After a few technical problems, the first thing we had demonstrated for us was the new face mapping feature. Using the Xbox 360 camera, you can take a mug and profile shot of yourself (or, ahem, anything else), and the game will use some sophisticated modelling software to create a 3D face from those images. It takes a minute or so to cook, but given the limited input, it works incredibly well, and we saw a real person become a game character comparable in quality to the existing models. The only glitch seems to be that it has a problem with forehead height, and everyone comes out with a receding hairline, but perhaps some careful forward combing before the photographs will amend this premature ageing. Of course, it'll only be a matter of seconds before some 'bright' spark will be mapping other body parts or obscene objects to a face for 'comedy' value, but whatcha gonna do?
Now you can be ugly in the virtual world too!
While watching the title screen, it occurred to us that given the setting, we were sub-consciously expecting the game to be a procedural crime drama with a Pete Townsend soundtrack (soon to be followed by Rainbow Six: Miami), but once the game began these ideas were put to rest, as there was plenty of dust, but no fingerprints in sight. In fact, Rainbow Six: Vegas feels a bit more like another TV show – 24. It's set over a single 24 hour period and the plot seems like it will be presented as some kind of mystery about a group of terrorists that take over Las Vegas. The game begins in what will be a familiar setting to anyone that's played Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, some recently deserted Mexican streets. Much like GRAW, this setting looks great, with excellent use of lighting and particle effects to create an authentic dry, hot local outpost look to the town.
Upon coming to your first street corner, the game's new cover system immediately comes into play. Pressing and holding the left trigger will automatically attach your character to any wall or object they are next to, allowing for a very dynamic use of your surroundings. While in cover, you can either pop out to fire short bursts at the enemy, duck and run for another piece of cover, and even blind fire from your current position. Blind fire isn't very accurate, but is quite useful for covering a teammate who needs to move. We didn't get to see much more of the team play element (or the single player game in general), but it's certainly solid, and the cover mechanic works so well (much better then what this writer has played of Gears Of War) that it will more than likely become a standard feature of many future shooters, particularly realistic ones like the Rainbow Six series.
'Boss - I think you better take a look at this. Jones has done it in here again'
Moving onto the multiplayer portion we decided to just try some deathmatch rather than any of the many team modes, which we figured would be easier to get the hang of. The first thing we noticed was that the game loses some of its visual fidelity in multiplayer. No, not because it was split screen – we were playing one man per 360 - but it seems a lot of the subtle effects used to make the single player game so striking were missing in multi. Indoor areas made this particularly noticeable, and the game, while not ugly, started to look like a PC game from a few years ago, or dare we say it – last gen! A lot of it probably has to do with diminishing returns for basic environments – a hallway with a crate in it looks plain no matter how well textured, but there is definitely a drop in geometry as well. There are still some nice touches, and character models maintain a high level of detail however, and we were thankful for the more sparing use of normal mapping then many other 360 games (less annoying overly plasticky looking textures everywhere).
Gameplay wise, the cover based gameplay is an interesting new twist on multiplayer, but doesn't particularly suit deathmatch, since most kills will still be out in the open or from a sneak up behind you. We can see the cover system working well in team based modes, and we had no problem using it in any parts of the three maps we played. Some of the maps seem to have been lifted from the single player game, making them unorthodox, but perhaps a bit too naturalistic – the 'casino under renovation' area had a few too many dead ends to be fair sometimes. As with all multiplayer games, it will be the community that makes or breaks the game, but all the elements are here for a successful online shooter.
The Whitlams would be proud.
Overall, we were impressed by Rainbow Six: Vegas, as it looks like it will be the best all round package for a realistic contemporary shooter on any console so far. It stands out from the crowd, but in an increasingly crowded market on 360, does it stand out enough to be a classic? Check back soon for PALGN's full review.
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