Rainbow Six: Vegas

There’s a scale for first-person shooters. It’s a scale of sobriety. On one end you have something like PO’ed and at the other end you have the Rainbow Six games.

Known for their gritty realism and their focus on squad-based tactics rather than Rambo-style mayhem, and backed up with a scenario from the master of American war novels, Tom Clancy, the Rainbow Six games have always been a military man’s shooter. And now comes Rainbow Six: Vegas, hot on the heels of Tom Clancy’s other games: Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell.

It is, perhaps, best known for pissing off the mayor of Las Vegas, who took offense at the suggestion that his city could be overrun by terrorists. Rainbow Six: Vegas certainly doesn’t pull any punches; the game starts with the entire city of Vegas on fire, with many innocents being held hostage by heavily armed terrorists.

Enter Team Rainbow, one of the USA’s most elite military squads. It’s your job as a member of this squad to infiltrate the city of Las Vegas and neutralize the terrorists while rescuing the hostages.

The gameplay looks set to be more of what we know and love. Players will be able to command Team Rainbow as they engage the enemy in a realistic manner. There is no diving into the hallways guns blazing here. You’ll coordinate an attack on each area beforehand, instructing your squad which targets they should take out and in what order. Additionally, your squad will cover for you in situations where you fumble, and will often offer advice such as hacking computer systems for the advantage.

The game will retain the first-person view, but players will be able to take cover and the game will switch to a third-person camera, ala Perfect Dark Zero. This adds a new dimension of tactics, as players will be required to take an even more cautious approach to completing the mission.

Along with some excellent gameplay, the graphics and presentation are absolutely astounding. Simply watching this game in motion is proof of how the next generation is upon us. The opening scene where Team Rainbow swoops down on the city of Las Vegas is simply one of the most impressive things you will have ever seen. If eye candy is your vice, you need look no further.

Given that Rainbow Six is a proven franchise, it’s easy to get excited about Rainbow Six: Vegas. With some great tactical gameplay, some of the best graphics ever seen, and a gripping story written by the master of airport bookshops, Rainbow Six: Vegas looks like it’s set to be another excellent title for the Xbox 360 and other platforms. Look out for this one in the near future, and stay tuned to NZGamer for a full review.