To rate sequels is always a bit difficult.  Sequel games have to stand on their own, yet since they have a proven platform with which they are built on, you have to be a bit tougher on them as well.   Otherwise, it is just a re-hash of the same game.  Does the same game deserve the same scores as the original?  Likely not.  Developers have to do something to differentiate the new from the old, without changing the winning formula too much.  This is a difficult task.

With Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, it is clear Ubisoft took the very successful first title, and tweaked it and tweaked it until they got it just right.  What you are left with is what the original could have been, if they only had enough time.  We had a lot of bones to pick with the previous title, as outlined in our wishlist for this game, and Ubisoft did address many of those issues.  The problem is they didn't do much else.  A more appropriate title for this game would be:  Rainbow Six: Vegas, Service Pack 2.  Let's find out why...

Summary:

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 kind of picks up where the last story left off.  You (the main character) are forming a new squad to go and combat terrorists who have been collecting in the now war-torn Las Vegas.  I didn't think the original RB6V story was that compelling, and this one is no exception, but hey, it is the gameplay that matters anyway, right?  Right.

Single Player and Co-Op: ★★★☆☆

The single player part of the Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (RB6V2) is largely the same as the last game.  This time, you pretty much start off in Vegas right away, so there isn't much prelude to the main action and meat of the storyline.  What is different this time around (outside of the blatant Cisco product placement) is that the game is kept moving forward at a more brisk pace.  You are fed mission details as you move along (as in the last game), however you are never stopped in your gameplay for too long.  Usually mission information and video/audio feeds are fed to your team when you are traversing longer hallways or paths, so it never feels like you have to stop and start too much to gain information for the next phase of the mission or story.  

Ubisoft did a good job with the way they drive the story line here.  It is more streamlined, delivered more efficiently, and it keeps the pacing of the game nice and quick.  There are still helicopter briefings, but there is nowhere near as much stopping and starting as there was with the last title.  Also the way the information is delivered seems more realistic.  Video and audio is presented to your helmet com system in a more realistic fashion.  You can tell Ubisoft spent a considerable amount of time polishing this aspect of the game.

Co-op seems to be a bit better this time around, with major story elements and briefings not disappearing on you like they did with the last title.  If the host drops off, it doesn't seamlessly switch to another, so pick somebody to host who is in it for the long haul.  Other than that, co-op is solid and largely unchanged.  Oh yeah that's right... it only supports 2 players for co-op this time instead of 4.  WTF, UBISOFT???

I'm afraid the AI isn't too much smarter this time around though.  If they "see" you they will put up a decent fight, hiding behind boxes and taking cover behind walls, but other than that not much has changed.  You can still occasionally sneak up on enemies from behind or the side with no consequence.  You can blast away without your silencers and throw grenades all day long, but nobody from the next room will come running to help out unless it is a scripted sequence, or if the enemies you are fighting manage to "radio" for help (at which point, another 2 enemies will come running in).  Sometimes enemies will crouch low to the ground to make for harder targets, and no longer fire at predictable intervals, so I suppose in some ways the AI has improved, but you still see them do stupid things every now and then.  Regardless, it feels good to kill bad guys in this game... Maybe even better than it did in the first Rainbow Six.

The single player experience definitely isn't bad.  Not by a long shot.  Ubisoft already had a winning formula, so they didn't mess with it.  But as a consequence, it also isn't much of a different experience than the first RB6V.  In fact, it feels like it is the same game.  Perhaps this is where a change of locale would have been a benefit?  Rainbow Six: Paris, anybody?

Overall Gameplay and Controls:  ★★★★☆

Ubisoft did do some good tweaking here.  Not only is the story more fast paced, but the gameplay is a bit as well.  The game as a whole feels like it is running smoother and a bit faster than it's predecessor.  This is in no doubt helped by the new sprint button, which allows you to run faster for brief periods of time to move down longer hallways quicker, or from cover to cover, etc.  It is a blatant copy of Call of Duty 4's sprint functionality (not being able to shoot while running, etc.), but it is a welcome addition.  It helps to make things a bit more realistic, and now you actually might be able to get away from a grenade, or run and hide if you are in a pinch.  This was an impossibility in the original RB6 Vegas.  Now don't get me wrong, the game pace still isn't anywhere near Halo 3 or COD4, but it is slightly faster than its predecessor, and that is a good thing.

The new sprint button (which is by default the left shoulder button) is carried over into multiplayer.  If you recall from the previous Rainbow Six: Vegas, the left shoulder button was previously not in use for multiplayer.  This was a major annoyance because that game could have used that button for a variety of tasks, such as switching grenade types, etc.  Thankfully this button is now in use, and it is for a worthwhile (and new) feature.  You still can't change grenade types as quickly as you'd like, but having a sprint button is a worthy compromise.

Some of the other buttons in the default control scheme pull double duty depending on how long you hold them, but nothing is vastly different from the previous title.  This is a good thing, as the controls are tight, precise, and as good as any previous Rainbow title.

Animations are much smoother and a tad more realistic in Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 than they were in the first iteration.  You and your team will rappel down lines smoother, and swinging in through the window no longer feels like a slow-motion herky-jerky gimmick.  It actually feels good to turn upside down on the rappel line now.  Overall things just look and feel a bit more fluid, which is always a good thing.  Your teammates will even start and stop from a sprint in a more realistic fashion.  There is a bit less fudging-about of your teammates as well, as the path-finding algorithms the game uses (and collision detection) seem to have been improved, all of which contribute to the fluidity of the game.

A lot of previous animations useful to gameplay have been sped up as well.  Remember how much of a sitting duck you were when you first rappelled into a room or breached in through a window, and had to wait until you got your gun out again?  Thankfully that happens much faster now, so fast-roping onto a lower level can actually be used as a tactical advantage to surprise your enemy effectively, rather than just having them kill you as you sit there pulling your gun out in slow motion.  Also, when you post-up next to a window, your character will break the glass with his elbow or gun much faster and more realistically than before.

Controlling and communicating with your team is better as well.  You use the D-pad to control your AI teammates, and once you get used to it, it feels a lot easier and more streamlined when issuing commands, especially when it comes to breaching and clearing, etc.  Take your time to get used to the new H.U.D. and D-pad commands.  It is better but might take some getting used to, especially if you were hooked on the old way of doing things.  Thankfully you can still use your headset to control your AI teammates as well (if you like looking like a dork, talking to yourself).  This feature seems to work even better than before, with the voice recognition working faster than I remember, and spot-on accurate.  As soon as you say the command, your team moves.  I'd say it's even faster than using the D-pad.

As far as combat, there are a couple new additions and tweaks here as well.  Gun recoil has been tuned a bit, and if anything, feels more realistic.  You can now shoot through certain materials, such as plywood, etc.  Your enemy will take advantage of this as well, so beware.  One change that is bound to be more controversial is the grenade tossing.  No longer can your character throw a grenade 100 yards.  It looks like the max is about 50 yards or so, no matter what angle you put on it.  In gameplay, I felt that the grenade tosses were a little too short.  I have a feeling they may wind up tweaking this further in a future patch.  Incendiary grenades no longer slide on the ground as much as they used to, so that will take some time to adjust to.

Also, another notable is that the load times for levels has decreased.  Albeit I have yet to come across a level that has the same scale or magnitude as some of the maps in the previous Rainbow Six, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing either.  A lot of those larger maps were just too huge, and slowed down gameplay.

All in all, you can tell Ubisoft continually made little tweaks here and there that all added up to what is a significant amount of polish.  Nothing too new or groundbreaking, just better (at least for the most part... we'll see how the grenade situation holds up).

Multiplayer: ★★★☆☆

This was a tough one for me.  On the one hand, multiplayer has improved greatly in certain spots.  On the other hand, it looks like it has taken a step backward in a couple of areas.  Read on to see what I mean.

The biggest positive change is that there is more complete stat and progression tracking for your multiplayer character.  You can clearly see how well you are progressing toward unlocks, and there are more stats to view in general.  For example, you can view your shooting accuracy, etc.  It's not nearly as complete as Halo 3, but it is enough, and it works well.  You also have certain categories of progression that build up as you go along.  For example, the more grenade kills you get, the more you progress in the grenade category.  It is reminiscent of Call of Duty 4's stat and progress tracking, and it is a good thing that keeps you motivated to complete certain goals.

The multiplayer menus have also improved.  They've re-organized them, and made the game and search options more clear.  Generally, everything is easier to navigate and use.  There are a couple of huge flaws however.  If the host quits, it won't seamlessly change to another.  The room shuts down, and everybody gets kicked out.  Even more sadly, there is no party system, so you are still going to face problems traveling from server to server with your friends.  RB6V2 also lacks a seamless loading system for maps and game modes, so everyone will be temporarily disconnected from chat and forced to sit on a loading screen for a bit if the host changes any of those options.

I'm sorry but Ubisoft really screwed up on these last two items.  The original Rainbow Six: Vegas was a multiplayer classic.  As such, RB6V2 should have picked up where the last one left off, and yet at the same time, brought it into the modern age.  Ubisoft didn't do this.  They kept the same basic lobby system, made it slightly better, and left it at that.  No seamless transitions between game types.  No party system to keep your friends together.  Interrupting load screens galore.  I guess Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 have spoiled me?  Whatever the reason, RB6V2 already feels dated in this arena.  Want to go from playing team deathmatch, to terrorist hunt?  Be prepared for interruptions, extra navigation, and load screens.  Oh, and get ready to send all those invites again as you wait for your buddies to join.  There just aren't enough positive changes here to push the Rainbow Six series into the modern age of multiplayer gaming.

The lobby system does address one gripe that we've mentioned before here at TrustyGamer, specifically, it now tries to keep players on the same team as you change game and map modes.  In the past, as soon as the host changed the map, the teams would get all screwed up.  This is no longer the case, which is great, as it helps you and your buddies stick together (as long as you stay on the same server, anyway).  But this is simply not enough these days.  A party system is a requirement, if you ask me.

As far as multiplayer gameplay, not much has changed.  There are some new maps, and some slightly tweaked renditions of old ones (the Kill House is back, for example).  What surprised me is the lack of variety on the game modes.  I though Ubisoft would go for the gusto and bring us something new.  In reality, they brought us tweaked versions of the same old game modes that were introduced with the map packs for the original Rainbow Six: Vegas.  You have Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, a variation of VIP and Control (where your team attempts to maintain control the 3 different satellite points), plus Attack and Defend.

Attack and Defend has seen the most changes, and one change in particular seems annoying.  Ubisoft has eliminated the unlimited respawn option for this game mode.  You can set it on no respawn, or one, two, or three respawns, but that is it.  So at the most, you have 3 respawns per person for this game mode.  I suppose Ubisoft did this to keep the games from dragging out and to give the defenders better odds, or maybe to add some weight and caution to how people played, but something about this annoys me.  Why not leave the option in for unlimited respawns?  Why is Ubisoft forcing me to play Attack and Defend their way?  Some of the best times to be had in the original Rainbow Six: Vegas was playing A&D at the Calypso Casino, and having an endless supply of enemies to destroy as you desperately tried to defend the package until time ran out.  Well, no longer will A&D be played like this, I guess.  Time will tell if gamers will love or hate it, but one thing ALL gamers hate is a lack of options.

Ubisoft did come through and add a couple more levels of Attack and Defend that feature the briefcase, so this is good.  They also got rid of the worthless bomb disarming variant and instead stole the 'Plant the bomb' mode from Counter-Strike to use in its stead.  The attackers grab a bomb, and plant it in one of two areas.  The defenders have to find the bomb and disarm it (or keep it from being armed in the first place) before it blows up.  This mode is much funner than the previous bomb mode for A&D.  Kudos to the creators of Counter-Strike for thinking it up.

Another positive is that the disparagement between the graphical quality of multiplayer vs. single player is a lot less.  The graphics do take a slight hit in multiplayer, but not half as bad as it was with the previous title.

Lag seems to be a bit less as well, but there aren't that many players online yet to give it a decent run.  Things did run smooth enough that I wouldn't anticipate lag being too much of an issue though, so that is another plus.

Besides the few changes mentioned here, in addition to the menu improvements and a few game search enhancements, multiplayer remains largely the same.  If you played the previous Rainbow Six: Vegas to death, you might not get much mileage out of this iteration of the game.  Hopefully Ubisoft expands on what they've built here, but as I see it, there just isn't enough.

It's not bad, but after 2 years, I expected more.  Especially since they haven't changed the game engine, graphics, or sound much.

Graphics:  ★★★☆☆

As I said, not too much has changed in this department, and as such was a disappointment.  The player models do look better (both your own and the enemy), and some of the special effects have gotten better, such as the way heat-vision and night-vision look.  Also, when you get shot or die, the blurry and darkening effects and color of the screen look a bit cooler.  But other than that, the actual environment detail and textures remain largely the same.  Some levels look nicer than others, and the re-hashed levels from the previous game look better than their predecessors, however I really expected more here.

After 2 years, the game should have looked better all around, yet in some cases, I think the graphics actually took a step backward.  Flying the helicopter over Vegas during the daytime exemplifies this.  It looks like PS2 graphics in some parts (look at the tiny block cars driving on the street, for example).

You can still map your face to your character, and this not only works faster, but looks better as well.  So that is a definite improvement that a majority of people probably won't use.

Sound/Soundtrack:  ★★★★★

Sound was always a strong point for Rainbow titles, and Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 is no exception.  Many sounds haven't changed at all, and you'll recognize 90% of them.  They have added a few new sounds though (such as a new grenade bounce for certain surfaces), and the sound immersion is as beautiful as ever.  It has the same great sound effects for the gun-firing and bullets slamming into and through all sorts of objects, etc., but this is one area where I don't mind the lack of change.  Crank up the surround sound and enjoy!

The soundtrack has also been revamped, and the quality is definitely up to snuff.  Very patriotic sounding orchestral bits, and the music always matches the action.  Well done.

Overall: ★★★☆☆

In the end, I was disappointed with Rainbow Six: Vegas 2.  You wouldn't think I'd be, since Ubisoft pretty much addressed every gripe we had in our wishlist, but I was expecting more.  Addressing the wishlist was the bear minimum to not have the game suck balls.  Doing the minimum will get you the C, but it rarely gets you the A+.

To really hit a home run, Ubisoft should have upped the graphics, added more game modes, and created a party system for multiplayer.  They did a lot of things right, like re-vamping the scoring system, player experience points, progression, and unlocks, yet they failed to make the core gameplay more attractive.  It's the equivalent of adding a new and wonderful supporting cast to a remake of the same old movie, starring the same old star.  It may be better, and surely it will be worth watching, but it won't be nearly as groundbreaking as the original classic.

So in conclusion, if you've never played the first Rainbow Six: Vegas, then by all means, go out and buy this one.  Enjoy it and never look back.  But if you are a die hard veteran of the original, this game is most likely worth it, but don't get your hopes up.