Title: Rainbow Six: Vegas Platforms: Xbox 360, PC, PS3, PSP ESRB: M

Tom Clancy delivers another counter-terrorist based first person tactical shooter with "Rainbow Six: Vegas". As the title implies, the setting takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada which proves to be a great choice as you can enjoy flying over the hypnotizing over-sized night lights of Vegas while being debriefed for your next mission in a helicopter. Combine this with the Unreal Engine 3 which makes for extremely realistic breaking glass, sparks, and explosions plus fast paced multiplayer and you get one heck of a game. The game is very realistic. They reload realistically, each gun has accurate status, the physics are accurate, and the artificial intelligence of the enemies are as smart as some people I know in real life. Plus, you can't leave out the innovative cover system. You pull the left trigger button when near a wall, and you slam your back against the newly-made cover. From there you can blind fire, which is inaccurately shooting without looking, or quickly shoot your gun or lob a grenade for a few seconds and fall back into cover.

The story mode seems to be repetitive at first (terrorists attack, you kill them all), but I was surprised to find many plot twists. In single player, you have a squad of two other men to command. Commands range from regrouping to opening a door, throwing in a flash grenade therefore blinding the terrorists, shooting them down, clearing every corner of the room, and then waiting for your next request. The single player is fairly lengthy but certainly isn't the best part of the game.

The bulk of the game is multiplayer, which is the mode that has carried each Rainbow Six game in the past to success. There are several game modes and varied maps that keep the multiplayer interesting. One game mode is the capture the flag-like "Attack and Defend", in which the defending team must prevent the attacking team from stealing "the package" at one base and then returning with it back to their own base. There is so much strategy and teamwork involved that the matches play out like a team-oriented game of chess. If you aren't thinking on your feet and your team isn't coordinated, you are almost guaranteed to result in failure. There are a lot of intense fire-fights that force you to think fast or die. If you like any kind of tactical or realistic shooter, this game is without a doubt for you.

Score:

9/10