Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Multiplayer Details
Anyone who owned an Xbox 360 in November of 2006 picked up one of two games -- or, if you're lucky enough, you bought both -- Rainbox Six Vegas or Epic's Gears of War. While Gears was certainly the more hyped of the two titles, Rainbox Six Vegas rose to the forefront of many gamers' minds as a contender for Game of the Year. While it did concede the honors in the end, the series clearly made the jump to high-definition gaming much easier than others. Some say it was the first fully realized Xbox 360 game to come on the market. Period. We would agree.
Now Ubisoft is preparing to unleash the sequel to the masses in Spring 2008. In the first part of our interview we touched on the new character customization options and overall design of the single-player portion of Vegas 2. Now we're back with Jean-Pascal Cambiotti to go over what we can expect to see from the multiplayer side -- both cooperative and adversarial play -- of Rainbow Six Vegas 2.
IGN: Give us an example from the new game that outlines how the structure of a level is geared more towards a co-op experience than what we saw from the first Vegas.
Jean-Pascal Cambiotti: Well, in the first Rainbow Six Vegas (RSV), all levels were created around the SP campaign. This time around we really wanted to put more emphasis on playing co-op. Our maps were designed from the ground up with co-op in mind.
The layouts accommodate more players in a given area. There are more entry points so that no one is stepping on other's toes. This goes beyond adding a few doors here and there. This includes adding more skylights so your partner can fast-rope down onto terrorists and multi-level areas that allow your teammates to clear the lower level while you and your Co-op partner take on the terrorists on the upper level.
IGN: Will the co-op gameplay now have dialogue during cut scenes (that was sorely missed in the first Vegas)?
Cambiotti: As mentioned before, co-op was a major focus for us. So yes, you can play the complete story in co-op with the help of a friend. All dialogs and scenes remain completely intact in co-op.
IGN: Will your friends be able to bring their created character over to your house on their hard drive or memory card and import it for co-op action?
Cambiotti: You can bring over your customized character to play split-screen at your friend's house and continue to evolve him during that time.
IGN: When you say you can invite a friend to jump in at any time during your campaign, does this apply to Xbox Live and split screen?
Cambiotti: Yes, the SP story campaign can all be played through co-op with a friend. The host controls the teammates, and the guest is the 4th character in the story that helps you complete your missions. This can be done through online and offline and of course offline is accomplished through split-screen. As the question states, your friend can jump-in and out of your game at anytime. Both characters progress and share any experience points you get. Since our game is about playing as team, there is no competition between the players for points and rewards in co-op.
IGN: Can I port my character from Vegas 1 over to Vegas 2? If not, why not?
Cambiotti: This is something we looked into from the start of the project, but unfortunately it isn't possible due to technical issues and 1st party limitations. However, for those loyal RSV gamers, we offer some rewards by granting them Veteran status, which immediately unlocks some cool stuff and gives them an XP boost.
IGN: Can you explain the two new adversarial multiplayer modes for us?
Cambiotti: All I can say at this time is that we have 2 new team-based adversarial multiplayer modes. We also revamped our other game modes based on our observations of what worked and what didn't in RS Vegas.
IGN: Why make the new multiplayer maps smaller rather than more expansive? Don't players want to see sprawling landscapes rather than be confined to tight quarters?
Cambiotti: Bigger maps don't necessarily mean they are better. However, we do offer both bigger and smaller sized maps in RSV2. Our objective was to balance all the maps as best as possible by making more intense firefight zones. In an MP map, you want to be able to find enemies instead of spending all your time wandering around the landscape. There's still plenty of room to maneuver and approach your objective from different paths.
In addition, one way Rainbow Six differentiates itself from other shooters is through close quarter battles.
