Down and dirty in Vegas
Having been a huge fan of the Rainbow 6 games on Xbox since the series began, playing in gaming ladders on the internet and even participating in the Rainbow 6 World cup as part of our clan, Alpha Siege UK, there was no way I was going to miss the opportunity to attend a day that was focused on the multiplayer aspect of Ubisoft’s latest addition to the franchise, Rainbow 6: Vegas.
Whether I was camping behind one of the crates on the airfield of the ‘Airport’ map in Rainbow 6: 3, shuffling nervously from side to side ready for an enemy to foolishly step out into the open or grabbing the cannister and running that extremely short distance on ‘Ferry Boat’ in Rainbow 6: Black Arrow to bring the canister back to safety, both Rainbow 6: 3 and Rainbow 6: Black Arrow were superb team based games in which I spent many an hour mulling over tactics and replaying in-game scenarios in my head before drifting off to sleep.
Click for larger imageThe earlier Rainbow 6 games were enthralling and any foolish actions affected your other team-mates in multiplayer matches; making suicide runs down the staircase and out into the streets of the ‘Old City’ armed with a machine gun in order to surprise the opposition at their spawn point was considered a big ‘no-no’ amongst my other team members (but there was always one, eh?). Our clan used to draw maps with positions of where we would take up our positions and load them up the website so we all became familiar with them; it even got to a point where we played the games so much together that we would know instinctively what each other would do in a certain situation. It was this team work and sense of achievement in beating other teams with superior strategical thinking that made Rainbow 6:3 and Rainbow 6: Black Arrow such great multiplayer games. No matter how good you thought your tactics were there was always something new to learn in these games, another point on the map that you'd discover, whether it be under the stairs in Presidio or crouching under the truck in Warehouse, or another tactic that you'd find and stick to religiously, day in day out, until the next great tactic came along. (I remember all you people who used to throw grenades into the office on 'Warehouse' from below in the hope that you'd catch someone dashing down the stairs from their spawn, and it would work more often than not.)
Click for larger imageLockdown strayed far too much from the tactical shooter that I had grown to love. I didn’t want to play an arcade shooter and lost total interest in the franchise. When Rainbow 6: Vegas was announced I was hoping that they’d taken fan’s feedback on board and go back to the combination that had once made me so enthusiastic and embroiled in its deep tactical gameplay. From what I’ve seen the so far, Rainbow 6: Vegas is back on track with the multiplayer side of things and I couldn’t be happier. Don't get me wrong, Rainbow 6: Vegas has its faults and won't bring back those great days we had on Rainbow 6: 3 and Black Arrow. Gameplay mechanics have moved on and graphics have improved, but the core elements have made a return and anyone who enjoys working with a team online or who is fan of the early Rainbow games will be delighted at the results.