XBOX 360 Review: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas Multiplayer

"Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas" isn't a revolutionary game by any means, but it brings plenty of excitement to the table. Many XBOX 360 players already have XBOX live accounts, but an online account is pretty worthless if you don’t have a fun online multiplayer games. Not only does "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas" have the single player campaign option, but its multiplayer campaigns are absolutely amazing.

Multiplayer is not always about eliminating the other online players. It can be a lot of fun to team up with a few friends and play the game cooperatively. In co-op mode, you and 3 others can group up and take on the single player campaign together. Of course, if you have already beaten the game 14 then this probably is not be the best option. But if you have never completed the campaign on realistic mode then teaming up with several of your friends can be lots of fun.

When you are in co-op mode, no longer will you have to give orders to a computer generated teammate … now you will have a real living human player by your virtual side. Communication with your team won't be an issue, but it is wise to plan out your mission before you begin. During the mission, chatting with your friends by use of an XBOX 360 headset definitely adds more fun and excitement to the game.

While some players prefer the co-op option, many other prefer to get into the battle with other online players. An online match can support as many 16 players, which will usually lead to a very impressive firefight. You also have several different maps to choose ranging from huge casinos to small hotels.

Online game play has several different types of matches such as your classic team frag matches and "retrieval". Each match will have basically the same guidelines, as well as different overall objectives. The basic guideline is "If you see the enemy, then kill'em!" Of course, that guideline usually applies to every FPS, but it never hurts to be reminded.

A nice new addition to "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas" is the new "wall hugging" feature that allows you to quickly take cover behind objects such as walls, boxes, or slot machines while still firing back at your enemies. These duck and cover tactics create an intense feeling because if you aren't behind cover, then you are just begging to be shot. Taking cover behind slot machines, throwing grenades, and rappelling down the side of a building is loads of fun.

Another new is called Persistent Elite Creation. P.E.C. allows gamers to continually use their own unique character and customize their character however they want to. There are some guidelines to this but there are plenty of options for players. During the game players are awarded for different things such as playing time, enemy kills, won matches, etc. As you advance through the game you will be rewarded with a higher rank.

Your rank is not just a worthless title either as it gives you access to better gear and weaponry. Having better body armor is one of the highlights of increasing your rank, as it can greatly increase your protection against enemy fire. On the negative side though most body armor will slow down your speed.

Of course, if you are more of a "Stand and Fight" type of soldier then heavier body armor will be perfect for you. Your weapon choices can also be customized to match your every need. As an example, you can alternate between having a laser sight or a rifle scope and see which one suits you more during the heat of combat. Gamers also have a wide range of clothing that they can choose from as well.

A really cool feature of the P.E.C. system is that you can actually take a picture of your actual real life face and map it to your XBOX character’s body. You can do this by using the Xbox Live Vision camera. It is pretty neat to see your face on your character!

"Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas" seems to be a winner … especially the multiplayer part of the game. If you have doubts about the online capabilities then you should check it out firsthand. The XBOX live marketplace has an online multiplayer demo that you can download and play for free. What are waiting on? Go try it now! Click Here For More Articles About: Video Games!