Preview: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (360)

Ubisoft's Rainbow Six: Vegas was one of the surprise online hits of 2007, taking the Xbox Live scene by storm and even gaining the release a place in the Major League Gaming circuit in the United States. That a sequel is being released so soon is no surprise, nor is that it should be publicised by a mammoth twenty-four hour online gaming session at the i33 event in Newbury. The organisers of the world-record attempt should have few issues finding 360 owners to help out, with the latest instalment carrying over much of the winning formula from its predecessor.

That the campaign mode is still a slow-paced, tactical, challenging beast is a given, but co-op mode has changed somewhat, reducing the number of players from four to two in exchange for integrating the story elements more completely than in Vegas 1. There is far more overlap between this mode and the online multiplayer, players earning experience points in both to advance a single, shared character's abilities and weapons. It's a bold move that is sure to divide opinion, but it should encourage players to stick with the campaign well after the likes of Call Of Duty 4 would have lost their players to the multiplayer mode in isolation.

Arguments over how much of Vegas 2 is genuinely new aside- the term "overblown expansion pack" has been bandied about in some quarters- it makes for a tempting prospect. With Call Of Duty still dominating the online communities on both PS3 and 360, there is hardly a lack of military shooters on the horizon, but the subtle variation in gameplay present here will provide an alternative for wannabe counter-terrorists waiting for the next Modern Warfare map-pack. Those wishing to take a spin on Vegas can do so from Friday 21st March, and any players wishing to join in the world record attempt should check the Gamestyle forums for more information.

Words by Colin Whiteside