Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas

One of the best games that I’ve ever played. The final level of the game is essentially a massive firefight through the Hoover Dam and it was arguably one of the best experiences I’ve had in video gaming.

The gameplay mechanics are refined to the point of perfection and the presentation is stellar.

Arguably the best current tactical shooter on the PC. It tops most other PC games in the multiplayer arena including levels of tension.

Even if you don't have a top-of-the-line gaming rig, this is a superb title that is so good (even on medium detail settings) that you just might postpone that eBay sale so that you can play it through a second time.

The game's greatest feat is adding strategy to the first person shooter and getting the player - whether working alone or with others - to occasionally stop, forget about the gun and just think. You'll be amazed at how well it works and at how good it feels.

A little bit lightweight for hardcore tactical shooter fans but still an action-packed, top-class game in multiplayer mode. [Feb 2007, p.54]

The graphics were amazing, the gameplay was fun and adrenaline filled, and the cover system was implemented successfully.

Rainbow Six is reinvented and reinvigorated for a new age thanks to beautiful visuals and top-notch tactical shooting action.

Fun and action-packed. Las Vegas is the perfect setup for action. It does get a bit repetitive towards the end, though. [Sept 2007]

It might well be more twitch than tactics, but Vegas is the fun, modernised version of its own predecessors and FPS cousin "Brothers in Arms." I reckon that right now you're itching for a shooter with a brain at the top of that jittery reptilian nervous system, and this is it - if you have God's own PC. [Feb 2007, p.84]

While Rainbow Six veterans will surely miss the familiar pre-planning elements of the hallowed franchise, most of the changes made for Vegas successfully ramp up its intensity, and more importantly, its fun. [Mar 2007, p.60]

It's a solid action title and really gives a shot in the arm to a franchise that needed a shot in the arm.

Rainbow Six Vegas isn’t the best tactical shooter ever made, losing a few points in the system requirements and the save system department, but it’s a very good game.

It's a serious system hog and those with older (and even middle-range) systems may have a hell of a time making the game run well and look smooth. Sadly multiplayer has been a big problem for us at this point.

The real problem is that it simply isn't as good as it could have been. Erratic AI, overly impervious sidekicks, some suspect voice-acting, patchily impressive and hugely power-hungry visuals. It's a list that adds up to a missed opportunity if ever I've seen one, but while Vegas may not quite have hit the jackpot, it does still manage to walk away a winner.

The number of options you have on how to tackle each situation makes for some great unscripted moments, and the visuals and sound help create an atmosphere that wouldn't be possible on older hardware.

Despite being more action-oriented than tactical, Vegas does have some memorable moments. But the franchise clearly appears to be shifting away from its traditional audience toward a more action-oriented mass market.

Rainbow Six: Vegas is an obvious port from the 360 and regrettably, a broken one. It has a solid and compelling single-player mode that will keep most gamers engaged for a week or two, but once they try to go online and play all those modes they can see in the menus and find they are all broke and full of glitches, most will walk away in disgust and regret.

While it doesn't elevate Rainbow Six back to the genre-defining franchise it once was, it's still a solid, fun game; plus, thanks to Unreal Engine 3, it looks great.

It feels like an undecided halfway house between two genres - both of which the PC excels at - and it's incapable of deciding which one it wants to be.