Conclusion
As you can imagine, little new ground is being broken in R6 Vegas 2. But that's ok. The old ground is as solid as a stone. The average player will complete the single player campaign in roughly 8 to 10 hours. This may seem a bit on the short side, but it's a really fun experience from beginning to end. Plus the developers of the game made sure that gamers could continue their experience, thanks to the great multiplayer and numerous modes of gameplay. Don't expect a flawless experience though. The game has its share of graphical, AI, and performance issues that can add some frustration to your experience. However, none of these are earth shattering and most players will have a blast playing the game despite the occasional hiccup.
 |
Since a good number of first person shooters have entered the market within the last few months, it may be tough deciding which game(s) deserve your money. A few of these titles that qualify as a similar type of game include Soldier of Fortune: Payback, BlackSite Area 51, Frontlines: Fuel of War, and what many have called the "perfect shooter", Call of Duty 4. While most of these shooters provide a fairly mediocre run-and-gun experience, Frontlines: Fuel of War rises above the bulk of this pack with its use of high-tech gadgets and big team online battles. However, it lacks the punch of Call of Duty 4, which is the clear winner in this group. So how does R6 Vegas 2 stack up? Quite favorably, as the Rainbow Six and Call of Duty series' can easily be referred to as frontrunners in the first person shooter genre of games. R6 Vegas 2 will not only satisfy the shooter fan, but those who simply enjoy a good all-around action game.
If you specifically have a distaste for tactical shooters and prefer straight forward running and gunning, or if you simply did not like the previous Vegas game, your money might be better spent on something else. If you enjoyed R6 Vegas, you're bound to enjoy this game too. After all, the intense gameplay that made the previous game great is still here, and it's equally as satisfying. With this in mind, not a lot was done to enhance the experience this time around. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but gamers do tend to seek a higher level of improvement as games progress in a series. Still, R6 Vegas 2 is a great game that gives its players every reason to keep it in their collection of games for a long time to come.
Note: A quick word on our intended game ranking system. You'll notice that we don't give a specific score. After much debate, the AnandTech staff feels it best to avoid a fine-grained score. What makes an 8.2 vs. an 8.5, for instance? Many games are roughly equal in terms of overall quality, and when you get down to the details, it's all personal opinion. We recognize that fact, and our verdict is meant to convey our feelings towards the game, supported by the text in the rest of the article. Since we have different perspectives, we will strive to provide sufficient information for you to determine whether you'll like or dislike a particular game.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
29 Comments
View All Comments
Donkey2008 - Monday, April 7, 2008 - link
Maybe Anandtech wanted to review the game because they found it interesting. I personally like the concept and would love to battle it out in a Vegas casino. With a PC version forthcoming, I found it useful to hear that the console game had framerate issues.Complaining about their rating or the fact that it's a console game is simply complaining for the sake of complaining. Good for Anandtech for previewing a game soon to be available to us PC users.
EddieTurner - Saturday, April 5, 2008 - link
Hey all! Just thought I'd shed some light on a few of your concerns.This rating system is one that I devised after the good folks at AT explained that they wanted something new that would steer away from the traditional point scale. It is still evolving. But for now, I've created seven senarios that I believe people can indentify with. After all, if you were to ask a friend what he or she thought of a particular game, I doubt very seriously that you'd get a reply that included two numbers with a decimal in between. Not everyone will agree with my final words, and I don't expect that to be the case. I'd hate for any of you to miss out on something you were truly interested in because of something I said. I am hardly the authority on gaming. However, I do have a passion for games and I play a lot of them. So may be it'll help to think of me as your neighborhood fellow gamer. Because that's what I am indeed. AT saw that in me and here I am.
Yes, this review is of a console game. But a game nonetheless. Considering array of different articles here at AT, I see no reason that such a product should be exluded from the site. Consoles are very much part a of the gaming world today. Sales figures will tell you that. As for me, I don't limit myself to a single platform. I go where the games are. And they're very much on consoles, as well as PC. The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii all have a fair offering in the tech-world today. So there's no reason they shouldn't have a presence here. Needless to say, you can expect a full review of Grand Theft Auto IV very soon. But I do have in mind a pretty intriguiing PC game to talk about next.
Oh, and I've never been repelling. Thanks for setting me straight!
ACasualObserver - Saturday, April 5, 2008 - link
While I might share some of the reservations expressed in other posts about console reviews at Anandtech, and there were enough caveats listed for the game to have me scratching my head at a "Sweet" rating, you've earned some serious points for taking the moral high ground and responding to criticism with a humble, enthusiastic and entirely positive outlook. Your forum post was in many ways more illuminating than your game review. There is a lesson there for all of us.Kudos sir, and welcome aboard.
simla - Saturday, April 5, 2008 - link
1) Much too long. I enjoy most of the in-depth hardware articles but still find myself skipping through the hyperbole in the middle sections. This much text on a game is beyond me though. Seriously.2) Ratings system, while trying to be 'cool' and unbiased is a little off the mark for me. 'Sweet' really doesn't mean shit for me - I'll still be using Metacritic for my games ratings...
3) Confused by the sudden move to console gaming coverage on what is self-labelled as 'the' PC enthusiast website. Stick to what you know and specialize. Personally, we don't need another all-in-one site that tries everything, yet knows ultimately ends up knowing nothing. I really hope this isn't a sign of a good website going the way of Toms...
dare2savefreedom - Saturday, April 5, 2008 - link
WTF,W
T
F
you guys don't review disney's princess enchanted journey pcdvd but u review a 360 game?
how much is m$ paying you guys, I'll double it.
I want to see the review for dpej with sli.
6bit macs and you guys never said a word.
Ever since anandy got married this places been going down.
poohbear - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
why on earth would you review an xbox 360 game on a PC enthusiast website?!?! are you guys really trying to insult us here?!? BLASPHEMERS THE LOT OF YOU!!!!!!jordanclock - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
It doesn't sound like the reviewer actually played through the game on co-op.I went through the game with my room mate on co-op and every non-character texture is downgraded to a blurry mess. Every single one. And the helicopter event at the end of the game brought the frame rate to what I would guess to be low teens, at best. This kind of problem came up in other parts of the game, to a lesser degree, many times. And it wasn't little things, it was 10-15 second spots that made it very difficult to play. What seems to be the culprit of this are the "physics." Whenever the frame rate dropped, it almost always occurred during firefights where there were lots of things that moved or broke.
Also, the lack of control of the NPCs by the second player is a pretty big issue. There were many times when I'd get stuck between the two or unable to get somewhere because they were in the way. Of course, being player two, I had no way to get them to move other than ask my room mate to stop what he was doing and tell them to move.
Playing on co-op is further hindered by the fact that whenever you receive a video message from the command, it covers up half of the second players view. It's a bit hard to aim properly when a giant Cisco logo is in your way.
I think the game lacked a lot of polish. I'm not even going to bother with the PC version unless a decent demo is released.
Hardin - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
Oh man don't even mention that helicopter. I was playing that level with my brother and we had to repeat that part several times because we died so much due to the terrible frame rates. The Cisco message was also very annoying because it blocked my view. And it was really hard getting used to the coop splitting the screen right down the middle.jordanclock - Monday, April 7, 2008 - link
The middle split wasn't too much of an issue for me since we were playing in widescreen. However, I could see major issues on a standard definition TV.All I know is that the game had a strong feeling of lack of polish. I can not see many reasons why a game should be released with any of the problems my room mate and I experienced, let alone all of them together. It completely turned me off from purchasing the PC version.
Blitzed Penguin - Friday, April 4, 2008 - link
I love AnandTech and there unbiased review of PC hardware such as graphics cards, CPU, power supplies, routers, and my other techy stuff. They also post the latest and greatest news of what is going on the the PC world and what we can expect in the future.Whats with the article about an XBOX video game? Did UBI pay you guys to advertise? It has nothing to do with hardware or PC. You have it labeled as "software" but there is no "software" tab at the top of the screen. There are several other sites dedicated to video games that gamers are more accustomed to.
I could understand an article about the PC version maybe. AnandTech did use the first R6 Vegas as a benchmark and they could do the same with Vegas 2 (its a port and has limited graphics settings so maybe not). It is your site so you can change it how you want just giving my opinion. I just love the site and would hate to see it change.