Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas

Jul 6, 2007

Even if, in a parallel universe, there was no Xbox 360 version of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas and this version were console-exclusive, it'd still be disappointing in comparison to the series' glory days on the Xbox. In spite of the rave reviews on other platforms, the PS3 version is largely hobbled by the limitations of the PlayStation Network and some glitches that can make the game more frustrating than fun. It's not all doom and gloom, however; PS3 owners still get the same great single-player storyline.

In the single-player campaign, you'll take on the role of Scott Logan and fight your way through a terrorist invasion of Sin City. Throughout the experience, you'll get a feel for the fundamental controls of not only the traditional squad-based action of Rainbow Six, but also an appreciation for Ubisoft Montreal's amazing implementation of cover. You won't find a shooter on Sony's console right now that has this level of cover mechanic depth. It's central to the Vegas experience and is laudable in regard to what Ubi's Montreal team has done to help advance gameplay mechanics in console FPS titles.

While there's no rumble in the Sixaxis controller, Ubi Montreal did a great job of translating the controls effectively to the PS3, outside of the tacked-on motion controls for the Snake Cam. Unlike other recently ported shooters, Vegas controls like an FPS on PlayStation should; that is, your weapons are largely mapped to the shoulder buttons. While on the 360 the fire button maps to the right trigger, here it's mapped to R1, which feels more ergonomically natural on PS3. Your grenades are mapped to R2, which feels more intuitive for PlayStation gamers than the Circle button (it's the B button on 360). Your cover button is mapped to L1, which feels much more comfortable than L2. In other titles that we've seen ported over from the 360, the programmers cloned the shoulder layout of Microsoft's controller, which works very poorly with the design of Sony's gamepad. It's a subtle thing, but one that we noticed (and were happy about) throughout our terrorism-fighting experience.

Visually, Vegas PS3 is a bit of a toss-up. It's by no means an ugly game, and you'll find worse-looking multiplatform titles that have been carelessly spit out onto the PS3, but it's got its issues all the same. It looks muddier than the 360 version, and very dimly lit. We found ourselves playing with brightness, contrast, and backlighting on our monitors quite a bit to get things right, and there's no gamma adjustment in-game to remedy most of those problems. Characters just aren't quite as smoothly detailed as they are on the other console, and the framerate has occasional headache-inducing moments. On the other hand, the neon-drenched ambience of Las Vegas is still mostly intact.

Multiplayer is where Rainbow Six: Vegas hobbles most. This version supposedly touted console-exclusive multiplayer maps, but that's a moot point now that the Black Map Pack has been released on 360 with those same formerly exclusive maps, and for free, no less. It's one incentive fewer, but with the performance issues that the game has online, perhaps it's better that way. While first-party titles such as Resistance have undergone patching to integrate more effectively with the PlayStation Network, Vegas seems to have the same difficulties that its predecessors experienced on PlayStation 2. It's just not the same quality experience that you'll get on Xbox Live. While this could be easily misinterpreted by the short-fused as fanboy bias for Microsoft, it's more of an indictment of the current state of Sony's online gaming setup.

We had quite a few problems with getting a Bluetooth headset to work with Vegas online. In fact, there seems to be an issue that de-synchronizes certain wireless headsets from the console from time to time. We played one game with a headset (unfortunately, our teammate did not, and decided to run off and get killed on his own), and subsequently, all voice chat came through our TV speakers. Because there is no option within the game menus to re-synchronize your Bluetooth, if you lose sync you'll have to exit out of the game, go into the system menu, and re-synch your headset with your system. We had another Bluetooth headset that worked better, but not every gamer is going to have that option. You'd be better off playing with a USB headset than using your wireless, although given the culture of PlayStation online, there's a solid chance that your teammates won't have them on anyway. It's all very frustrating for a game that's so heavily dependent on teamwork and verbal communication.

Also missing, perhaps due to the release of the PlayStation Eye coming after the game's release, your Persistent Elite Creation will be limited to the pre-rendered soldiers on the menu, and a small quantity of faces, effects, and hair, along with various custom outfits that you'll have to equip your combatant with. You'd think that with no need to load custom faces, an online match would come up a bit faster, but unfortunately it doesn't. There's also a bit of visible lag during some games; while the multiplayer portions of Vegas aren't as gorgeous as the single-player on any system, the combination of not-so-stellar visuals and online slowdown really hurts the PS3 game.

It's safe to say that while Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas is pretty much an instant classic on the Xbox 360, it's dragged down by detail after important detail on the PS3. It's got the same core single-player experience that we enjoyed on the Xbox 360, albeit minus rumble and some of the polish of the 360 game's visuals. Also, the gameplay feels as though it has mapped exceptionally well to the PS3's controller, unlike many other ports for the console. However, Rainbow Six has traditionally been a multiplayer-focused franchise, and it's here that the game disappoints. From headset glitches to lag to the lack of personalization, Vegas feels like a big letdown on PS3. If you're not into terrorist-hunting online with friends, nor is Canister up your alley, then you'll probably feel at home with the single-player campaign. We hope that subsequent installments show us better days for Team Rainbow on the PS3.