Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Page 2 of 2)

A few modes of Demolition mode--offense plants a bomb, while defense attempts to defuse it--showed us how important it is to work together in online play, especially because you only get a few respawns, and each life is so important to your team. Using cover is always key, and sprinting is essential for moving from station to station and not getting caught out in the open.

Building a Better Shooter

Artificial intelligence, a strong suit of the last game, has seen a key upgrade in the campaign mode. Your teammates (returning Vegas vets Jung Park and Michael Walter) are far more helpful in a firefight, roaring out enemy positions ("Sniper on the roof!"), suggesting more appropriate weapons for each encounter, and generally acting like believable squad sidekicks.

New to Vegas 2 is a Domination-inspired multiplayer mode called

New to Vegas 2 is a Domination-inspired multiplayer mode called "Total Conquest." To win, a team must control three satellite dishes for 30 straight seconds. Because these matches grow increasingly intense as time runs out, Total Conquest is our favorite new game type so far.

Enemies, too, are smarter than before, edging away from compromised cover and using more sophisticated equipment, such as ballistic shields. Flanking, surveillance, and teamwork will be more important than ever. Luckily, you can also dish out more damage by ordering your sidekicks to toss grenades at nearby terrorists.

But character customization was the main hook of the original Vegas, and Vegas 2 is upping the ante in a big way. Rather than earning experience points to unlock new guns and gear, players now must earn A.C.E.S. (Advanced Combat Enhancement and Specialization).

Vegas 2 moves at an ever-so-slightly speedier clip than its predecessor. Still, it's a slower, more suspenseful game than Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4

Vegas 2 moves at an ever-so-slightly speedier clip than its predecessor. Still, it's a slower, more suspenseful game than Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4

A.C.E.S. are essentially skill points, and fall into three categories: Marksmanship (headshots, long-range kills), Assault (scoring multiple kills, using explosives), and Close Quarter (short-range kills, using flash and smoke bombs). A.C.E.S. may end up being the biggest, best addition to Vegas 2, as you'll have far more control over what weapons you unlock, and when. If you prefer to play as a sniper, you can focus on nailing headshots to quickly unlock the high-end sniper rifles. But you aren't pigeonholed into a class, either; you can unlock any A.C.E.S. category at any time.

Like the original game, Vegas 2's Unreal 3.0-based graphics look crisp and vibrant. There are some noticeable visual improvements, particularly to dynamic lighting and some new particle effects, but overall Vegas 2 shares a similar look with its predecessor.

One bit of good news is that multiplayer matches will boast nearly the same graphics fidelity as the beefier single-player experience, a welcome upgrade owed to careful texture optimization and programming wizardry. Lengthy level load times, one of the only maddening flaws from the last game, are noticeably shorter in Vegas 2. Overall, Vegas 2 feels like a more polished, balanced, and complete version of the first game. That's great news for shooter fans.

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