rainbowsixvegas
Latest
PA ditches GOW for Vegas, will you?
In their latest update, Penny Arcade informs the world that they have switched from Gears of War to Rainbow Six Vegas as their game of choice -- though Tycho admits he was against the idea. The reasons for the switch are about what you would expect: Vegas is what some would call more "hardcore." Kills are near instantaneous, weapon choices are numerous, player counts are higher, the cover system is (arguably) more flexible than Gears, and Vegas has a robust persistent online structure. I had a feeling after playing the Vegas multiplayer demo that it might become the hardcore game of choice, much like Rainbow Six 3 was on the original Xbox. However, just because it's more hardcore does not mean that it will be more popular. If that were the case, Halo 2 would have been knocked from the Live top spot long ago. Will Vegas topple the new Gears behemoth? Well, no. No it won't. There are many reasons for this, but the main reason is that Vegas simply isn't as accessible as Gears. Even if pressing "A" can have undesired results in Gears -- diving from cover instead of rolling around the edge for instance -- it's still a more friendly setup for the masses (compared to Vegas' use of the left trigger). Also, the weapons of Vegas can be daunting to the uninitiated, as the advantages of one machine gun over another may elude the average gamer. And of course, there is the quibble that Vegas looks nowhere near as good as Gears, despite the fact that they run on the same engine. It seems minor, but graphics alone were enough to turn many of our readers off of the demo, despite how fun it is to play. What are your thoughts? Will the hardcore, fast tactics of Vegas lure you in, or do you prefer the polished, simpler destruction of Gears?
Shipping this week: Super Vegas edition
Another week, at least one more major title for Xbox 360. This week it's Rainbow Six Vegas, the long awaited shooter from the Tom Clancy loving folks at Ubisoft. Of course, there are arguably two big games this week, depending on your feelings towards a certain Man of Steel. We're a little confused about College Hoops 2K7, considering there was downloadable content available for it two weeks ago. Weird. Finally, we have Cabela's African Safari. Does anyone out there play these hunting games? We're curious if they're actually better than their Xbox 1 predecessors. Are they any fun, or is it just for the Gamerscore? Cabela's African Safari College Hoops 2K7 Superman Returns: The Videogame Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
Rainbow Six: Vegas multiplayer impressions
We just spent the last hour playing the Rainbow Six: Vegas multiplayer demo, and so far it's pretty damned good. First of all, the character creation and outfitting is surprisingly robust for a demo. There are plenty of faces available -- sorry, no Vision support in the demo -- lots of facial hair options, as well as a few different camouflage options. The amount of weapons and armor is very impressive for a demo. There are multiple types of rifles, machine guns, pistols, grenades, and plenty of armor and clothing choices for the whole body. What's more, there are even some gadgets and custom weapon attachments, too. Finally, the game lets you add a three character prefix to your Gamertag. This is great for those who haven't appended Clan prefixes to their tags (or those who don't want to). Unfortunately, none of these options are saved when you quit the demo, so you may not want to get too attached to your avatar.
Vegas multiplayer demo infiltrates Live [update 1]
There's nothing quite like a nice Friday demo. For those of you who can't get enough of the Rainbow Six: Vegas demo, you're in luck, because a multiplayer demo just dropped on Live Marketplace. According to the description, there are tons of modes available, including Adversarial, Attack & Defend, and Terro Hunt. Terro Hunt, 4 player co-op game in which your team slaughters hordes of terrorists, sounds particularly fun. We haven't finished the download yet (almost a gig), so we don't know if character creation -- or face mapping -- is available. We'll update you with our impressions as soon as possible.Update: It looks like this demo is only available for Gold members. Silver members can get this on November 24th. Still, considering it's online multiplayer, how would Silver members play it anyway?[Thanks, Chris Hipple]
Bet on it, Rainbow Six Vegas delayed [update 1]
You'll have an extra week to exercise your slot machine arm and practice your craps throwing wrist action, because today Ubisoft announced that Rainbow Six Vegas would ship in December. Rainbow Six Vegas was originally announced to ship on November 24th, but according to their updated list of release dates it has been delayed to release one week later. I guess it's just one week, nothing to big. But I have a feeling that Ubisoft has something against November and Thanksgiving. Ubisoft hates turkeys and that's not a fact.Update: I forgot to mention this delay affects only Europe. My bad.
Live from downtown, it's R6 Vegas (video)
Ubisoft has released a video showcasing the downtown sections of Rainbow Six: Vegas. Those of you who've played the demo will be pleased to see that the downtown sections are a little more varied than the environments in the demo. The video shows off some of the colorful casinos, neon lights blazing. The video also demonstrates the ability to set target priorities for your teammates -- in other words, which terrorists to take out first -- which is a great feature. Head on over to Xboxyde to check it out. If the tiny streaming video doesn't do it for you, we'd suggest downloading the HD version and streaming it to your 360.Seriously, we've said it before, but this Christmas is going to be hard on a fanboy's wallet.
Vegas finally makes it to the US
Rainbow Six: Vegas, a game based around one of the United States' most famous cities, has ironically been everywhere except the US. The demo has been live in both the UK and Japan for some time now, leaving many American players lost, not knowing what to do. If this sounds like you, rejoice, because the demo has finally hit these golden shores. Clocking in at over 470 Megs, the demo is available in Marketplace right now. So, if you're American and you haven't already created a digital, British speaking doppelganger of yourself, go grab the demo and kill some terrorists. Oh, and save the innocent, or something.
Rainbow Six: Vegas demo video
For our American readers who have to wait for the Rainbow Six: Vegas demo -- or those that won't use this trick -- we have something that will cure what ails you. Xboxyde has posted a video of the first 10 minutes of gameplay from the demo. There's rapelling, thermal vision, and plenty of terrorist killing. In other words, the game looks like a lot of fun. Check out the video here, or a high resolution version here. Here's a crazy question, is anyone getting Rainbow Six instead of Gears of War?
R6 Vegas multiplayer video, rappelling!
The holiday season that will make beggars of us all is rapidly approaching. Developers know this and are continuing to whet our appetites and grease our wallet hinges with new media. Today's media in question, a multiplayer video of Rainbow Six: Vegas. In short, the video is sick (you know, the good kind of sick that hip, young people are always talking about). The video showcases plenty of gunfire, grenades, and lots of great features. In particular, we love the rappelling and the riot shield. There's really so much going on that it's hard to encapsulate it all here. You'd better just go ahead and watch the video. See it after the break.
Be Called to Duty on Nov. 10th
Call of Duty fans mark your calendars, Call of Duty 3 has been dated. CVG lists the 360 version for November 10th, well before any other version (the PS3 version is set for March 07). Curiously absent from Activision's announcement is the date for the Xbox version. CVG speculates that this could mean the Xbox version has been canceled. It seems doubtful, but COD2 is the 360's first million seller. Maybe Activision and Mircrosoft are hoping COD3 will drive sales of the 360. Regardless, 360 owners will be the first to play. We can't help but note that it's going to be impossible to sample all the 360 goodness this holiday. Gears of War, Phantasy Star, Splinter Cell, Viva Piñata, R6 Vegas, the list just keeps going. Who's planning on squeezing Call of Duty 3 in there?[Via Evil Avatar]
Rainbox Six character creation video
Xboxyde scored a video about the Rainbow Six Vegas character creation system. Called P.E.C. (Persistent Elite Creation), it offers many, many choices for the discerning gamer -- over 5 million if you believe the devs. Everything is customizable on your character, right down to the weapons. It's not all for show either. For example, heavier armor will slow you down, and weapon upgrades like laser sights will help you play. Another feature explained in the video: Live Vision support! Map your face onto your avatar and your buddies will always know who killed 'em. Anybody excited yet?
Suspiciously beautiful Rainbow Six screenshots
Ruriweb has discovered some supernaturally beautiful screenshots of the PSP version of Rainbow Six. Certainly, the game doesn't match the visual intensity of its Xbox 360 brethren, but it does a fine job visually nonetheless. Everything seems a bit too stellar: the character models, the lighting and the textures. Hopefully, such beauty doesn't come at the expense of framerate or loading times. We'll certainly find out more info before the game sneaks into store shelves in October. Until then, check out more pics after the cut.[Via PSP-Vault]
Tons of new X06 Marketplace content
Following today's press briefing, there is now a boatload of new trailers on Marketplace. They are, in no particular order:Assassin's CreedBlue DragonLost OdysseyHalo WarsViva PiñataCall of Duty 3Marvel UniverseBanjo-KazooiePGR4Splinter Cell: Double AgentBioshockFIFA 07All this and a bag of DOOM. We have to wonder, though: what the hell will we get next? They've got two more days to fill after all. Any predictions?
Rainbow Six shots continue to impress
Game Infowire has posted 51(!) new shots of Rainbow Six: Vegas. Most of our readers already know this, but R6: Vegas is insanely detailed. Seriously, Ubisoft must have hired an obsessive compulsive crazy person to get all this detail in there. Right down to the fabric of the uniforms, everything is gorgeously textured. It reminds us why Ubisoft is the "not evil" EA. We suggest you click your way through all of these screens from start to finish -- it always goes down smooth. With games like R6: Vegas in tow, this holiday season is looking to be damned expensive for 360 owners.[Via OpenXBOX360]
Vegas comes to PSP
The Xbox 360 Fanboys have been having a lot of fun talking about their beloved Rainbow Six: Vegas ever since E3 this year. Well, it looks like we join in on the party. While the game certainly won't look as graphically marvelous as the Xbox 360 version, the portable version seems to be filled with features that'll (hopefully) make it worthwhile. The PSP version will get its own parallel story, and will feature single and multiplayer (Infrastructure!) gameplay. The PSP version will also have a "Terrorist Hunt" mode which is a Duck Hunt modification mode where players start at different points in a single player map and kill terrorists one-by-one.The game will stealthily launch on the system in November. Crazy, huh?[Via IGN]
Rainbow Six: Vegas producer talks it up
Ubisoft released this video of Rainbow Six: Vegas producer, Alexandre Parizeau, discussing some of the features in the game. The tactical options -- rappelling through windows? Hell, yeah -- sound like lots of fun. Of particular interest is the game's intended sense of tension. The events unfold over a single day, giving players a real sense of urgency. Looks pretty nice, but will it stand out among the 360's growing library of shooters?
