Rainbow Six: Vegas Multiplayer Hands-on

[Æ N I M A 4 6 N 2]

Info source: IGN: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas Preview
Release Date: US: November 7, 2006

- When it comes to online multiplayer games, no tactical series has been better than the Rainbow Six franchise. Rainbow Six 3 and its semi-sequel follow-up, Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow, were two of the best strategic action titles to ever hit online systems, so when we first heard that the core team's first next-gen follow-up would hit this November for the Xbox 360, PC and launch of the PlayStation 3, we began planning our tactics immediately. Yeah, knowing anything about the maps might have helped quite a bit, but that didn't stop up from dreaming.

We got our first taste of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas just a couple weeks ago, appropriately in everyone's favorite city of sin, Las Vegas. We've already written about the excellent looking single-player portion from the event, which is certainly worth a read as it's not only very promising but many of its core elements tie directly into why the multiplayer looks so good. Everything about the game plays much more naturally than basically any first-person shooter we've seen in the past, and when it comes to playing bullet-centric chess matches in close-quarter areas, this is paramount to a true next-generation experience.

One of the most important mechanics in any Rainbow Six title is the ability to move a team into a heavy-fire situation, take cover and safely take out the enemy without putting yourself into the open. Rainbow Six: Vegas allows for this in a number of new ways thanks to its cover system. No longer do you need to stare directly at a wall and then lean to one side to fire off some covered shots. Instead, the game allows you to place your back against wall as it pulls the camera out to a third-person view by holding a cover button. While this method works somewhat mechanically in other games that have tried this, Rainbow Six: Vegas makes this much more dynamic in that the held button toggles your cover state, so simply releasing it puts you instantly back into the first-person view for movement.

Firing works extremely well also as pressing the fire button alone will have you take a few blind shots, useful for covering fire for a squad mate or forcing an enemy into hiding, but not so great for actually taking anyone out. However, pressing either to the side or above cover will have you pop up and let you fire off some precision rounds, making it very natural to look around or over cover without fumbling with the controls. The last bit of this that makes the cover system work so well is that you aren't stuck to one side -- you can aim and move freely in this state, allowing you to switch sides or cover placement with ease.

Along with this extremely quick and dynamic cover system, the way that Rainbow Six multiplayer flows will also be quickened by the inclusion of rappelling. You're able to drop down the sides of buildings and move slowly into position, crashing through a window to quickly overtake your enemies, or even quick rappel when inside to drop to a lower level almost instantly. Rappelling requires that you find specific rappelling points to use your rope, but it looks as if they'll be reasonably scattered around levels to allow for this.

For game types, Rainbow Six: Vegas will include a number of multiplayer modes, including six adversarial options. Some of these will be new to the series while others are classic types taken from previous games, including Raven Shield on the PC. While we aren't privy all of the modes that will be in the final game, we know it'll include Retrieval, Survival, Sharpshooter and the team variants for each. We're told that along with support for 16 players online, you'll also be able to play split-screen so that two people can go online on a single console.

One of the new modes in the game is entitled Attack and Defend. This is somewhat similar to the basic Counter-Strike setup in that the anti-terrorists will need to defuse a bomb, rescue hostages, extract an item or perform something similar. These objectives will be map-specific to make the best use of each level's layout.

Rainbow Six: Vegas will ship with 10 maps, all built specifically for multiplayer. Nine of the maps will be new, with the classic City Streets map returning from Rainbow Six 3. While the layout will remain identical to its original appearance, you will find rappelling points along the bases on either side, making for a quick escape from the top floor directly into the heat of the battle. This may not be the smartest move when the other team has set up shop at sniper points across the map, but it means you can get right into the open as soon as the round starts. As for other classic maps, Ubisoft has said that possible future downloadable content may bring other oldies but goodies to the game. Of course, nothing is official or promised on this front, but we can only hope for the Presidio and its suicide doors.

As for online co-op, the game will include the always-excellent Terrorist Hunt mode and span 23 maps. You can create a unique character for use here, which brings us to Ubisoft's Persistent Elite Creation 2.0.

While Rainbow Six: Lockdown introduced this concept, Rainbow Six: Vegas aims to perfect it. You'll be able to create a customized character for online play, unique look, uniform, weapons load-out and all. The facial system will actually work with the Xbox 360's Vision camera to map your face, and from what we've seen, it works great. Details on whether the PS3 or PC versions will offer similar functionality is up in the air, but it looks like this'll probably be a unique feature to the 360.

After you've picked your character's face, you're able to fully customize his or her uniform and gear. You can choose from multiple different types of camouflage and helmets, and outfit your character with an extremely wide variety of ammo packs, backpacks, protective shields and more. Luckily, these items won't affect your abilities during play as that would make things unfair, but you can customize your character to properly reflect your play style, which is very cool.

On top of this, you'll earn experience while playing online to unlock new items, gear and weapons. The new weapons and gadgets are specifically designed to not be better than the starter equipment, and are only there to give you more options. The team wants to make sure that everyone is always on a level playing field, regardless of how many times they've been online, while also rewarding players with more customization options for those who play all the time.

Everything about Rainbow Six: Vegas' multiplayer looks undoubtedly good aside from one questionable aspect: the health system. Like the single-player game, rather than using a health meter, your vision will reflect how much damage you've taken, but taking cover for a bit will bring you back to 100%. Our worry is that this could allow for an average player to much more easily take out another team on his own as they'll be able to recover after an encounter. Previously, if a Survival round came down to four-on-one, it was basically a lost cause. If the lone team member somehow mounted a comeback, it was an amazing thing. This time around, it'll be much more common, making each death on your team carry a little less weight. Our hope is that while it's not in there presently, the team will include a server option to go back to the "classic" health system. We're told that the server options allow for immense customizability, so adding one more option certainly sounds doable.

Aside from our slight worry about the health system, Rainbow Six: Vegas' multiplayer portion looks fantastic. It's even more dynamic and natural than it's ever been, and the fact that it carries next-gen visuals is only icing on the cake. The game is set to ship this November for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

"Need I say, I cant ****en wait!!!!!"
Image link : IGN: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas Screenshots, Wallpapers and Pics

[Quiz]

I hope its another sweet xbox live game like GRAW or BF2. Freakin sweet graphics.

[gps]

I'm expecting a lot from this game, I can't wait, the other RS games were among my favorites on the original Xbox Live.

[Æ N I M A 4 6 N 2]

Originally Posted by gps

I'm expecting a lot from this game, I can't wait, the other RS games were among my favorites on the original Xbox Live.

Yeah me too, Except ****down....what a sad day in Tom Clancy and Rainbow history.

[Spartan1127]

When will the demo be in Marketplace?

[bennyboo03]

I think its awesome to put your own face on your character

[RepublicnSlayer]

Originally Posted by bennyboo03

I think its awesome to put your own face on your character

It is, I put my face on my guy in the World Series of Poker game...it worked much better than I thought it would.

[spd9075]

I thought I saw the Vegas demo with the latest OXM today at WalMart...I wish it would hit Marketplace. I gotta try this game!

[Tightline11]

All I can say is WOW I played the demo on the 360 and the game looks great. Old style gameplay with way better graphics thats exacly what I wanted.

I hope they bring back the following maps, Garage, Presidio, ans warehouse the best map ever.

Well anyways just like the IGN guy said, I CANT ****in WAIT.