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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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.