Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas [X360]

Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series is a force to be reckoned with in squad-based shooters. Its latest entry isn't simply a next-gen upgrade to the series, but rather a shift in many directions, with several new elements all working together to make this the best Rainbow Six title yet. If nothing else, it's certainly the most ambitious.

What better place to give us a hands-on look at Ubisoft's upcoming juggernaut, Rainbow Six Vegas, than the Palms Hotel and Casino, a stone's throw from the Vegas strip? Senior producer Chadi Lebbos started off the presentation by saying, "We're bringing back the core values of the brand: The tension, the tactics, the realism, and the close-quarter battles." It appears that everything the 150-person development team in Montreal does, it will have those values in mind. This may be in response to the lukewarm reception Rainbow Six: Lockdown received a year ago -- which, incidentally, was not developed internally by Ubisoft.

Utilizing the power of next-gen consoles means some great graphical upgrades, of course. The game is being developed using Unreal Engine 3. Eye candy as it may be, all of the effects have some relevance to Rainbow Six Vegas' core values. Chaos is a key part of the game's vision, which includes lots of explosions and plenty of gunfire going on around you.

Discussing the environments, Lebbos begins, "Before the project, we sent artist directors and designers to Las Vegas. When we said we were doing Las Vegas, a lot of people said we were crazy: 'No way in hell you'll be able to replicate what Vegas is all about.' I'm proud to say the artists did an excellent job." Of course, you won't be partying in MGM Grand's Studio 54 or taking in Blue Man Group at the Venetian. It's impossible to get all the real locations (though we swore we saw the Luxor's pyramid in the background), so the team just created their own.

You'll work through hotel casinos with Mayan, Asian, and gothic themes -- complete with all the amenities you'd expect. Even better, a lot of it is interactive. Casino floors only represent a portion of the environments you'll run into, however. Says Lebbos, "The player will also be playing in the backgrounds: in the kitchens, in the vaults, and on The Strip."

The first day of the event was taken up by elaborating on the single-player exploits of Rainbow Six Vegas. This aspect is usually understated in the series, but all that is changing. Ubisoft wants to offer plenty for individuals to do away from multiplayer matches. For starters, Rainbow Six Vegas is taking a new approach to the story. Lebbos says, "In previous Rainbow Six titles, there were missions. Each mission had its own story, and it's spread out over several months. Now, in Rainbow Six Vegas, it's one day; it happens in one city."

J-F Poirier, the game's associate producer, gets into a little more specifics on the plot. He tells us, "While chasing international terrorists, the Rainbow team is redirected to Las Vegas -- where a strike is unfolding." The hit TV series, 24, is a big inspiration for the plot, and Poirier hints at many twists and turns along the team's adventure.