|
An entirely new Vegas for the PSP. Rainbow Six Vegas, on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, successfully propelled the Rainbow Six to the masses and allowed it to become one of Ubisoft's key franchises, not to mention one of the best shooters available. Rainbow Six Vegas on PSP isn't a direct port of that game but still manages to retain a lot of its charm.
Rainbow Six Vegas tells a sidestory to the console versions of the game. The console versions tasks the four-man Team Rainbow with rescuing Las Vegas from terrorists threatening to take over the city. In the PSP version, you'll play as a two-man team (one handles assault weapons while the other is a sniper) that is assisting Team Rainbow. The game automatically switches you between both men during appropriate sections.
Rainbow Six Vegas is a bit short, even for a PSP first person shooter. The game is made up of 15 mini-levels that make up five main levels. Each main level takes, on average, a little over an hour to complete. The game is fairly challenging so it is likely that you'll have to repeat some parts of the levels but it doesn't do much to help its longevity. Aside from the main singleplayer campaign, though, is Terrorist Hunt, which places you back into the levels with randomly generated enemies taking the place of the story elements from the campaign proper.
The PSP version uses the same cover system found in the other versions. Your character will automatically take cover behind walls and other environmental architecture. Once you've taken cover, you can move slowly, shoot over the cover, or look around to spot enemies. The system works fairly well on the PSP. You use the analog nub to move your character while the face buttons emulate a second analog stick. Your other actions-camera snaking, night vision and crouching-are mapped to the D pad. A lot of the controls are context sensitive, so the same button will pull double duty, which can be annoying sometimes when the game misjudges what you're trying to do. The cover system is also a bit too sensitive in the PSP version, although it generally works fine.
In addition to singleplayer content, Vegas boasts local and online wireless multiplayer for up to four players. The game has six maps based on singleplayer levels and two modes: Survival (Deathmatch) and Team Survival (Team Deathmatch).
Rainbow Six Vegas looks pretty good for a PSP first person shooter. The character models look pretty good, although the animation is a bit stiff. The environments are distinctly Vegas, although they obviously don't share the same level of detail found in the console versions of the game. Nonetheless, the framerate is solid and the loading is surprisingly brisk for a PSP game.
The audio is impressive. The soundtrack sounds epic and makes the game sound like a major motion picture. The voice acting quality is decent but the dialogue is fairly humorous (intentional or not) but nonetheless fits right in with the game's realistic tone. Be warned, though, that the game is rated Mature for a reason. The sound effects, especially the gun effects, round off the stunning package. The guns sound great and the explosions do too.
Rainbow Six Vegas is a fine portable shooter. Although it doesn't compare to its bigger counterparts, it does compare favorably with other PSP shooters. The control scheme is a little awkward and the game is on the short side, but the underlying gameplay is nonetheless enjoyable. -- Adam Nunez, PGNx Media
---- Jul 3, 2007
|
