Rainbow 6: Post Mortem and Other Gaming

Well, after the "release date" incident I have had a great deal of trigger time with Rainbow 6:V2. Overall I like it but I have the following criticisms:

1.The Spawns are still bull-shit on two fronts;

a. Who the fuck thought it a good idea to spawn you RIGHT OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF A GUNFIGHT? Even though you are technically "shielded" for a short period of time, you don't always have time to get the hell out of the way. Sometimes this leads to a syndrome caleld death. Once you get used to it however, you can use it to your advantage. For that brief moment you might actually kill somebody... Right before you die....                  Again.

b. Why do the bad-guys spawn in the same room with you and most often RIGHT THE FUCK BEHIND YOU? Does this make sense to ANYBODY. I'm sure by now most of you who have played the game have experienced the "What the fuck, I just cleared that corner" moment. Or the Star Trek Spawn. I have dubbed it thusly for obvious reasons. Scotty's magical transporter is the only explanation for the douche-bag that literally appears right in front of you. I have had this happen to me numerous times in Terrorist Hunt. However, my brother got recently owned by the game in the following manner. We were clearing a hallway in Convention Center, it's a small area that is more of a observation room located over one of the main floor kiosk lobbies. Anyway, we could cleary see that there was nobody in the room. He starts walking into it and we both watch as THREE bad-guys magically appear right in front of him. Of course, they all turn and imediately gun him down like a rabid schnoizer. He could of course say only one thing, "Fuck".

2. The host advantage is even more glaringly offensive in this sequel than in the last game. Versus is damn near unplayable if you have anything other than a really fast internet connection or are lucky enough to be playing against someone whose connection is worse than yours.

3. I really would have liked to pay $60 for a new game. This is NOT a new game. This is an improved version of the last game, nothing more. It isn't even a true sequel. It doesn't happen after the last one, it runs parallel. Wait! WHAT? This could have been a patch or an update. Ubisoft, don't ever rip me off like this again you Assholes.

4. They should have had more levels in the A.C.E.S. catagories. A few more weapons and experience point bonuses are aplenty. Since they obviously didn't spend a great deal of time designing a new game, all of their time improving the last game could have been partially invested in the creation of some truely NEW content. There are TONS of guns in the world and some of them could have found their way into the game. Apparently, you can get the Desert Eagle licenses but not the ubiquitous Uzi.

a. Sub-bitch. Let me get this straight, the Ak47 is the most prolific small arm produced in the 20th Century and it's the LAST fuckin' gun you unlock in the game?

b. I'm actually happy that the shield is the last thing you unlock and is de-powered from the last game. It was too strong before.

c. 12 gauge buck-shot is not a super-weapon. It is not capable of penetrating an old stacked cotton weave and resin vest stitched together by the Persians when they had that little misunderstanding with the Greeks much less modern heavy armor. It's basically black-powder musket balls crowded together. Someone shooting me in the chest with buckshot while i'm wearing my Level 3 raid vest is just going to piss me off. Head-shot, fine. Leg, fine. Chest-No Fuckin' Way.

d. While we're discussing Uber-Blasters, the MP-5 is also NOT a magical death-ray. It's still just a 9mm, barely more powerful than a 9mm pistol. It was only carried by the SEALS because it was small, lightweight and reliable as the day is long. Besides, those guys shoot you in the face because they think it's funny, it doesn't take a lot to kill you when shot there.

e. What should kill you right away and doesn't. The HK-G3Ka4, the SCAR-H, the M-240 and the HK M21e are all 7.62mm/.308 caliber weapons. They will penetrate damn near any variant of soft body armor without even slowing down. It takes a really good heavy plate to stop it. Other than having cutting edge steel or ceramic armor up front, you are fucked. If the Desert Eagle and Raging Bull are blasting you to your maker in one round, the .308 weapons are doing the same at much longer ranges.

On that note, I don't care if your technical advisor was a Green Beret or SEAL. Those guys know intimately how to operate any weapon they pick up. They can tear them down and clean them while also bathing and making a sandwhich. They can identify each part and tell you what the country of origin was but they most likely will NOT know anything about the specific ballistics or the bullets overall capabilities. That knowledge does not always go hand-in-hand with the former. Please ask a ballistics expert or military small-arms armorer.

Also, I realize that a lot of this was for game playability. If they had actually built in true physics and ballistics, these games would be more about spawning than shooting. But, I think they could have gotten the balances a little close than they did.

If you haven't bought R6V2 yet, rent it. If you like it wait a couple months and buy a used copy. Most of us that bought the game are now back to playing Call of Duty 4 anyway.

Speaking of which, if you have the game and haven't purchased the new map-packs, blow the dust off of your pocket book and get to it. the new maps are a blast, particularly the surprisingly fun China Town. That shit is crazy.

Creek, nice but not as big or as good as Overgrown.

Broadcast, a fun map and a good mix of game-types to play in it.

Kill-House. A waste of fuckin bit-mapping. It begs only one question, Why does it exist? You can kill everybody in the room with one good sweep of belt-fed goodness. Yawn.

See you guys online.