Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas

THE BAD:
_{Bad? On Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas? I didn't experience any "what a load of sh.. sugar" moments.}

SUMMARY:
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas

<sub>Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas offers its game players a realistic action shooter that could keep you hooked for hours. From stunning scenery's, to intense tactical action, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas has everything you could wish for in this sort of game. Along with the intense tactical thinking you have to put behind each mission, you also have a wide range of weaponry to choose from to assist in completing the missions, along with skillful team members that can really help in the heat of gun battles.

Throughout Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas, you are the commander of an elite counter terrorist team made up of 3 men. You (Logan Keller), and 2 other elite members of your team are assigned to an operation within Mexico that goes horribly wrong. Yes, Mexico. Don't worry, though, you eventually end up fighting in Las Vegas when the terrorists strike hotels, casinos, and go on rampages throughout the Vegas streets. The job in Vegas is simple, stop the terrorists intentions of killing millions with the use of a explosive device located at a hydroelectric dam. Simple enough, right?

There are a number of characters in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas that will assist throughout the game. These characters are all involved in Team Rainbow, and play certain roles. You will notice you have two members of the team for certain jobs, this will all become clear when you play through the missions. I won't talk to much about it, because it will spoil the game plot for you.

Logan Keller - Team Leader
Gabriel Nowak - Electronics and Recon Specialist - Alpha Team
Kan Akahashi - Heavy Weapons and Demolition Expert - Alpha Team
Jung Park - Electronics and Recon Specialist - Bravo Team
Michael Walter - Heavy Weapons and Demolition Expert - Bravo Team
Joanna Torres - Information Officer - Support Staff
Brody Lukin - Helicopter Pilot - Support Staff.

The combat throughout the different missions on Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas is outstanding. No more hit and hope, running like a headless chicken with your finger on the trigger. To complete a mission successfully, and bring yourself, your team members, and any civilians that may pop up throughout the mission, calls for you to put your thinking cap on. The terrorists are smart, well armed, and usually outnumber you in great numbers. Luckily, there is plenty of cover for you and your team, and you are in control of what cover your team members take. By pointing your cross hairs towards a building edge, for example, and commanding your team to move to that position, allows you to ensure none of your team gets shot and killed, and can also allow you to scope the enemy movements, and command your team the best way possible.

There are a number of things you can use your team for, and as soon as you learn how to work as a team, the better and more successful your missions will be. For example, you are in a casino and you use your mini-cam to look under the door and scope possible targets. The room is filled with terrorists that outnumber you and your team 3 to 1. Do you storm the room all guns blazing and risk getting you, your team, or any civilian you may be escorting killed? No. Point your cross hairs towards the door and you'll be prompted with several choices. Grenade and clear, flash and clear, smoke and clear, C4 and clear, etc. If this is all gobbly gook to you, it's simple; by choosing, say, grenade and clear, a team member will throw a grenade in the room, wait for it to explode, then both team members run in and shoot on sight. You follow them and do the same, of course. Once a few terrorists are done with, you can command your team to take cover and wait for the next wave of terrorist attacks. All this proves the kind of tactical capabilities giving to you and your team to complete the mission. There are of course other prompts that can be selected. These include rappelling down a building edge and smashing through a window to hit the terrorists with a surprise attack, healing teammates (a must), sliding on a rope to the ground from a hovering helicopter, etc. All these prompts are important in completing the missions successfully, and adds to the realism Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas offers its gamers. To give a better insight into the prompts, think along the lines of Splinter Cell.

Along with great scenery and action, the game is no walkover whatever the difficulty level. This is something that really adds to the game, and whatever difficulty you play it on, the terrorists will always put up a good fight and ensure you never run out of action during a mission. These difficulties add to the realism of the game, and the importance of learning how to use your team well, and how to control your assult types so that you don't get left with low ammunition, grenades, flash bangs, etc. If you don't take that into consideration, get ready to start the mission again. Although, saying that, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas uses a checkpoint save system, so no matter how far you are into the mission, you won't have to start from the very start.

Weapon choice is a vital part of the tactics involved in this game. For this reason, it is vital that the correct weapon is chosen, for the certain type of mission. For example, you may not want to have a shotgun were a sniper rifle would be more useful, etc.

Pistols: Mk. 23, USP40, 92FS, Gock18, Desert Eagle, Raging Bull.
SMG: MP5, MP7A1, UMP45, P90, MP9, MAC11.
Assault: SCARC-H CQC, M8, AUGA3, G3KA4, 552C, G36C, MTAR21, FAMAS, AK47.
LMG: MK46, 21E, M249SPW, MG36.
Shotguns: M3, SPAS12, 870MCS, XM26-LSS.
Sniper: PSG1, M40A1, SV-98, Scout Tactical .

You also have frag, smoke and flash grenades, along with tear gas, breaching charges, C4 and incendiary. Basically, incendiary is a lethal grenade that produces intense heat that can burn through the skin, muscles, and the terrorists bone. Ouch. The others, I think, are self-explanatory.

There are a number of onscreen displays that adds to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas and assists you throughout. The player interface window shows information specific to you, Logan Keller. There is weapon information such as your rate of fire, which can be changed between full auto, burst, or a single shot. The window also displays ammunition left with the weapon of choice, and the weapon name and icon. There is also information on gadgets displayed, this includes the number of grenades, flash bangs, C4, etc. Logan Keller has left. Throughout the game you will also receive messages from Joanna Torres through a picture-in-picture feed. This includes information on the mission, secret filming, news feeds, etc.

The graphics in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas are great. When you get into a position during a mission to be able to see the whole of Las Vegas, it really is stunning. The amount of detail and realism adds to the greatness of this game. A good view point to check out the graphics and scenery around you is when flying to a mission in the helicopter. Have a look around, it's great. Also, explosions, smoke bangs, it all adds to the graphics. Parts of the game which include explosions in Las Vegas is what we all shell out on next generation consoles for. I won't go into the graphics in great detail because it could involve spoiling the endings of certain missions. Also, not only Las Vegas, but Mexico at the start is also stunning. The cars and buildings are all designed to perfection.

Once again Tom Clancy has provided a stunning action game, that will keep you hooked for hours. Also, as usual to a Clancy game, you get your moneys worth for the hours of game play available, the amount of action in the missions, and the stunning graphics. Definitely worth buying, and will keep you playing for hours.</sub>