I’ve been waiting for this psp game ever since it was announced back in December, when it was supposed to be launched alongside the console version. And after numerous delays, the game has finally arrived, and in the end, this game was definitely worth the wait. The psp version of Vegas is very different from its console brother. The single player puts you in control of a two-man Rainbow team known as team Armstrong. The squad is lead by Brian Armstrong, who you’ll be playing as most of the time, as well as Shaun Rivers - a British sniper. During each mission, you switch between the two men every few minutes. When you switch, it’s usually for an important reason, such as when Brian is under heavy fire from enemies, you’ll play as Shaun so you can clear the way by sniping the enemies. This system works fairly well, and keeps each mission fresh. Speaking about missions, there aren’t many of them. There are only 5 missions which take about 10 to 15 minutes to complete. The other problem with these missions is that they don’t make you feel like you’re in Las Vegas. In the console version, you’re in heavy fire-fights in casinos, the Vegas strip, and Fremont Street. In the psp version, you’re fighting in airports, water treatments plants, and villas outside of Vegas. The game’s graphics are a bit boring, but are quite detailed. Brian and Shaun’s faces are quite detailed, and the lighting effects are top-notch for a psp title. The game gives you a lot of weapons to play around with – pistols, smgs, assault rifles, sniper rifles, and shotguns. You also get access to grenades, C4, and breaching charges. Since this is a first-person shooter, the controls are a little awkward in comparison to a controller or a keyboard and mouse. You use the analog stick to move around, and the face buttons to aim, the d-pad for weapons/items, crouching, night-vision, and using a scope. The game does feature a lock on targeting system with the L button which works pretty well. The only thing is that when you’re locked on to an enemy, you can press the triangle button to aim at his head for an instant kill, which can be pretty cheap at times. Once you have finished the story mode. You can replay any mission to unlock extra concept art. There’s also a terrorist hunt mode which drops you in a section of a level, and you have to kill all the terrorists. This is a great way to test new weapons. But the best thing to do once you’ve completed singe-player is to play the game online. And with the game's (surprisingly smart A.I. terro hunt can be a challenge.) The game features only two modes (survival and team-survival) but a hand-full of makes it worth playing. The game features a 4-player limit, which means only 2-on-2, which makes the commands you can give to your teammate pretty much useless. The only downsides of multiplayer are that lock-on targeting means that killing opponents requires more luck than skill. Another fluke is that when you pick your weapon, your pistol and gadgets are pre-determined for you, which means that if you want to use that Desert Eagle pistol, you have to use this certain sniper rifle. Also, only one of the game’s two sniper rifles is worth using. (PSG 1) The other sniper rifle takes multiple headshots to kill a baddie. All in all, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas is one of the best first-person shooters, if not one of the best psp games on the market. If you’re a Clancy buff, fps fanboy, or Rainbow Six vet, this game is definitely worth picking up at you’re local Bestbuy. (Or wherever you buy games) especially with its $40 price-tag!
