Those that really know me know that I come from the RPG world and will occasionally pick up and online FPS for some quick action.  So “buying” the new Rainbow Six game, I was highly skeptical about a primarily single player FPS game.  Most of these games I find to have little replay value, end quickly, have a lack of realism and are poorly driven by stories with little plot value. 

Fortunately for us, with the latest edition to the Tom Clancy series, a mediocre story is really the worst of its problems.  "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas" takes the player and his team of 2 other men through Mexico and then onto the casinos of Las Vegas in an attempt to foil a terrorist plot to do something (I still haven’t figured out their motive).  The player is stranded from his team and is forced to rejoin with them on the first mission.  Where the story ends and the action begins is where this game really starts to shine.

Graphically, the game is totally revolutionary.  For those of you with computers that can handle it, HDR galore and high resolution shaders make the visuals simply stunning and increase the realism threefold.  Movement blurs force the players to remain still if they want to get a clear shot, and when running out into a lighted area from a dark room, the player is forced to readjust their eyes.  When being shot at or shot, you can really feel the adrenaline as the screen starts shaking and your HUD becomes blurred. 

But even without the new visuals, the cover system and overall game play has been implemented perfectly so that taking cover behind cars, boulders and slot machines seems so 2nd nature that one is able to easily pick up the game and play effectively.  Crouching behind a kick over table I'm able to stick my gun over the top and give my team some covering fire or maybe stick my eyes over the table for a more accurate shot.

Speaking of the team, the main character is the leader of a 3 man counter-terrorist team which the player is able to control.  Unlike in previous Rainbow Six games which I felt the team system was "tacked on" and unwieldy, practice has made perfect and Vegas delivers a clean and effective system.  One can easily send their team to hide behind cover, fire at specific enemies, or perform dual entries on the same room by assigning your team to a door and then entering through another door yourself.  Also, you can assign roles for your team such as sneak or assult  The revive system takes a little bit of the realism out of the game, but for the most part it is for the better and really increases the game play.

The AI is very smart and they will coordinate with each other and use the cover just as much as you and your team. The game really is not super difficult, but you won’t see any enemies running into walls or charging blindly straight at you.  There are weapons and equipment enough for the biggest gun nut, and each gun is really different and is good for different situations.

Over all, "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas" delivers intense combat and stunning visuals combined with an innovative combat system, with only the storyline leaving something to be had. 9/10