The new features
There are also some new features in the game worthy of note. First up, there are experience points, which you gain throughout the game allowing you to rank up and unlock new gear and weapons. A.C.E.S. (Advanced Combat Enhancement Specialization) is also the new reward-based system where you gain ranks based on the way you dispatch enemies.The ACES system is divided into three categories: Marksmanship, Assault, and Close-Quarter Battle. You can play the game through as you would do normally and you gain ranks and points in these categories by killing enemies through various methods, such as long distant shots, a shot from behind, a grenade kill or a shotgun kill. Based on your play-style you unlock weapons or gear that is relevant to you, for example, if you level up in marksmanship you may get access to a new sniper rifle or if you're a close quarter battle expert you may get a new shotgun.
If you're an obsessive gamer who enjoys unlocking everything within a game, the ACES system gives you another reason to play through it again. I personally prefer killing enemies from a long distance and normally stick with the likes of a G36C throughout the single player Rainbow 6 campaigns, but the lure of the ACES system has encouraged me to experiment with other weapons so I can unlock more weapons and gain more gear. The ACES system works really well and is a welcome addition which adds a new dimension to the game-play
Click for larger imageIt does however come with one slight annoyance, that you could argue slightly compromises the authenticity of the battles. Whenever you kill a bad guy, a message flashes up on screen telling you how you killed him and showing you how many points you've been awarded in one of the three ACES categories.
The problem is this - if you take a shot at an enemy through cover and kill him you're awarded Assault points, but this message let's you know immediately whether he is down or not by flashing up on screen. In previous Rainbow 6 games you wouldn't know immediately whether you’d killed your target and you might hang around to see if he shoots again, send a team-mate to his position to double-check or brave the open area yourself to take a look.
For some people these messages may actually be a welcome addition as it will save you time hanging around or doing what could be deemed as a boring scouting chore, but personally I think without it takes some of the tension away from the battles and makes the game feel slightly more 'arcadey' than previous iterations.
Nevertheless, the help from the ACES system doesn't make the game any easier because the AI is totally unforgiving.
