You can expect a host of new maps, same as the old maps, a leveling system, and some supposedly original modes of play that have been ripped wholesale out of Call of Duty 4, plus some bug fixes – long past-due – and a better, though still imperfect lobby system. Except for the baffling reduction of players able to duck-and-cover their way through the underwhelming story mode co-operatively, the new features are not at all unwelcome.  Bugs need fixing, and the dedicated Rainbow Six community will be glad Ubisoft took the time to address the majority of them; new maps and modes always provide a refreshing new challenge, and considering the excellent gameplay mechanics of this particular Clancy franchise, a welcome one; but in the end, this isn’t a patch or even DLC, it’s a full-price sequel.

The RPG-lite leveling system, shared now between campaign and multiplayer, offers an involving, if cursory, sense of achievement as you unlock new weapons or XP bonuses.  The single-player itself, while it lasts, is a fun, uncomplicated ride, but it lacks the impact of the series’ last instalment. Call of Duty 4’s short, sharp shock of story mode puts it to shame; even the sheer spectacle of the first Vegas is absent, unaccountably, and much of the fun, however silly it was, has slipped away with it. The grandiosity of the theatre, certainly the campaign’s highlight, seems a jarring glimpse of past glory; sandwiched between a convention centre textured almost entirely in unabashed advertising and some dreary action out in the Nevada desert, you hardly have time to appreciate the game’s sudden show of strength before Ubisoft squanders it before your very eyes.  

Even the narrative, suspect as it was in the first Rainbow Six: Vegas, lacks the graciousness to follow through: this time around, you’re in command of a new squad who fight alongside Logan – a B-team, if you will, in the same vein as the nobodies from the expansion packs that F.E.A.R has coasted on so long. You are, essentially, the abortive Blade Runner sidequel Soldier’s Kurt Russell next to Harrison Ford’s immortal Deckard.

In all, then, Rainbox Six: Vegas 2 is more than a little disappointing.  That being said, it remains among the leaders of an increasingly crowded pack.  The solid, responsive mechanics of the first instalment are present and correct, environments are credible if not remarkable, online adversarial and co-op play is as satisfying as ever – which is to say immensely, despite the sub-standard new settings – and the AI has been practising. 

Surely this game’s greatest pleasure, and the point at which it finally begins to shine, is in terrorist hunt. Brave realistic difficulty and set the enemies to high density, invite a few friends or hop into a public game over Live, and provided your teammates can communicate as well as shoot, count yourself in for an experience worth every inch of the unquestionable challenge it poses. You’ll rarely encounter such tight tactical action as this mode showcases, and in the campaign’s finer moments it, too, begins to approach the visceral intensity of terrorist hunt.