Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (RSV2) is the ninth installment in the Rainbow Six series (including add-ons). It is a first person shooter video game and the sequel to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas. It was announced by Ubisoft on November 20, 2007. The game was released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on March 18, 2008 in North America and March 20 2008 in Europe, except in Germany, where the game was delayed.
Game Play
The multiplayer in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 has been expanded to include more than 10 new close-quarters maps, two new adversarial modes, a newer and different rewards system, and according to Ubisoft, improved online matchmaking. The experience point (XP) system is different than the old Vegas, for every kill achieved the player gains XP.
Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (fan pack) includes three new maps (CQB-Dark, Murdertown-Dark, and the return of Calypso Casino) from the first Rainbow Six: Vegas. There are also new A.C.E.S. and 99 more elite ranks to keep players busy. The new A.C.E.S. update is you can level up you A.C.E. until you reach 100 in that A.C.E. The 99 more elite ranks a gold elite badge with a number corresponding to the ranked elite you are. This download is available in the PS3 or Xbox 360 marketplace or of Ubisoft's website if you are using a PC version of RSV2.
Setting
The setting for the game begins in Pic des Pyréneés, France, on 2005. Although the story moves five years forward to Las Vegas, United States of America on July 2, 2010, the same day of Logan Keller's arrival to Las Vegas in Rainbow Six: Vegas. Terrorists have gained control of Las Vegas to install widespread panic in both the public as well as law enforcement agencies, such as the National Security Agency, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Rainbow, as well as local SWAT. As the plot unfolds, however, the setting moves away from Las Vegas to other places, such as a small town in Nevada, unlike in the first Rainbow Six: Vegas, which was mainly in Las Vegas.
Characters
Bishop
Bishop is the main protagonist that the player controls and guides throughout the events of Rainbow Six: Vegas 2. His/her appearance and gender vary, depending on the intended look by the player. Either way, Bishop is still called "sir" in the game. He/she is a high-ranking veteran of the Rainbow organization, and is an instructor at the organization's training academy when the game first begins. Bishop is referred five years after the first mission in the French Alps, Bishop returns from retirement as the team leader of Park and Walters.
Knight
If co-op mode is enabled, Knight accompanies Bishop on missions, whose appearance also varies depending on how the player desires him/her to look. His/her role, however, is limited as merely a co-op player, and unlike some games, such as Gears of War and Halo 3, Knight is not critical to the single player campaign's story, as elaborated on the Eurogamer review. Playing as Knight also allows the player to unlock co-op achievements.
Gabriel Nowak
The game's main antagonist, a traitorous former Rainbow operative revealed as a mole in Rainbow Six: Vegas. Though cunning and ambitious, Nowak's gung-ho recklessness earns him the disrespect of teammates, ultimately leading to Bishop passing him up for promotion in favor of Logan, which therefore leads to Nowak betraying the Rainbow organization with the assistance of big-time terrorist ringleaders. Nowak betrays more Rainbow operatives in Vegas 2, mainly by posing falsely as an NSA agent, helping Bishop along the way for some of the campaign while actually putting Bishop in a state of danger, in order to kill him/her, which fails. Bishop eventually kills him in a final showdown at a villa in Costa Rica.
Logan Keller
The main protagonist in Rainbow Six: Vegas, Keller is seen in the opening level of the game. Keller demonstrates a formidable sense of close-quarters combat (CQB), with realistic analyses of certain hostage situations and how to eliminate the opposition in an effective and concise manner. He is later seen after Bishop's showdown with Nowak at the end of the game. Logan is seen quoting Bishop's teachings at the last level, implying his respect towards Bishop.