As was the case with the previous games, you'll be felled quickly if you just rush into a room with your guns blazing, so you're better off taking your time and observing the situation. One of the best ways to do this is to take cover. However, instead of poking your head out and giving your foes a clean shot at your head, you can now take cover behind objects, at which point the camera will switch to a third-person view (it's similar to the cover system in Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter). You'll be able to blind fire around corners, although you'll be well-served by biding your time and popping out to quickly fell any approaching terrorists. Your reticule also has a full 360 degrees of motion when you're in cover, allowing you to quickly adjust if any enemies flank you.
Of course, you can also tell your teammates exactly where you want them to go, and you'll also have the ability to tell them how to react if they see an enemy. If they're in Infiltration mode, they won't fire unless fired upon by an enemy, while Assault mode will allow them to blast away as soon as they spot a foe. There are also a number of nifty gadgets at your disposal, one of which was taken directly from Ubisoft's own Splinter Cell series. The snake cam will allow you to assess threats in a room, and you can even rappel down the sides of buildings before smashing through the windows. While it might seem like things will get a little chaotic during moments like these, the developers have added an interesting game mechanic that allows you to give orders to your men.
One of the coolest new elements of the game is the tagging system, which lets the player target specific enemies for his teammates to take down. All you need to do is put your reticule over an unsuspecting foe (even while using the snake cam), then tag him with a red indicator. Since you've got two men under your command, you can target two enemies, and the game gives you plenty of chances to use the system. During one sequence, my teammates and I rappelled down the side of the casino, inverting ourselves so we wouldn't be spotted by any of the three terrorists that were standing on the other side of thick glass. Once I tagged two of the enemies, I gave the go order and my men crashed through the window while I took out the untagged tango. The men were dead before they even realized what was going on, and we continued on to rescue the hostage.
If you're a fan of Rainbow Six 3, you're going to instantly fall in love with this game. The core team behind that seminal title is hard at work in an attempt to make Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas the best tactical shooter in gaming history, and it looks like they may well succeed. The game looks absolutely great thanks to the much-ballyhooed Unreal 3 engine, with excellent lighting effects and character animations. Plus, you'll have all of the weapons that you've always loved at your disposal, as well as a number of cool new tactical elements. Finally, you'll have a good reason to play through a Rainbow Six single-player campaign again and again. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to talk about the multiplayer mode just yet, but be sure to check back next week for our exclusive preview!
