Before Ghost Recon, before Splinter Cell, there was Rainbow Six. The original iteration in the series set the standard for realistic, tactical shooters nearly a decade ago on the PC. It took a slow, methodical approach whereas most first-person shooters at the time were kinetic, circle-strafing affairs. The special appeal of its gameplay gave Red Storm Entertainment an early hit.

Now, years and several incarnations of the series later, some were saying that Rainbow Six was starting to look long in the tooth. Ubisoft (the stewards of Tom Clancy games) was determined to refresh the series with the next-generation consoles. With the final product out, they appear to have done just that, giving Rainbow Six great looks and evolved gameplay.

We sat down with Adam Novickas, Group Brand Manager at Ubisoft, and found out why what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas anymore.

Cashing out your chips
According to the NPD, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas was the twelfth best selling title in December and the ninth best seller in January overall. This made it the third best selling Xbox 360 title over that time period. Since hitting store shelves in late November, Rainbow Six Vegas sold 614,800 titles, including both the regular and limited edition SKUs.

"Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas met Ubisoft's expectations as it was one the top selling titles for the holidays. Ubisoft and the Tom Clancy franchise set the standard for next-gen gaming with last year's release of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (GRAW). We had a star development team - the same team that developed the award winning Rainbow Six 3 - focus 100 percent on the next-gen game so we were confident the game would be top quality," said Novickas. "Rainbow Six Vegas is fast approaching the sales of the best-selling Rainbow Six 3. Ubisoft is seeing similar results with Rainbow Six Vegas as it did with GRAW. Our focus is on next-gen technology and we're leveraging it to elevate our brands to new heights."

"The limited edition was meant to provide the hardcore fans with fun and entertaining content outside of the game," he continued. "We included a brand history hosted by the Frag Dolls and a 'mockumentary.' The fan reaction was positive, but ultimately it was the game's quality that drove the interest among hardcore fans."

Go all in
Ask any veterans of the Rainbow Six series where much of the appeal comes, and chances are very good that they will immediately point to the multiplayer aspect. While the single player has always been well designed (and the AI in Rainbow Six Vegas is particularly well constructed) playing the game with a friend or three can't be matched. With multiple options to play competitive multiplayer (either with or without respawns) and co-op for up to four players, Rainbow Six Vegas continues the series' proud multiplayer tradition.

"The amount of freedom and customization available in Rainbow Six Vegas allows the player to create a truly unique character. Players can customize their weapon, select different types of armor, add different camo patterns to everything the player wears. As the player's ranking goes up, more customization options are unlocked," explained Novickas. "It's hard to pick one feature because the experience is so strong from top to bottom. But one feature I personally loved was the face mapping feature that utilized the Xbox 360 camera. This feature allows the player to put his/her own face on his/her avatar. Coupled with the vast array of character customization options, this allows the player to truly create a personal online avatar. My wife said it made me look thinner, so that was an added bonus."

"We expect the reaction [to the downloadable content] to be very positive," he added. "The Rainbow Six brand has always been a leader on Xbox Live with Rainbow Six 3 holding the No. 1 spot for a long time. Rainbow Six Vegas has continued that trend and become an instant hit with the Xbox Live community. Extra maps and game modes will keep the community happy and engaged for months to come."

When it comes to next-gen gaming, the most often cited benefit is that of more realistic graphics. While there is some debate regarding the actual worth of nearly photorealistic visuals [Just ask Nintendo! – Ed.], it's hard to argue that Rainbow Six Vegas hasn't benefited from it. The series has always been very grounded in the real, modern world, and this latest installment has some awesomely detailed casino environments, in addition to gameplay improvements that enhance the realism of its tactical gameplay.

"The next-gen experience is really about increasing the player's immersion and feeling that they are playing in an interactive movie," said Novickas. "With the new technology, developers are able to make this experience much more believable than in the past. There are three core areas that Rainbow Six Vegas nailed to make this experience special. Number one is visuals; character animations, textures, smoke effects and lighting were pushed very hard by our Montreal studio team. Players felt as if they were in a living world. Number two is artificial intelligence; both the teammate artificial intelligence and the enemy artificial intelligence is among the best in the industry. The level of complexity in their decision making is only possible with next-gen technology and is extremely important in bringing the gamer a believable experience. Next-gen consoles allowed us to dedicate a good chunk of the processing power towards making the players team mates fight like how a real elite counter-terrorism team should fight. Terrorists are also smarter, using cover and working as a team to flank or ambush the player. Number three is storyline, critics called Rainbow Six Vegas the best storyline in the Rainbow series. The fast paced, 24-like type of narrative used multiwindowing to keep the player immersed in both the gameplay and the storyline to create a seamless experience. Without this technology, the game would have to rely solely on cut scenes or briefings to deliver the story, which can sometimes pull the gamer out of the experience.

"With the game set in Las Vegas, next-gen capabilities allowed us to push the realism to the limits and make players feel like they were knee-deep fighting their way through Sin City—from the glowing city lights to the casinos filled with slot-machines, spitting out coins as they are put to pieces by the bullets of your mighty MP5!"

Tip your hand
Ubisoft, as they often do for their large releases, had an extensive TV ad campaign for Rainbow Six Vegas. The ad contrasted shots of counter-terrorist action with Viva Las Vegas being sung in the background. It really managed to capture the essence of the game (chaos in Sin City). Despite negative comments by Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman, we think that all the attention paid to the city in the ads and the game itself can only benefit the city.

"The holiday shooter competition was quite formidable and we knew we had to do some off-the-wall tactics to create additional noise to support what we knew was going to be a top quality game," commented Novickas. "We created a teaser Web campaign called 'Save Vegas' which was a fictional conspiracy theorist web site that created a back story to the game's storyline. The web site had videos and photos that depict the typical 'What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' material, but with a strange terrorist twist at the end. The web site and the videos were marketed through an integrated campaign that was supported through rich media online advertising, print advertising and community efforts. The treatment of this marketing tactic was both risque AND spooky, which is something very different from typical Rainbow Six marketing. Feedback from fans was great. This different approach helped give additional lift and exposure to the launch."