It’s Vegas, baby, and that means one time isn’t enough for a good time. The 
Rainbow Six series returns to Sin City, with a little over year having passed since the  first Rainbow Six: Vegas became a runaway hit. Still, a lot has happened in that  time to make its tactical shooter niche a very crowded one indeed. GRAW 2 and Call of Duty 4 have since muscled in on the series’ usual turf. 

 
Vegas 2 puts you in the role of Bishop, a surprisingly customizable created character, taking you out of the perspective of Logan Keller form the first game. Vegas ended on a pretty aggravating cliffhanger, but Vegas 2 seems intent on wrapping that up. To some degree, it does, offering some decent character development and relationships, and a plot interesting enough to motivate your trek through Vegas again.

Vegas 2 often shows the ugly, less glamorous side of Vegas. For the player, this unfortunately means a journey through some rather uninspired locales that just serve as a backdrop for impressive firefights. On the other hand, the Vegas theme isn’t constantly shoved in the player’s face, unlike the first game.There are some exceptions, especially during the “Theater” portion of the game. It’s about as “Vegas” as you can get; rappel down buildings across the street from neon signs and bustling streets, or find yourself using slot machines and gambling tables for cover. The game gets the job done visually, with impressive physics in tact; but that’s not to say it isn’t without some muddish textures and odd character models. For an Unreal 3 Engine game, sometimes it’s hard to tell if that’s true… especially with slowdown during intense firefights, which are only good for reloading a checkpoint. It feels like a downgrade compared to the first game.

The sounds in Vegas 2 are exciting enough to inspire a notch or two up on the volume. Thanks to such a large variety of firearms, explosives, and things to use those on, the skies the limit. Voice acting isn’t even that bad; the dialogue is about as uninspiringly stale as you could expect (is this really Tom Clancy?), but the voice actors put in a solid effort in the end.

If this is your first time in Sin City, you’re in luck. Ubisoft Montreal has adhered carefully to the age-old saying, “if it ain’t broke…” Granted, there are a few minor new features which are a welcome addition, the basic package remains the same; what that means is arguably one of the best Rainbow Six titles in years.

The major addition to Vegas 2 over the first game is the ability to sprint. This is as close to a god-send, fan service, good judgment… whatever you’d like to call it, it is as close as you’ll get to a decision well-made. Sprint enhances the speed of the basic mechanics of Vegas 2 significantly. The bad news is that this is the only true change to the Vegas game. Sure, there’s character customization; you can outfit yourself with various pieces of gear and armor, but it’s mostly aesthetic to individualize yourself online. In this area, it takes a brave step towards COD4, but falters with a lack of depth; the premise wears thin over a few hours.

Multiplayer and co-op are the true stars of the game, although Ubisoft Montreal did not forget the less fortunate players out there. Because experience points are such an important component of gaining new items for your character (as well as bragging rights… ), there’s considerable incentive to go through single player first before hopping anywhere else, thanks to a robust experience reward. It’s something you can finish over a weekend. A riveting experience for a game of this genre, but again, it falls quite short of the bar COD4 set last fall. The A.I. is still more of a nuisance than a help.

Co-op, experienced online or off, has been reduced to 2 players, from 4. Only one player can issue commands, since you’re still accompanied by another A.I. partner – and complete objectives. As the second player, you can’t help but feel neglected in the chain of command, and properly screwed if something happens to the host.  Fortunately smarter choices have been made in multiplayer, with the system in tact for you and up to 15 others. Matchmaking appears to have been improved, and the new maps accommodate more intense firefights. With a variety of adversarial modes to check out, Vegas 2 will no doubt be a major staying power on Xbox Live, much like its predecessor.

Vegas 2 is a by-the-numbers sequel that is sure to please fans and ease the curious new comers into the series with additions like sprint and an easier way to gain experience for better gear. For Vegas players, this release may not hold much sway, especially if you’ve been entrenched in Vegas multiplayer for some time; a rental may be best for you.

The trip to Vegas was a welcome breath of fresh air in the series, but Vegas 2 has showed that it was probably just a short gasp, and now it’s time to move on.