Rainbow Six Vegas review

People keep going on about how the PS3 Vegas is a return to the highly tactical, slow-paced Rainbow Six games of old, but this PSP version refuses to play ball and stubbornly continues where Lockdown's more arcadey leanings left off on PS2. Maybe it's the handheld's limited capacity or its button layout restrictions, but Rainbow Six Vegas is one arduous shooting gallery of a game.

There aren't any tactical planning options or squad-based shenanigans that would have brought some much-needed depth; instead you take control of new ops Brian Armstrong and Shawn Rivers, alternating between the two at fixed points in each mission when one needs the other's help to progress.

Usually this assistance means opening doors remotely, but occasionally you'll give more direct help by picking off snipers and covering your teammate's or a hostage's movements as they take fire. The constant switching works well enough, but it doesn't make the game any less straightforward or bland.

Yes, bland. Considering you're supposed to be in the bright lights of Vegas where the only time people stop gambling, drinking and partying is when they pass out in their own puke, why does everything look so drab and lifeless? Every level seems to take place in the same grey corridors and dull warehouses, and besides the odd hostage there aren't even any civilians wandering around, which would have given you something to worry about. We know that the PS3 version goes inside packed casinos so the blandness is a bit of a let down on PSP.