The intensity level of the firefights is off the charts. Sprinting to cover under fire to a slot machine only to watch it explode under gunfire while your squad leans out firing from cover of their own is an action packed sight that is more of the norm than the exception during the course of the game. At the same time the game often becomes a bit less tactical and a lot more Hollywood, such as a level late in the game where the squad leader is sent in alone against ridiculous odds while his squad stays behind for no realistic reason whatsoever. Thankfully much of the game stays away from instance like this and instead concentrates on the solid squad mechanics that helps make the game great.

Multiplayer is conceptually a great idea marred by netcode that makes spray and pray the name of the game more so than anything else. The game has a variety of modes to offer from simple deathmatch to modes like attack & defend and team control which forces players to work together to either assault or capture key areas on the map. The tactical gameplay lends itself well to multiplayer, and players who work together and cover each other are a force that tends to sweep through maps. At the same time the netcode is horrible whether your group size is small or large and tends to make player movement look visibly stuttered and makes lining up shots take a lot of guesswork. The multiplayer isn’t completely terrible, but it is noticeably sub-par and fails to achieve the level of tactical gameplay that it obviously sets out to achieve. (Editor’s note: Some players are experiencing no trouble at all with lag while others are finding it terribly hard to play, so your mileage may vary. – ed)

Another carryover from the original that the sequel doesn’t change much at all is the game engine, which is a heavily modified version of the popular Unreal 3 engine. The visuals remain impressive with much of the quality coming from the special effects caused by gunfire hitting the various objects and surfaces in the game. The level of detail from the visuals is matched equally well by the audio side, with key examples being the driven soundtrack and the muffled sound effects of gunfire heard from a couple rooms over. The engine itself may not have changed much from the original title, but it clearly still stands well enough on its own to deliver a level of immersion and detail that deserve nothing but praise.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 may be little more than an expansion to what the original title set forth, but that proves to be more of a boon than anything else as it delivers the same level of quality entertainment. The multiplayer is disappointing due to the sloppy netcode, making the game primarily a single player or co-op campaign experience (two players only this time, though.) However, the solid gameplay mechanics and control scheme backed by impressive visuals and audio make the campaign game shine and is one of the best tactical shooters in recent memory.