Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2

Overview

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 was released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 on March 18, 2008, and PC on April 15, 2008 and is developed by Ubisoft Montreal. The game is the second, and the last game in the Vegas series according to Ubisoft. Some of the most notable additions to the game are an option to sprint, bullet penetration, and a persistent rewards system.

Plot

The game starts in 2005, before the events of Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield. Playing as Bishop, you take part in a hostage situation during which Rainbow member Gabriel Nowak fires prematurely, resulting in the death of a hostage negotiator. This leads to a disgraced Gabriel Nowak being passed over for promotion. The game then jumps to 2010, where Bishop is now leading his squad against Miguel and Alvarez Cabreros, two human traffickers who have expanded into trafficking biological weapons, which leads to a larger plot to attack Las Vegas.

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 while be the same things that have 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's setting 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 only section of the game that features four player co-op is the Terrorist Hunt game mode. In this mode players move and kill attacking terrorists in a number of settings.

A.C.E.S. System

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 is taking a page from Call of Duty 4's book and added in 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 you up in a certain category which will then either unlock a weapon or give you an experience bonus. Rewards are staggered so that you will alternate unlocked a weapon or gaining XP for every A.C.E.S. level you advance.

Assault

Gaining assault points usually relates somehow to using a very aggressive tactics, without worrying about your stealth.

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 you 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 flashband 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 on 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 you to unlocked either new clothing, armor, and camouflage patterns for your 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

• MP5N
• MP9

• M11
• UP45M
• P90
• MP7A1
• SKORPION VZ83
• TYPE 05
• AUG PARA

Light Machine Guns

• MK46
• 21E
• MG36
• M249 SPW

Assault Rifles

• 552 COMMANDO
• G36C
• FAMAS
• SCAR-H CQC
• TAR21
• M468
• G3KA4
• AUG A3
• AKS-74U
• M8
• FNC
• L85A2
• AK-47

Sniper Rifles

• SR-25 SD
• SCOUT TACTICAL
• SV-98
• M40A1
• PSG1
• L96 ARCTIC WARFARE

Shotguns

• 870MCS
• SPAS 12
• XM-26 LSS
• 500 TACTICAL
• M3

Pistols

• P99
• USP40
• MK.23
• DESERT EAGLE
• 92FS
• G18
• RAGING BULL

Armor

Customize me please!

You can customize your character with several types of armor. Each piece of armor has two ratings. One for 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 you can sacrifice a piece of armor on any part of you body, and arms and legs can be outfitted with armor individually or as a pair. Its all up to the player.

• 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.