Boys with Toys
When it comes to shooters, the guns you'll use play a large part in how successful a game is. And you'll be happy to know that R6 Vegas 2 does not suffer in this arena. Trying out new weapons is always lots of fun. The folks that created the game knew this and made sure that your arsenal was fully stocked with various submachine guns, sniper rifles, and a plethora of automatic weapons that you can customize with laser sights, scopes, silencers, and extra large magazines. In fact, many of the guns used in the previous game have returned. But this time around, your arsenal is larger and many of the new guns seem to pack more of a punch thanks to some excellent use of audio sampling coupled with the Xbox 360 controller's force feedback.
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You'll also learn a lot about the weapons you choose as the gear menu informs you of each gun's stopping power, range, recoil, and bullet capacity. The guns in R6 Vegas 2 just feel and sound great! The game's other audio effects are top notch and are blended well with each new environment you encounter. Ambient noises also match your surroundings and are very realistic whether you're hitting the streets or inside of the game's many interior settings. As for the music score, you'll experience the same music you heard in R6 Vegas. It sounded great then and it sounds great now. The game's background music intensifies along with the action, providing for an excellent cinematic experience.
So, what's new in the game? The most notable addition is the ability to sprint rather than being restricted to walking. This welcome feature is quite useful during the campaign and is almost essential during online play as the combat intensifies significantly. You'll use the sprint feature to run from cover to cover while dodging enemy fire, or to chase down an opponent so you can get a more accurate shot.
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Also new to the game is an enhanced ranking system called A.C.E.S. that notifies the player of any completed goals that unlock new weapons and gear. A.C.E.S. is similar to achievement points, but is built into the game and really gives you the feeling of continual accomplishment the more you play. A.C.E.S. features an XP (experience points) bar located at the top left of the screen, allowing you to follow your progression to your next rank. This is a great feature that players will surely appreciate. It also challenges the player to be creative. Trying out new playing styles is more fun than ever as you learn which tactics award you the most XP. If you've already played R6 Vegas and gained the achievement for completing the campaign on realistic difficulty, you'll receive 2500XP and an increased rank as soon as you pop the R6 Vegas 2 disc into your Xbox 360. XP hounds will definitely appreciate this little gift from the development team, and other bonuses are also available for R6V players, including equipment.
A.C.E.S. also works alongside your ability to customize the character you'll use in the campaign and online. Not only will weapons and protective gear define your character, but you'll also have the ability to change the overall appearance with optional headgear, masks, and even the color of your camouflage. In R6 Vegas 2, you can now increase your rank and gain all these extras during offline play. This is a major improvement over the previous game where you could only increase your rank while playing online. Now, any XP you gain will stick with you regardless of the mode you're playing.
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Omega215D - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
I'm still waiting for the PC version to come out with its mouse and keyboard goodness. I would hope it's a little more refined than the console versions. I'm still enjoying the first game but the graphics seem to have gone downhill after the first 3 levels.Calin - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
"You can also order your team to repel down the side of a building "Rapelling is descending a rope under control. Is used to climb down a building, or to descend from an helicopter when the helicopter can't land (like in C&C Generals).
Repelling is to drive or force back (an assailant, invader, etc.):
"All hands repel boarders", this would be the order on a sail ship in the great age of sail.
nerdye - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
Much grief has been given to ign and all of the game ratings coming from different online/print publications for as long as games have existed. I love anandtech for the analysis on hardware and technology that I can't find anywhere else to such a degree of quality. But rating a game on the fact that its "sweet", or "good", or "crap" for that matter is not revolutionary, actually its a step backwards from the ratings systems we have grown accustomed to.Sure you can argue that I can read 5 pages of info and it will fill me in on your "personal opinion", but I have no time for such with so many other resources available on the topic.
Forgive me anand as I have the utmost respect for you and your site and enjoy your articles more than anyone else's, but I must say my part my friend, game ratings systems are fine as they are.
tuteja1986 - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
Good start :!A little pointer :
* Review is too long
* Review system will face problem when reader start to question why every game you review is "Great game" & "Recommended" & "Must play". Best review scoring system is A - F as its most accepted standard everyone gets.
* You start to review with PC games 1st as your majority of reader don't like console
* You should review game based on how fun it is and the experiences you had while playing the game. You should see GFW's Shawn E reviews as i would consider him one of the best PC game review editor. less technical more emotions.
AcydRaine - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
Just because you don't like consoles doesn't mean that most other readers do not. I have a PS3/360 and mid-upper tier gaming PC and love them all. I see nothing wrong with a console review at AT.Great review Eddie. Keep it up. :)
pomaikai - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
I prefer anands rating system. I am not gonna pick up a game because it got a 8.7 instead of another that got an 8.2. I dont see how you can give a score if the scoring system is not laid out in plain terms. What equates to a 10 in graphics? What gets a 10 today might get a 8 two years from now. All I really care about is if the game is good and worth playing. If a game gets sweet that means that is was really fun to play and thats all I really care about.JarredWalton - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
The conclusion should give you ample information to determine if the game is something you'd like to play or not. If it sounds interesting, then you can read the rest of the article to find out more details on the various aspects of gameplay, graphics, etc.We will basically categorize games as "Excellent", "Good", "Okay", "Subpar", and "Lousy". That's all a game score really tells you anyway. A game that one reviewer gives a 7.7 might receive an 8.7 by another person; there's a lot of room for opinion, and rather than getting tied down in the details we're going to take a step back.
Personally, I used to love Computer Gaming World (R.I.P.) and the fact that they didn't give scores. Maybe that's how I ended up as a writer: I enjoyed reading the page or so of text to find out what a game was like, and then I'd try to decide if it sounded like something I wanted to try. I still take that approach in most of my articles, even if I have nothing to do with CGW.
Omega215D - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
Any chance of you guys reviewing the PC version when it comes out, hopefully in the middle of April?Lonyo - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
Hopefully it'll support multi-core this time round.