Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas review

The glorious return of the thinking man's shooter

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

That is, until you sign onto Xbox Live to test any of the eight extensive multiplayer modes. Then you discover what "intense" and "heart-pumping" are really all about. Because when every gun popping out from behind a poker table belongs to a live human opponent with the same- or maybe better- plan of attack as you, the experience gets almost too real. A single-player map can eventually be memorized; you start to get a vague instinct for when and where the next attack will come. There are no such reassurances in Rainbow Six Vegas's online matches.

Deathmatch-style modes do exist and are definitely entertaining, but it's team play- much like in the single player campaign- that will keep you coming back. We lost count of the number of times we were stalking another player, carefully preparing for the final kill, when our own life was suddenly and brutally ended. Of course, a third player had been following us... and, disturbingly, could have been coordinating with our prey the entire time.

More info

GenreAction
DescriptionClean the filth out of Vegas - one headshot at a time - in this deep, strategic and intense team-based shooter.
Franchise nameTom Clancy's Rainbow Six
UK franchise nameRainbow Six
Platform"PC","Xbox 360","PS3","PSP","PS2","Xbox"
US censor rating"Teen","Teen","Teen","Teen","Teen","Teen"
UK censor rating"16+","16+","16+","16+","16+","16+"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
Less
Charlie Barratt
I enjoy sunshine, the company of kittens and turning frowns upside down. I am also a fan of sarcasm. Let's be friends!