Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas

Oh wow, another generic shootan gaem.

That first sentence, that's really all you need to know. But, in the interests of fairness (Or, more accurately, slightly less bias, and a dash of clarity) I suppose I can lower myself to discuss this game in the open and shameless manner in which you might discuss, say, the experience of contracting and living with a venereal disease.

If you've ever played any of the modern Clancy FPSes - and by that I mean the ones without the awesome and complex mission planning sections - you know exactly what to expect. You're, like, shooting terrorists, or something, whatever, partly in Las Vegas, and partly in the third world, Mexico or something, who cares. Doesn't make a difference, at all. The backgrounds aren't even fun to look at. Fucking pointless.

Here's something else that doesn't make a difference: Your teammates. I mean, they can hold their own, to an extent, and you can make use of them, but at the same time, they're not exactly needed. There's even a section of the game that you solo through. The best use for squad members that I found, was sending them through triggers after positioning myself in a vantage point, then quickly recalling them once the scripted enemies had appeared, making the game insanely easy and boring.

By the way, sending your squad members to the point you're aiming at, and recalling them, are just about the only things you can do with them, besides the usual 'go silent/loud' and 'assault/recon.' If those terms need explaining, you'll probably love this game, because you've obviously never played any 'tactical' FPS before.

That's a massive let-down, by the way, scripting and obvious trigger points. I hate how everything's heavily scripted. It's not like Half-Life 1&2, where you can forgive the insane amount of scripting because it does, in many cases, actually add to the dramatic effect. Nothing anywhere near as generous could be said about Vegas. There is practically zero plot or character development, and the few attempts at both are shallow, clumsy, and predictable. I don't care about plot or characters in games, but when these things are done badly, and then thrown in my face, it pisses me off.

What do I care about, then? How the game plays. As I've already mentioned, the game quickly degenerates into a boring shooting range type of game. I mean, really, there's zero challenge, and zero enjoyment. This feels like a game made by idiots, for idiots, and I marvel at the fact that both groups of idiots haven't wised up yet. Maybe next generation... Ah, f*ck it, that's not going to happen. Go play SWAT3.

Seriously.

1 star(s) out of 5

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