RB6: Vegas will have you taking on the role of two Rainbow Six operatives, Brian and Shawn, as you take part in a side quest of sorts to quell a terrorist attack in Las Vegas. Brian is your assault guy, and pretty much your main character throughout the game, while Shawn is your sniper. The game will have you switching back and forth between the guys, usually when one of them is penned up by enemy fire.

The main game is fairly short, cut into five different levels and spread out against smaller sub chapters. You can blow thru the main campaign easily in under 7 hours or so. Other modes include "Terro Hunt" which just mixes up the locations of enemies in different chapters, and then the two multiplayer modes, which are basically deathmatch and team deathmatch. However, you can only play with 4 players in multi, in both ad hoc and online, which really makes for a pretty boring game.

Other differences in the PSP game compared to the other console versions include a forced difficulty in the form of no ammo pick-ups or re-supply points, no health pick-ups, and no grappling mechanic. However, the game difficulty isn't very high, and I only once ran out of bullets for the Shawn's pistol, which left me with just the sniper rifle. With the stages being so short, however, you really don't end up having to kill that many enemies anyways. Also, to help with the awkward aiming controls, you can lock on to an enemy, and even flick up to target their heads, which cuts down on the use of ammo considerably.

I think one of the most disappointing aspects of Rainbow Six: Vegas is the fact you never really feel like you're actually IN Vegas. There are a few slot machines tossed around randomly on stages, but most of the time you'll be in some incredibly mundane buildings, which resemble offices or sub basements, and you never step onto an actual casino floor. This takes away a lot of the visual punch that the console versions possessed, and while the PSP might not have been able to pull of similar visuals, it would have been nice for them to attempt to drive home that Vegas atmosphere.

The play mechanics are very similar to the console counterparts, with a duck and cover system that requires you to press against nearby cover for protection. From there you can span your view around a bit, locate an enemy and obtain a lock, then pop out and fire. You'll usually only be facing an enemy or two per room, with the greatest challenges being when you're require to rescue your squad mate within a certain amount of time. Early on its even possible to avoid the cover system entirely, I played thru one entire level by simply using typical run and gun mechanics. Enemy AI isn't too bright, and you can sometimes drop a guy right next to his partner without the partner being alerted to your presence. Also, get ready to be a bit annoyed with the cover system, as it seems to be pretty touchy. Pressing the analog nub a little bit too hard will automatically cause you to take cover when you're next to a wall or crate, which can be really annoying if you're trying to avoid fire from behind or next to you.

The aiming system is a bit funky as well, which is why they've included the lock on system. You control all your movement with the analog nub, but your actual aiming is all done with the square, triangle, circle, and X buttons. Because of this, it can be a bit challenging to aim, since it's far more difficult to use than an analog control.

Overall, Rainbow Six: Vegas feels like a half-baked approach at porting a stellar console title. While giving you a slightly changed story and new characters to work with is a nice approach, the actual gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. If you've got a short trip and you're looking for something with not much substance to kill time with, then you might want to give it a rental. Otherwise, I'd just wait for it to hit bargain bin prices.