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Last year was one of the best years for gaming in living memory, especially for some of our younger readers.  2007 will be remembered as a year of fun and excitement and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas was a game which gave us an abundance of the above adjectives. So with 2008 four months old and Ubisoft with its recently acquired Tom Clancy Licence exclusivity, they’ve come back to risk it all. This time round have Ubisoft put all their money on another spin of the roulette wheel, striking it lucky twice in a row or are Ubisoft heading to the free buffet to gorge on food and later pick up a cheap hooker?

The first thing to address is the storyline. If you haven’t played the original, you needn’t worry, because Vegas 2 has a whole new storyline. If you were a fan of the original, you’ll be pleased to know that the sequel loosely fits into the timeline of the original game. Like Vegas, you’re a team of Rainbow Six Operatives, (but a second bunch following in the original’s footsteps). Like your predecessors you’re tasked with taking on the scum of Las Vegas. The strip seems to be a heavy target for terrorist activity and it seems nothing has changed since the first game. There are goons to take down with tactical combat and stealthy force. If you’ve missed the original then Vegas 2 will feel as fresh as any other game but if you’ve played it before it will feel like a lot of missions have been taken from the original game, arguably those that they couldn’t fit on the original disc or didn’t have time to fully develop into the timescale of Vegas.

The graphics have been justifiably been improved, but at a quick glance it’s unlikely that you’ll notice a stark difference. Vegas 2 is taking advantage of the power available from the consoles, even though most of the time, when compared to other titles, you wouldn’t even notice it. The most noticeable improvement is where the developers have used the extra power to put more enemies on the screen, subsequently making you feel outnumbered. The CPU cycles haven’t been wasted though, with the AI been given a boost to their thinking abilities. Before many of them would you run at you, aimlessly and as a result would be easy cannon fodder for you, while you sit behind your secure piece of cover. They’re more intelligent this time round and will attempt to out flank you. If they’re not in the offensive mood then they’ll be happy to sit back and let you come at them. When they do attempt to flank you, it’s nice that you can hear the shouts to each other; conveying where you are and what position you’re currently occupying. Again, like the pervious Vegas, the missions have great set pieces, and each situation has a multiple way to deal with it. The levels are generally detailed, populated with genuine Vegas tat, and there multiple routes to your objective.

The overall experience has been refined, with controls consisting of more fluidity, and it’s as easy as ever to  easily command your squad more in combat. The controls are the same as Vegas, which isn’t a problem as the controls where spot on.  Veterans of the first game will have no problems sinking into the sequel.

Character development has had a big upgrade and allows you to upgrade your armour, as well as the general look of your character. The tweaking applies both to on and offline play. Most players would spend hours online trying to get unlocks for their character, which obviously left the casual gamer out of touch. This time around every kill rewards you with experience, which goes towards your ranking. This means everyone will eventually get too certain levels, even if you only play for 20 minutes every now and again, but obviously it will take much longer.

As much as the welcomed changes, we can’t help but feel that Ubisoft have kept very close to the original format choosing not to stray too far. They knew what people enjoyed in Vegas and have handed them another dose. Unfortunately, since Rainbow Six Vegas was released, a lot of quality FPS’s have been released, and even though Vegas 2 does keep up with games like Call of Duty 4, it doesn’t raise the bar or rock the boat.

The multiplayer is solid and allows for consistent fun. There is a lot that to keep players happy once you’ve gotten through the single player campaign. Vegas 2 is a great game, and it’s difficult to deny that. It’s a good shooter which has a plentiful amount of gaming on offer, but the Rainbow Six lads need to be deployed elsewhere and end the Vegas setting with two games. This game doesn’t change the genre, and this is its only real negative. The phrase “if it ‘aint broke, don’t fix it,” springs to mind. Everything is polished to a clear shine, but this is same ground we’ve trodden before.

Score: 8/10

(Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is available on PS3 and Xbox360. The Xbox360 version was reviewed.)

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