The stakes are high when the world's most elite counter-terrorism unit enters Las Vegas, where over 36.7 million men, women and children visit each year. ‘Sin City’, the home of the famous Las Vegas Strip, flashy hotels, high-rolling casinos and world-famous celebrities, becomes the setting for a terrorist threat of global proportions. What happens when one of the world’s most famous cities is held hostage by terrorists? [Ubisoft]

It’s a basic premise—some would say shoehorned—to warrant yet another outing for the world’s most camp sounding anti-terrorism squad. However, the Rainbow Six team don’t perform emergency makeovers with pump-action lipsticks, nor do they redecorate entire safe houses in less than 24hrs while the occupant is off giving evidence. No, they generally embark on their missions utilising a selection of deadly weaponry to rid the world of pesky terrorists intent on reaching the grave at a vastly accelerated rate.

"Frag and clear!" is an in-game line that’s almost as welcome to the ears as Michael Caine’s legendary "Your only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" (The Italian Job), and the action that Ubisoft drives home in its tactical shooters is almost as thrilling as racing a Mini through the sewers of Turin. All in all, the Rainbow Six series, and its surviving hero Ding Chavez, usually provide the gaming goods while expelling vast amounts of spent shells and piling on the body count.

But can we have too much of a tactical squad-based good thing? Is there a pot of pin-less grenades at the end of this particular rainbow? What do the critics think? Let’s find out.

95% - GamePro - "Rainbow Six: Vegas’s gorgeous graphics, professional presentation, well-executed cover mechanic, and highly customisable multiplayer make it one the best first-person shooters on the Xbox 360. Heck, why beat around the bush: it’s got my vote for Game of the Year."

93% - IGN - "The sprawling levels like the glowing Fremont Street or the Hoover Dam open up Rainbow like it’s never been before, and the result is a balanced shooter that is as much close-quarter combat as long-range head shots...The best first-person shooter on the Xbox 360."

85% - 1UP - "Periods of sneaking around are rewarded with spectacular firefights, and every so often there’s a huge set piece that really shows off how great the Unreal 3 engine is for big, open battles."

80% - Eurogamer - "To really catapult it into the very highest bracket, Ubisoft still needs to work on a more compelling premise and improve on some of the production values, but otherwise Vegas represents one of the best shooters on the market and deserves to succeed."

80% - Official Xbox Magazine UK - "While the ‘tough as nails’ shoot-outs won’t see this on everyone’s must buy list, Ubisoft’s run of creating stunning showcases for the Xbox 360 remains unbroken."