I’ve been playing Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 almost every day since it came out and I’m having a blast with it. I know a lot of people are calling it Rainbow Six: Vegas 1.5 in the same way that GRAW 2 was called a 1.5. However, I loved Rainbow Six: Vegas so the new additions in Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 make it worth the purchase for me. First off, the biggest new addition is the ability to sprint. It took a little for me to get use to, but the sprint option is really nice for running from cover to cover and to get away from grenade throws. Now that I’m getting the hang of using sprint it has really come in handy. There are also about 10 new weapons in Rainbow Six: Vegas 2. My favorite has to be the silenced sniper rifle. It is so much fun to snipe guys and not have them be able to figure out where the shot came from.

They also expanded the experience leveling from Rainbow Six: Vegas’s multiplayer to all game modes in Rainbow Six: Vegas 2. I really like this because now I can rank up just by playing through the story on co-op with my friends. They also have a new ACES rankings that basically unlocks weapons by getting kills in ways other than the normal. Headshots, blind fire kills, and kills with explosions are just a few ways to get ACES points to unlock weapons. The new ACES rankings are fun because they pop up little indicators in the game letting you know when you got more points in one of the ACES categories. So not only can you rub in that you got a kill on your friend but you can add that he gave you some extra ACES points.

I beat the single player story on Normal and have started it on Realistic. I liked the story, it starts off giving you a little background on your character and then you play missions in Vegas that occur at the same time as the missions from Rainbow Six: Vegas. Then, you get one more mission at the end to wrap up the story. Overall, I really enjoyed the single player. There were a few sections that I found really challenging, but they were still fun and I did not mind when I died so much because even when you die you keep the experience points you earned.

The Terrorist Hunt mode is back and better then ever. I’ve beat every map on realistic now and there are a few that are almost impossible to get without having 4 people playing them together. However, Terrorist Hunt mode is the most fun when playing with 3 other people so I don’t mind that some of the maps require a lot of team work. I’m looking forward to playing through more Terrorist Hunt levels and trying new tactics to clear the maps. One thing I noticed is that the enemy AI is a lot smarter now. If you shoot at an enemy and miss, and they take cover around a corner of a building and then you don’t see then for a little but you better watch your flank because they are probably coming around behind you. The enemy AI also seems a but more aggressive. They will get in small groups and charge a doorway you’re covering so that even if one or two go down the other guy will get you. As long as you’re ready for a rush you can get them all but if they catch you in a reload you better have a teammate covering you.

The multiplayer is a blast again. I like the changes to Total Conquest where you now have to hold all 3 satellites to start the counter. The Attack and Defend modes are still a lot of fun, and the new Team Leader mode might be my favorite. It is a little like VIP from Rainbow Six: Vegas, but both teams have a VIP. You win by killing all of the other team or getting your VIP to an extraction point. There are unlimited respawns as long as your teams VIP is alive. If your VIP dies no more respawns. Also, getting killed by the other teams VIP knocks you out for the rest of the round. So, there are a lot of tactics and strategies to try. Do you keep the whole team together and try to get the VIP to the extraction point, or do you leave a few guys back to defend the extraction point and not have as many people protecting the VIP? Each round you can try something a little different and see if you can find the best way to take out enemy VIP without getting yours killed in the process.

I’d recommend anyone who likes shooters get Rainbow Six: Vegas 2. It has my vote for game of the year and it is only April!