Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Shooter
Rating:  M (For Mature)
Number of Players: 1-16
Expected Release:  November 20, 2006

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The dice are tossed as the Rainbow team is deployed to stop terrorists from toppling the gambling paradise of Las Vegas. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six series looks to overcome the last repeats of lackluster performance, with Rainbow Six: Vegas. Carrying over the team command system from Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, and the PEC (Persistent Elite Creation Mode) from Rainbow Six: Lockdown, Vegas looks to conquer the bland office building shootouts by adding a colorful, vibrant, and chaotic new arena.

The Vegas Strip and multi-themed casinos brings the air alive with the electronic tingle of slot machines and roulette tables. Each casino has a different theme, from the unfinished Dante’s Casino to the Mayan temple of the Calypso Casino. This is a much needed change of scenery, adding life to the counter terrorism genre; No more drab office hallways for us. The hometown feel gives the game a sense of urgency; no one wants to see our favorite city of sin destroyed!

The fun doesn’t stop there. Multiplayer still looks fantastic, with the PEC system, and the usual Attack and Defend scenarios. With the PEC system, as you play more and more, different items (Guns, armor, etc.) become available. If you do not work as a team in multiplayer, you will not survive. The team factor is huge this time around, this is not your Halo-esqe run and gun; you’ll need tactics and a strong team to win.

...Where heads, and dice are gonna roll

Worried about the PEC system giving the already hardcore players an even bigger edge? Don’t. Ubisoft has specifically expressed that the system is completely balanced; it will not give an already skilled player a greater advantage.

The neatest thing to come from Vegas, aside from the PEC systems customizability, is the face mapping with the Xbox Vision Camera. This is not some sort of half assed feature; this is your face in the game. You take two pictures, a frontal and side. The 360 then works its magic, and puts your face onto your character, and it looks actually good. Really good. The system isn’t some 2D bitmap; it’s a full-blown 3D model of your face. You can also add face paint, scars, and whatever to make yourself look as scary and insane as possible.

If the single player demo (Now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace) is any indication of where this game is going, we will not be disappointed. The only semi-glaring problems are the decreases in frame rate during heated firefights, and an overabundance of cover, leading to accidental movements (Which is annoying, but may also save your life at times). We’ll see if this new title can revitalize the Rainbow Six series, and bring some good old-fashioned terrorist stopping power to the 360.