Publisher Ubisoft today announced that Rainbow Six Vegas will be hitting the PSP around the same time that its console big brother stomps onto the PS3 and Xbox 360. Rather than just downsizing the glitzy Sin City shooter for the handheld, however, the PSP Rainbow Six will be an entirely new game that will parallel the console version's storyline. Taking control of two operatives - a commando who works on the ground and a sniper who kills from above - players will blast their way through terrorists who've taken Las Vegas hostage.

While we haven't yet seen anything of the game, we do know Rainbow Six Vegas will feature tag-team gameplay between the two operatives, and that it's the latest game to feature a "tailored control system... built specifically for the PSP." Additionally, we know the action will unfold from a first-person perspective, although players will be able to switch to third-person to better take stock of the situation.

Above: This is not a PSP image of Rainbow Six Vegas. But you didn't need us to tell you that.

Rainbow Six Vegas also promises plenty of the depth that the series is known for, with players able to plan and strategize before each mission. The handheld version will also feature a quick, no-nonsense Terrorist Hunt mode, in which the object is simply to kill every terrorist in a single level.

Finally, while the tag-team dynamic would seem to lend itself to two-player co-op pretty well, the only multiplayer modes that have been revealed are Survival and Team Survival, which we're guessing will be all deathmatchy. The good news is that the action will support six players over ad-hoc or infrastructure connections, which ought to make fans of the Rainbow Six series' multiplayer action happy. Expect this one to hit in time for the holidays.

September 8, 2006