Rainbow Six Vegas 2 lived on my computer for about five weeks before I killed it for space.  Like an ugly bump, it briefly satisfied my craving for new game content but ultimately was quite disposable.  I'm not sure where that puts it on a scale of 1 - 10 but let's break it down - single playthough, linear plot and bare bones innovation in game dynamics means it places roughly as the video game equivalent of a a rebound girlfriend or glossy gossip magazine.  Sorry, Ubisoft, but it is what it is. 

All in all, RSV2 was a decent playthough but it really does not separate itself from the 'just another shooter' category.  What do you call a rebound from a rebound? No idea but shame on anyone that gave this thing a score over 6.5, and with metacritic showing an aggregate review score of 8/10, that sucking sound you are hearing is not a digital chest wound.

The Specifics

RSV1 signed off with a 'to be continued' ending - something I thought was vaguely interesting because the plot developed relatively quickly but the final mission left us many unanswered questions.  I now know that in gameland to be continued = 'overbudget, must pull the plug.'  RSV2 starts off with you as Bishop, team leader for a second Rainbow Six squad - the only meaningful connection to part one is that the game is set in Vegas and there be terrorists laying shit down.  Anything deeper went completely over my head, though truth be told I found that the frequent breaks for plot development scratched my ADHD the wrong way (fk the soap opera, send me more waves of kamikazi terrorists, please). 

 
For my money, the highlight of the game was the level design.  Big ups to the level team, whom I would love to shout out by name but can't (as I cannot bring myself to reinstall and playthough the game again in order to check the credits).  The game maps are relatively linear but offer enough variety that the player can play around with multiple tactical solutions to a given scenario - whether it's clear and breach, rappel through the windows or fire and maneuver with your teammates - the options are there and this greatly enhances the game play.  Ultimately however it does come down to shwacking a sh't load of bad dudes in various forms of tactical gear, which does get to be a bit repetitive. 

Ubisoft has also introduced a modest character development aspect, whereby you are awarded different types of experience points based on your style of play.  Experience awards are broken down by sharpshooter, CQB, Assault and General XP, which basically leads to different weapon and cammo unlocks.  The system is kind of interesting and I certainly found myself modifing my play style in order to rank where my character was lagging but the sticking point is that the entry level guns were generally the best, so the higher level unlocks really didn't add much.  
 
Graphics wise, RSV2 is about everything you would expect from a high budget blockbuster release.  I do not have a graphics fetish (or even a half decent PC) so this really didn't mean a whole lot to me but it's there if you are into that.  In game movement is fluid and only rarely did my AI team members get 'stuck' on a texture or otherwise freak out.  The AI quality seems to have been improved too, with team members now providing overwatch for each other on particularly long moves although it still felt like there was little coordination in the red team AI.  Enemies just move to contact, with seemingly no capacity for flanking or fire coordination. 

Granted the challenges of developing true AI that is why we have online play.  Now I must admit I didn't spend much time on the online servers however game design seems to make it more conducive to lone wolf type behavior, which pretty much kills the strategic element that the Rainbow Six franchise has used to separate itself in single player.  At least there were no chopper whores....