest, the only people I have heard that are impressed with this game are the British. And you wonder why they're so satisfied with bland food.