THE GOOD

• The return of total conquest mod from “Rainbow Six: Black Arrow.” This has to be my favorite multiplayer mode in ANY FPS on any console. To win, your team must control all three control points for 30 consecutive seconds. Very intense and fun.
• You can still map your face onto your in game character. If you look as pretty as me, this means that your player could be, quite possibly, the most attractive video game model evAr!
• The experience and challenge system is copied almost exactly from “Call of Duty 4.” You’ll always have a completely arbitrary goal to work towards (this time to unlock delicious achievement points.)

THE BAD

• No matchmaking. This means we won’t be able to form a party and play against the unwashed. Apparently Ubisoft is still unable to copy the matchmaking system that “Halo 2″ launched in 2004. Get used to playing each other again.

THE UGLY

• The game looks like a monkey’s butt. I would say that it looks like a game for the original Xbox, but that would be a terrible insult to games like the original “Splinter Cell.” The game is as ugly as the original RSV.

I can’t definitively say that the game is a can’t-miss winner. First impressions make me think that Ubisoft should have sold this for less than the full $59.99 asking price. This is more like Rainbow Six Vegas 1.1 than Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Still, I think the game may be worth it just for Total Conquest (and as a break from “CoD4.”)