Lots of advertisements but GREAT gameplay

As with the Xbox 360 version PS3 version's graphics are stellar and offer up lots of detail. Granted when I first fired up the game I started to panic as the menu display was a little blurry and nowhere near as sharp looking as the Xbox 360 version and once I started up a game and it still did not look good. I went into the in-game options menu and everything seemed to be set up properly. So I shut down the game and did a bit of online research. I discovered that apparently there is a problem with the 1080i up-scaling resulting in blurry displays. It was recommended that I go into the PS3 menu and set the menu at 720p. So I adjusted my settings and fired up the game again, fortunately it worked and I was relieved. The game menu was no longer blurry and the visuals looked on par with the Xbox 360 version. While I was relieved the problem was resolved and I am still of the opinion this should not have occurred. At the very least, the game should have come with a warning or an online update to resolve the problem.

Once my settings were in order, I began to take some notes regarding the visuals. At the end of the day Rainbow Six: Vegas for the PS3 stands as virtually identical to the Xbox 360 version. All the same fantastic details look great. From the stunning re-creation of Las Vegas, the realistic lighting, the smooth character models, the subtle smoke and blood effects, to the overall High Definition display; graphically Rainbow Six: Vegas for the PS3 is very solid indeed.

Once you move past the Mexican mission, which occupies the first hour or two of the single player campaign, you enter Las Vegas and it is here where the visuals really stand out. The panoramic views from the helicopter that delivers you to your first Las Vegas mission or from the top of the Vertical Spire Casino (a Stratosphere look-a-like) are breathtaking and quite impressive. There are also some recognizable landmarks and buildings that are quite well rendered and easily recognizable. As with other award winning Ubisoft shooters it is easy to see how a lot of time and effort was spent trying to create a nearly exact replica of the city that never sleeps.

Another stellar aspect of the visuals is the lighting. From the Vegas Strip itself to inside the casinos the lighting is realistic and adds to the visuals and gameplay. The developers did a really good job creating some of the dusty and dark environments forcing one to rely on the Thermal Vision at times. Although I was impressed with the implementation of the thermal version I was relieved that I only had to rely on it on only a few occasions during the Single Player campaign. My only beef with the lighting in the PS3 version compared to the Xbox 360 version was the lack of in-game brightness control. To adjust the brightness in the game you have to adjust your display's actual brightness setting. Personally I found I had to adjust the brightness, as the game does become too dark far too often. It’s is not a big deal but it is certainly a nuisance having to go into your display's menu to adjust brightness.

Overall, the character models are decent but do not expect Gears of War detail. Granted there are an endless amount of combinations of such things as weapons, faces, armor, uniforms, and colors at any given time. The ability to customize your character is a nice feature. The ability to put on different sets of armor, masks, hats, camouflage and whatnot is really a great feature and adds to the customizability of the game. It is something you will be tinkering with on a frequent basis while playing the online mode as you try and build the ultimate looking online character.

Speaking of online multiplayer, similarly to the Xbox 360 version the graphics when going online are somewhat scaled back. In other words the single player campaign visuals are simply better. Sadly the visuals during online multiplayer online play are not as sharp when compared to the offline visuals. Don't get me wrong though, they still look pretty good, but this was a somewhat disappointing aspect of the game as I expected some improvements over the Xbox 360 online visuals.

Overall if you haven’t played the game on PC or the Xbox 360, you will be a bit awestruck and pleasantly surprised by the on-screen visuals. However, if you have played Rainbow Six: Vegas on either the 360 or PC you will not notice any noticeable improvements as the visuals are pretty much identical to versions you have already seen.