Rainbow 6, Padres 2 -- plus stats, stats, and more stats

My friend Justin astutely pointed out that "Rainbow 6 Vegas 2" is one of the most unfriendly-to-non-gamers titles we've ever seen. What the hell is an average person supposed to make of that? How would the uninitiated understand that the first number refers to the name of the squad, but the second number refers to the game's place in the franchise? It sounds more like the final score of a baseball game than a videogame title.

As I pointed out in my review today, "Rainbow Six Vegas 2" barely even qualifies as a new game. It's basically an expansion pack to the first "Rainbow Six Vegas," with all of the original's many great qualities and its few basic flaws.

According to reports, the game has already shipped over 1 million units, so a solid expansion pack is apparently worth $60 to a lot of gamers. It's also possible that plenty of people who didn't buy the first one will start with the second, since it's essentially the same game anyway.

One change I found interesting is how this franchise went from stats heavy in the first game to stats obsessed in the second. There are literally four different stats: marksman, close quarters, assault and experience points (plus, for those playing on Xbox 360, achievement points). Literally every kill gets you points in at least one category. The screen is constantly popping up "+3" or "+5" messages. And you can't go more than 10 minutes, max, without finding you leveled up or ranked up or something in one of the categories.

It's weird, since of course the basic concept of "scores" in games has pretty much gone out the window (save for "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band"). But now instead of "scores" we have "stats," which is somehow more meaningful, I suppose. I guess it's great for those who like to get constant validation. Every time you play "Rainbow Six Vegas Two," you're sure to get an ego boost for "achieving" something or other.

(The screen above, for instance, shows the player simultaneously getting "kill using explosive" points and "experience points" for taking down an enemy.)

Here's an excerpt from my review:

At its basest formulation, a videogame franchise with annual sequels is a lot like a car with a new model every fall. So it is with “Rainbow Six Vegas 2,” which takes last year’s hit squad-based shooter, makes a few minor improvements, and offers essentially a big expansion pack of what was a tightly designed game with a few notable flaws. As such, it should enjoy solid sales amongst hard core fans of the original eager for more and some new fans who want to start with the souped up version, but won’t turn as many heads as its predecessor.

And you can read the whole thing here.