| Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Las Vegas
While 2006 gave us some incredible shooters including both Call of Duty 3 and Gears of War, one stands out above the rest. Rainbow Six Vegas. This game looks great with the new Unreal 3 engine, and while it may be true that Gears of War has slightly superior graphics (though the difference isn’t drastic) it’s the detail, design, and gameplay that steals the show.
Having played through both single and multiplayer, I can tell you there is nothing better than rappelling down the side of a building, breaching through the glass, taking cover, swinging around and busting some heads before swinging back around to reload and move in. The game has a good balance of tactics, and a little pinch of “we don’t suggest it, but if you wanna go alone here, try it.” Sometimes works, other times you get your ass handed to you.
Again, the ability to rappel and take cover are incredible, and to say even smoother than Gears of War (though Gears of War lets you do certain moves while in cover, the genres are different here). The looks and sounds of the weapons, not to mention the reloads, are dead on and look/sound terrific. Gameplay-wise, the people who have the least fun are the morons not using their heads; running in guns blazing and getting blown apart. As rightly they should. While technically you can move in and take guys down, it’s when you blindly rush a room like an idiot that you get messed up.
The different multiplayer modes are fun, however it’s Attack and Defend which is a real joy to play. one team chooses a spawn point and moves in while the other team chooses there area to spawn and defends the objective. Great fun.
What adds even more is the customization of weapons, the abundance of weapons, and better yet, the gadgets and character customization. Whilst more armor slows you down, it gives you more protection, and vice-versa if you use less armor. The ability to completely make your character the way you want is great, and you never see the same character model twice while kicking ass online.
Co-op is a blast, the A.I. both in single player and multiplayer are great.
Rainbow Six Vegas is a must buy, and without a doubt the best game of 2006. While the single player is great, the multiplayer is the shining star here. | |
