GaMe'IN MerceNARIEs: April 03, 2011

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 is an installment in the Rainbow Six series.

Gameplay

]Single-player

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 includes a single player campaign/storyline mode as well as a variation of the Terrorist Hunt mode included in previous games, which involves repeated encounters with enemy AI terrorists in a non-linear map.

Terrorist Hunt mode may be played "Lone Wolf" (alone) or with a pair of computer controlled allies that may be issued environment-based contextual commands.The game, billed as "part sequel, part prequel", has events that run both before and concurrently to the story of Logan Keller and continue after where the first game concluded.

Synopsis

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 or 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 Jung and Michael. Bishop and Chavez are old friends and served together in the Army.

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, 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 fellow 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, which fails. Bishop eventually kills him in a final showdown at a villa in Costa Rica. Gabriel felt that Bishop was not letting him be all he could be. He is voiced by actor Elias Toufexis

Logan Keller

The main protagonist in Rainbow Six: Vegas, Keller is seen in the opening level of the game, under Bishop's command along with Gabriel Nowak. 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 during Bishop's showdown with Nowak near the end of the game. Logan is seen quoting Bishop's teachings at the last level, implying his respect towards Bishop (to which Bishop replied, "Who said that horse shit?").

Jung Park

A character of South Korean nationality, Jung Park’s natural proficiency for computers drove him to serve his mandatory term in the ROK Army immediately after graduation. Park’s high scores on electronics screening made him eligible for entry into the 1st Anti-Guerrilla Group. For two years, Park served as part of the 15th Security Battalion’s signals unit. In 2004, Park received a transfer to the ROK Army’s 5th Special Forces Brigade (Airborne). During his time as a Black Dragon, Park earned top marksmanship decorations in every long-range category, as well as SCUBA and parachute qualifications. After three years with the 5th SFB, Park volunteered for the 707th Special Mission Battalion, South Korea’s elite counter-terrorist and quick-reaction unit. During a joint training mission with SAS and 1st SFOD-D, Park caught Ding Chavez’s eye for his mix of electronics and combat expertise. When Park’s two year term with the 707th concluded, he was immediately invited to join Rainbow.

Michael Walters

Michael Walter’s three year tour in 40 Commando Royal Marines included the military evacuation of British nationals from the Democratic Republic of Congo and active operations in West Belfast.

Domingo "Ding" Chavez / Six

Domingo Chavez a.k.a., Rainbow Six (USA; ex-United States Army Ranger, CIA, former leader of Rainbow Team 2). Chavez was promoted to Rainbow's Director in Rainbow Six: Critical Hour. He commanded Alpha Team in 2005 at the Píc des Pyreneés, France.

Sharon Judd

Sharon Judd fills the role of Joanna Torres as Bishop's intelligence officer, as Torres is Logan Keller's intelligence officer in the previous game. Later on in the game, she is shot and critically wounded by a terrorist sniper while dropping Bishop and his team off on the roof of an expensive Las Vegas hotel, the same hotel in which Echo Team is later killed in an explosion.

MISSIONS

Act I:

The events of the game begin shortly before the events of Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield. Bishop leads his/her team on a botched hostage rescue operation in which a hostage negotiator is killed due to one of his/her team members, Gabriel Nowak, defying orders by firing before additional Rainbow operatives arrive.

After securing the hostages, Bishop's team covers Nowak while he defuses a nearby bomb. Nowak is injured during a brief firefight shortly afterward and verbally lashes out at Bishop, taking out his apparent shame and anger on the team.

Act II:

The game then moves forward to 2010 in Las Vegas, and Bishop has a new team. The National Security Agency (NSA) suspects two coyotes, Miguel and Alvarez Cabreros, of smuggling chemical weapons from Mexico into Las Vegas. The Cabreros are alerted when they discover and kill an undercover agent from the NSA, forcing Bishop’s team to rush to the warehouse containing the weapons. The team is delayed by a hostage situation that Bishop declares to be of top priority. During the ensuing rescue operation, the NSA informs a van possibly containing explosives has fled the scene.

Act III:

Following the rescue, Bishop learns that in addition to a chemical bomb there is a conventional explosive device. The team locates the escaped chemical weapons van but turns up nothing. They frantically search the area but reach the target, a Las Vegas recreational center and sports complex, too late. The chemical weapon is detonated, and many innocent lives are lost.

Immediately afterward, Bishop's team learns that the younger Cabrero brother, Miguel, has escaped the area. Bishop's team gives chase, cornering and interrogating him in the Neon Boneyard. At first, Miguel denies any knowledge of the bomb, but after the team threatens him he confesses the location of the second bomb. Miguel then draws a weapon on the team and Bishop is forced to kill him. It is lightly implied during this scene that Bishop antagonizes Miguel into drawing his weapon, allowing Bishop to shoot him without any repercussions from the agency.

Act IV:

Miguel tells Bishop that the second bomb is on its way to the Vegas Convention Center. Redeploying to the center quickly, the team fights through to find a chief of security being held by Alvarez Cabrero. The chief is wired up with explosives to kill him and deny the NSA evidence that he could leak. Upon defusing this device, Bishop learns that the second explosive device is located on a monorail headed towards the hotel area. Bishop's team fights their way to the bomb and disables its timer, but they are unable to disable the bomb's remote detonation circuitry in a timely manner. Thinking quickly, Bishop suggests detonating the bomb themselves in an unpopulated area after sending it to a safe distance by activating the train. At this point, Bishop is contacted by a NSA agent, who tells him/her that the terrorists have set up in a Las Vegas penthouse and are preparing another attack.

Act V:

As Bishop's team nears the penthouse, a sniper injures Sharon Judd, despite assurances by the NSA agent of a safe landing zone; however, they manage to land safely. Echo Team is deployed to take the other building but were killed in a large explosion as Bishop's team pushes forward, revealing the entire assault to be an ambush.

After rappelling from the penthouse to the casino below and fighting through more terrorists, Bishop learns that there is a third bomb held in a Chinese theater. The team assaults the theater and successfully defuses the bomb and saving several hostages. The team escapes and fights their way to the roof and is extracted once the roof is clear. Mike and Jung are then ordered to assist Logan in cleaning up Las Vegas following his team's ambush.

Act VI:

On the roof the NSA agent, wearing a balaclava, joins Bishop in the helicopter, saying that Alvarez Cabrero has been spotted at an airstrip in the desert. Bishop and the NSA agent enter the area at separate locations, and Bishop fights his/her way through an oil refinery and abandoned train-yard in order to get closer to the airstrip. When Bishop arrives, he/she discovers the NSA agent speaking with Cabrero. The agent is revealed to be Gabriel Nowak, who shoots and kills Alvarez. Nowak then insults Bishop, implying involvement in all of the team's recent troubles, before terrorists appear and attack. Bishop attempts to defend himself/herself but is knocked unconscious by an exploding airplane that he/she is hiding by. Bishop regains consciousness, having been dragged to safety by his/her helicopter pilot.

Act VII:

Bishop and his/her team, defying orders to stand down, follow Gabriel to a Costa Rican villa. As Nowak flees, he taunts Bishop by revealing that he was going to sell information about Rainbow operatives and their families to terrorists. Bishop closes in and attempts to face Gabriel alone; however, an attack helicopter and support troops arrive. Bishop manages to trick the helicopter into radioing for assistance, and Joanna Torres, Keller's intelligence officer, manages to triangulate the chopper based on its radio signal, eventually shooting it down with a SAM battery.

Gabriel and Bishop meet finally meet face to face. Gabriel gloats, claiming that he has outsmarted all of Rainbow and arguing that Bishop should have let him fix his own mistakes, including what happened in France. Nowak eventually attacks, and Bishop is forced to defend himself/herself, shooting Nowak as the rest of Bishop's team arrive from the other side. Bishop is berated for disobeying orders but is offered a position as deputy director of Rainbow at Rainbow HQ, Hereford, England.