Vegas with Friends

Ubisoft's Rainbow Six franchise has always enjoyed immense critical acclaim when it comes to its multiplayer offerings, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Vegas 2 hopes to trump even its most celebrated predecessors. Facing off against unpredictable and highly skilled opponents on Xbox LIVE® in a game that prizes realism, adds a level of excitement and tension that not even the offline Story mode can hope to attain.

Always better with friends.

Likewise, cooperative play on Xbox LIVE in both the Story and Terrorist Hunt modes goes a long way to bolstering an already excellent experience. There's just nothing quite like getting caught between cover by a terrorist, only to hear shots fired as your buddy saves your hide with a well-timed shot from his sniper perch on the balcony above.

New Additions

Before we take a closer look at some of the new game modes and revamped features, it's worth highlighting three new game mechanics that slot seamlessly into the move set for any tactical online gamer:

• Run, rainbow, run!: The newfound ability to sprint (hold LB) adds a great deal to your tactical options, so much so you'll wonder just how you ever got along without being able to move that way. Suddenly, pursuing enemies is much less laborious, avoiding a grenade toss requires only recognition, not luck, and beating a hasty retreat, well, works.
• Piercing cover: Like Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare™ before it, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 allows bullets to pierce realistically through soft cover. More importantly though, each available map makes logical use of the feature. If it looks like you can shoot through it, chances are you can.
• Reload cancel: Many thousands of online Rainbow Six deaths can be attributed to getting shot while caught in a reload animation, but at last Ubisoft has solved the problem. Simply move in any direction while holding LB for just a moment and you'll jam your ammo cartridge back into the gun and gain immediate access to whatever ammunition you had left.

While none of these features are exclusive to online play in Rainbow Six Vegas 2, they shine brightest when used intelligently in the heat of battle against your fellow players.

Sure, let your buddy do all the heavy lifting.

Bombs and Leaders

While you can still engage in a battle of wits and firepower in all the same game modes you've come to know and love in the Rainbow Six series, Vegas 2 marks the introduction of two new game modes:

• Team Leader: Each team must escort their designated Team Leader to an extraction zone. However, each team can see both the other team's extraction point, and their Team Leader's position highlighted as well. You can achieve victory either by snuffing out the entire opposing team or extracting your leader. While respawns are granted initially to both teams, they're canceled if your Team Leader dies.
• Demolition: This new addition to the Attack and Defend game mode places one team in charge of defending designated bombing zones while the other attempts to infiltrate at least one zone and activate their bomb. Should the attacking team succeed though, the dynamic flips as the attackers must now defend their planted bombs while their opponents fight to retake the zone and diffuse the threat.

Seamless Co-Op

Similar to Gears of War, the newly revamped cooperative Story mode in Rainbow Six Vegas 2 has torn down the barrier between the offline and online experience. You can now invite a friend to join your game at any time, even if you've begun your session in Single Player, rather than choosing to host a co-op match.

What's more, every story sequence and cut scene is now preserved and shown just as it would be if you were playing by your lonesome. Also, to avoid confusion, such as when both players order the A.I. comrades to different spots, the host maintains control of the team's A.I. partners just as they would during Single Player.

You're just a tad exposed there.

It's worth noting that you'll respawn rather than restart at the latest checkpoint if you should die while your partner lives on. If you were too wary to play Realistic difficulty on your own, the co-op respawn feature grants you all the motivation you need to give the game's hardest difficulty setting a try.

Odds and Ends

Beyond the preceding big-ticket changes, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 has tweaked or added a number of other features worthy of highlighting.

• Better placement: The newly upgraded Matchmaking system helps ensure that every player is matched up against other players of similar skill level.
• XP co-op: With the new A.C.E.S. experience point system operating at all times, whether offline or online, you can reap serious experience point rewards, unlocking new ranks, weapons, and gear by playing through the Story mode cooperatively.
• Couch co-op: Split-screen play is available for both Terrorist Hunt and Story modes, so no need to send your buddy home to enjoy a bit of cooperative multiplayer.
• Restrictions: Not a fan of the riot shield or shotgun? You can restrict the use of any item or weapon in any Player Match game you host.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 continues the celebrated online tradition of its predecessors. More importantly though, with new maps as well as new mechanics and game modes, Vegas 2 marks the most balanced, tactical and realistic Rainbow Six game yet. See you on Xbox LIVE!

Article by Ryan Treit