Overview
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 was released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 on March 18, 2008, and the PC on April 15, 2008 and was developed by Ubisoft Montreal Studios. The game is the seventh game in the Rainbow Six franchise and the second, and last game in the Vegas sub-series of games in the franchise according to Ubisoft.
The game was marketed as a "part sequel, part prequel" as the events of the single player campaign occur before and concurrently to the story of Logan Keller (the protagonist players assumed in the first game) as well as continuing on after the events of the first game in the series.
Plot
The game starts in 2005, before the events of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield. Players take upon the role of Bishop who has been deployed by Rainbow squad to a French observatory to rescue a group of European Union hostages. During the operation, Bishop who is in command of Bravo Team (consisting of Logan Keller and Gabriel Nowak) moves Bravo team into position to await the arrival of Alpha Team at their designated location while Lt. Monroe (the negotiator distracting the terrorists while Alpha and Bravo prepare to strike).
Before Alpha Team arrives though Gabriel Nowak fires prematurely, forcing Bishop and the other members of Bravo Team to open fire on the terrorists which ultimately leads to the death of the negotiator who is killed by the collateral fire of the terrorists who panic after Gabriel's premature shots. This farce leads to a disgraced Gabriel Nowak who is resulting passed over for promotion as Logan Keller is instead selected as the new leader of Alpha squad.
The game then jumps to 2010, where Bishop is now leading a squad against Miguel and Alvarez Cabreros, two human traffickers who have expanded into trafficking biological weapons and as Logan Keller undergoes the Mexico operation at the start of Rainbow Six Vegas. Bishop who along with squad mates Jung Park (an electronics expert) and Michael Walters (a demolitions expert) are ordered by the NSA to investigate a Las Vegas warehouse which is believed to be the location which the Cabrero Brothers are running their operation from and to rescue a captured NSA agent within the warehouse.
The rescue attempt fails however and the team pushes on forward through another warehouse where they stumble upon a group of Hispanic hostages who the team proceeds to rescue before moving on via helicopter to a recreational facility where the Cabrero's chemical weapons have allegedly been located. After securing the area the team are unable to find the chemical weapon stash and so Bishop orders the team to save the people inside a Las Vegas sports stadium who are at threat from a biological weapon attack. Unfortunately the team arrives at the bomb site too late to stop the attack, the people trapped inside the stadium are killed and Bishop takes full responsibility for all of the lives lost in the teams failure.
Immediately afterwards the team are notified that one of the Cabrero brothers, Miguel Cabrero who has disguised himself as a HAZMAT operative, has escaped the area and so the team set off in chase, eventually cornering and interrogating him in the Neon Boneyard. Mainly focusing the interrogation on the location of the missing bio-terrorist bomb, Miguel is reluctant to give up any information but ultimately confesses its location before attempting to draw his sidearm to kill Bishop but is shot before he is able to do so.
Having learnt that the second bomb is located at Las Vegas International Convention Center, the team moves onto this location only to find the chief of security being held hostage by the remaining Cabrero brother, Alvarez Cabrero. After rescuing the chief, Bishop learns that the bomb is not located at the center rather it is located on the monorail and is headed towards the hotel area of the city. The team then proceeds to fight their way to the bomb but is unable to fully defuse the bomb completely in time. Thinking quickly Bishop orders Walter to detonate the bomb in a non-populated section of the city, thus ensuring that the bomb does no harm to the civilians of the city. With the situation taken care of, an NSA agent makes contact with Bishop to inform him that the terrorists have taken over a penthouse in the city and are plotting another attack.
As Bishop and the squad near the penthouse, Sharon Judd (the intelligence officer to Rainbow team) informs Bishop that Echo Team has also been deployed to assist them on the mission. Soon after though she is shot by a terrorist sniper and the helicopter from which she was providing support crashes as Bravo Team fast-rope into the penthouse. Echo Team meanwhile on the opposite side of the building are wiped out when a bomb explodes revealing the entire assault to be an ambush.
Moving from the penthouse into the casino below after rescuing a SWAT team and several civilian hostages, Bishop learns of another bomb located in a nearby Chinese theatre. After assaulting the theatre, defusing the bomb and rescuing several hostages, the team are extracted from the rooftop via helicopter to return to base for new orders. As the team make their exit, they are informed that Logan and the rest of Alpha team were ambushed and Logan's squad mates captured. The team are also told that Mike and Jung are to leave Bishop's command and join up with Logan as part of Alpha team and assist him in cleaning up the rest of Las Vegas after the terrorists initial attack on the city.
Bishop meanwhile is informed by a masked NSA agent who joined him in the helicopter that Alvarez Cabrero was spotted at an airstrip in the surrounding desert. Bishop refusing to give Alvarez the chance to escape, enter the airstrip alongside the NSA agent at separate locations. Bishop who traverses through an oil refinery and abandoned train-yard, arrives at the airstrip to see the masked NSA agent talking with Alvarez. The NSA agent who is revealed in fact to be Gabriel Nowak, shoots Alvarez and taunts Bishop after which a group of armed terrorists proceed to assault him, resulting in Bishop being knocked unconscious when the plane used to mask his location explodes.
Upon regaining consciousness, having been dragged to safety be helicopter pilot Gary Kenyon, Bishop is ordered by command to stand down. Bishop and Bravo team, defying orders follow Gabriel to a Costa Rican villa and storm the house and eliminate all of the terrorists within. Suddenly several Rainbow operatives under Logan Keller's command descend into the location via helicopter to assist Bravo team on their mission. Splitting up to find Gabriel faster and after dealing with various waves of terrorists and an enemy copper, Bishop eventually confronts Gabriel alone who gloats of his success against Rainbow, arguing that he never should have blamed for what happened in France (the events at the beginning of the game). Eventually Gabriel draws his weapon on Bishop, although in defence Bishop fires first just as the other Rainbow operatives arrive with prisoners.
The game ends with Bishop being berated by command for disobeying orders but is offered a promotion to the deputy direction of Rainbow at their HQ in Hereford, England.
Gameplay
Some of the changes made in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 include the ability to customize your character for both single-player and multiplayer, as well as earn experience points in both. A sprint button has been added, making ducking for cover easier, with the rate of speed and duration of the sprint being based on the amount of armor the player has equipped.
Although strategy is required, battles can be intense.Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 keeps its gameplay very similar to the original Vegas. Campaign has been slightly eased down in difficulty, but your objectives will be the similar to what has been seen in Rainbow Six games for years (rescuing hostages, disarming bombs, etc.). A large difference though is that fact that very little of the game takes place in familiar Vegas environments like casinos and flashy streets.
Multiplayer adds several new modes like Team Leader and tweaks other mode settings heavily. Attack and Defend now only allows one respawn unlike the unlimited respawns available in the original Rainbow Six: Vegas' Attack and Defend, just to name one heavily changed mode. Co-op play has now been reduced to only two players and two AI companions (both controlled by the host player), but cutscenes and story segments can now be seen in co-op unlike the original Rainbow Six: Vegas. The player who joins in co-op takes the role of Knight, another member of Rainbow Six.
The only section of the game that features four player co-op is Terrorist Hunt mode. In this mode, the goal is to find and kill all terrorists in the area within unlimited time or a time limit. Terrorist Hunt can be played both offline and online. In offline mode, the player has the option to go lonewolf or have the two AI companions from the Story join you in the hunt. The maps used are the same maps that are in online multiplayer and haven't been changed or altered in anyway. Depending on the difficulty, you have a limited amount of respawns and must restart the entire map if you fail the mission.
Note: The snake cam is only available during Story mode, both solo and co-op.
Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 taking a page from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's book added a persistent rewards system, but unlike Call of Duty 4 all these unlocks and rankings are used in both single and multiplayer. Called the A.C.E.S. system, which stands for Advanced Combat Enhancement Specialization, it gives you three categories to earn points in: Marksman, Close Quarters, and Assault. Points are earned by doing certain actions that would correspond with a certain play style. For example, pulling off a long-range headshot would net you a marksman point. Gaining points will level the player up in a certain category which will then either unlock a weapon or give an experience bonus. Rewards are staggered in that alternate unlocks of a weapon or gaining XP for every A.C.E.S. level players advance.
Assault
Gaining assault points usually relates somehow to using a very aggressive tactics, without worrying about stealthy tactics.
Gain assault points by
- Killing an enemy that is behind cover ( 3 assault points)
- Kill an enemy using C4 ( 3 assault points)
- Kill an enemy that is manning a turret ( 2 assault points)
- Kill an enemy using explosives besides C4 ( 2 assault points)
- Kill an enemy who is using a riot shield ( 2 assault points)
Close Quarter Battle (CQB)
As the name suggests, Close Quarter Battle rewards players for getting up close and personal with terrorists.
Gain CQB points by
- Killing an enemy using blind fire ( 3 Close Quarters points)
- Killing an enemy that is blinded by a flashbang or tear gas grenade ( 3 Close Quarters points)
- Kill an enemy from behind ( 3 Close Quarters points)
- Kill an enemy at close range ( 3 Close Quarters points)
Marksmanship
Marksmanship is all about pulling off either very difficult shots or very accurate shots.
Gain marksman points by
- Killing an enemy at long range ( 3 marksman points)
- Killing an enemy that is using a rope ( 3 marksman points)
- Killing an enemy that is in the act of sprinting ( 2 marksman points)
- Killing an enemy while you are rappelling ( 2 marksman points)
- Get a headshot ( 1 marksman point)
Vegas 2 also featured a regular ranking system that allows players to unlock either new clothing, armor, and camouflage patterns for their character. There are 21 ranks that originally shipped with the game, from private second-class to elite, but many more ranks were added in the Gift Pack DLC.
DLC
In July, 2008, Ubisoft released a free DLC pack, which they named the Gift Pack. In the pack there were three maps, new gameplay settings, many issues were patched, and new ranks were added. The three new maps were Calypso Casino, CQB Training Dark, and Murdertown Dark. Calypso Casino was the most popular map from Rainbow Six Vegas because of its many pathways and three floors. The two other maps are variants on maps already in Vegas 2. The only change is that both maps are now pitch dark, so visibility is greatly reduced. This makes both maps great for Team Deathmatch and Team Leader games. Eighty new A.C.E.S. levels were also added, which brings the total levels up to 100. There are no extra unlocks for these new A.C.E.S. levels, but each level after 20 will give you 5000 experience points. New ranks were also added beyond the Elite, which gives the highest ranking players something new to work for. A mode called High Stakes was also added that makes the game harder.
When activated, High Stakes mode makes these changes
- No radar and enemies do not appear on the tactical map
- No grenade indicator
- Limited HUD
- Health regeneration is disabled
- Camera view is changed so that you must exposed yourself to look around cover
- Aim Assist is always disabled
- When not in cover or looking down your gun's scope/sights your bullet's accuracy will be decreased
- Less ammunition than normal at the start of the game
- Kill Cam is always disabled
- Friendly fire is always on
Things that were tweaked in a patch contained in the Gift Pack
- Incendiary grenades have a longer delay between throwing and exploding
- C4 explodes faster after pressing the detonator
- Sniper rifle damage is slightly increased at longer ranges
- Light Machine Guns now have better accuracy
- Rate of fire was adjusted for some SMGs, assault rifles, and shotguns
- The time it takes switching between normal view and looking down the scope/iron sights is reduced
Weapons
Sub-Machine Guns
Light Machine Guns
Assault Rifles
Sniper Rifles
Shotguns
Pistols
Armor
Customize me please!Players can customize their character with several types of armor. Each piece of armor has two ratings: Mobility (how fast you can move while wearing it) and Protection (its ability to reduce bullet's damage). Usually the best balance can be found by wearing the medium levels of armor that gave you average mobility and average protection. To increase mobility players may sacrifice a piece of armor on any part of their body, and arms and legs can be outfitted with armor individually or as a pair.
- Falcon Assault Vest
- Vulture Combat Vest
- Raven Recon Vest
- Goliath Assault Vest
- Titan Combat Vest
- Colossus Recon Vest
- Anaconda Assault Vest
Levels
Pic Des Pyrenees
- Act 1 - Scene 1: Negotiations
- Act 1 - Scene 2: Ambush
Old Vegas
- Act 2 - Scene 1: Rooftops
- Act 2 - Scene 2: Nightclub
- Act 2 - Scene 3: Garage
- Act 2 - Scene 4: Sweatshops
Rec Center
- Act 3 - Scene 1: Gymnasium
- Act 3 - Scene 2: Arena
- Act 3 - Scene 3: Library
- Act 3 - Scene 4: Chase
Convention
- Act 4 - Scene 1: South Hall
- Act 4 - Scene 2: Exhibition
- Act 4 - Scene 3: North Hall
- Act 4 - Scene 4: Monorail
Theater
- Act 5 - Scene 1: Penthouse
- Act 5 - Scene 2: Casino
- Act 5 - Scene 3: Center Stage
- Act 5 - Scene 4: Extraction
Nevada Desert
- Act 6 - Scene 1: Drop Off
- Act 6 - Scene 2: Furnaces
- Act 6 - Scene 3: Refinery
- Act 6 - Scene 4: Airstrip
Estate
- Act 7 - Scene 1: Compound
- Act 7 - Scene 2: Hacienda
- Act 7 - Scene 3: Showdown
PC System Requirements
As displayed on the back cover of the box
Minimum Requirements
- Operating System: Windows Vista / Windows XP (only).
- CPU (Processor): Pentium 4 3GHz or AMD Athlon 3000.
- RAM: 1GB
- GPU (Video Card): 128MB latest DirectX compliant, Shader 3.0 enabled video card.
- Sound Card: Latest direct X compliant sound card.
- DirectX Version: Latest DirectX 9.0c (included on disc).
- DVD-ROM: 4x DVD-ROM.
- HDD (Hard Disc) space: 7GB free space
Recommended Requirements
- CPU (Processor): Pentium 4 3.5GHz or AMD Athlon 3500.
- RAM: 1GB
- GPU (Video Card): 256MB latest DirectX compliant, Shader 3.0 enabled video card.
Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:
- ATI Radeon X1600-1950 / HD 2000 series, HD 3000 series.
- Nvidia GeForce 6600-6800 / 7 / 8 series.
Xbox 360 Game Installation
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 requires 6.6GB of space to install on an Xbox 360 HDD.
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