Welcome to our CHEATfactor Game Review of Rainbow Six: Siege. We review the game and then factor in how the available cheats affect the overall game experience. For better or worse, our reviews will help you decide whether or not to use cheats when playing the game.

When everything falls into place, Rainbow Six: Siege is a stunning example of what a competitive multiplayer shooter can be. It's tense, thrilling and rewards cooperation and communication over having a quick trigger finger. Sadly though, it sacrifices a lot to get to that point. Yes, there are flashes of greatness here in Siege, but they're accomplished by stripping the game of what gave the series it's identity of it's own to begin with. This isn't the Rainbow Six you've known and loved in the past; it's a focused an cerebral multiplayer take on the established formula. Whether or not that's a good thing depends on just what you're looking for.

If you're looking for a single or even co-op campaign like in previous Rainbow Six games, you're out of luck; Siege is strictly a multiplayer affair. To be fair, there are single player missions but they're pretty much just training scenarios that help get you used to the game's mechanics before you jump into multiplayer, at least that's the goal. These missions do little to tell you how to use each gadget you have at your disposal, and as a result I threw out more than my fair share of flash bangs to empty rooms. You don't even get the traditional Rainbow Six experience in these missions since you're typically going them alone. There's no planning, no strategy, just you and the terrorists.

If you're looking for a single player shooter don't even bother with Rainbow Six: Siege, but if you're looking to play online there aren't many games like Siege and that's definitely a good thing. Matches are basically variations of the last man standing concept and breaks players down into two teams: the attacks and the defenders. The defenders start the match by attempting to fortify their position, putting up barbed wire, reinforcing walls covering and covering exits. The attackers will do pretty much the opposite, get as much info on their opponent's strategy and location and then plan out their attack. If you've got a group of like-minded allies and opponents, Rainbow Six: Siege is a complete rewarding blast that favors those who communicate and plan over those with a quick trigger finger (though it does come in handy when things get messy). Be warned though, even one player who doesn't want to communicate or cooperate can ruin the entire experience.

Siege's biggest trick though by far are it's destructive environments. A lot of game may claim to feature fully destructive environments but none are as useful as here in Siege and they completely change how you'll look at each environment and goal. Say you're playing as the attackers and your opponents are held up in a residential house in the back bedroom. Sure, you could go in through the front door and just eliminate enemies as you would in any other shooter but there's so much more depth here. Rappel up to the roof and enter through the windows, then use a sledgehammer or explosive to blow a hole in the ceiling above the room where the hostage is, then proceed to throw a flash bang in, jump down and go to the rescue. It's an interesting and well done mechanic, even if it's not quite up to the scope that we saw in the original trailer a few years ago.

I was also disappointed to find that the deep character customization of previous Rainbow Six games was mostly absent in Siege, where it could be used very well. As you win matches you'll acquire renown, a type of in-game currency that allows you to unlock new types of operatives, weapons, add-ons and scopes but it's a far cry from the amount of customization we've seen previously from the franchise. It doesn't take long to unlock pretty much everything the game has for you and nothing feels personal. Half the fun of previous Rainbow Six games was building up my character that was different from everyone else I may encounter online, and Siege is missing a lot of that, and a lot of personality as a result.

I also noticed quite a few match making problems in Siege that more than took me out of the experience. The core of this game is built so heavily on having strong allies and even teams but there were several matches I played where someone dropped out at the end of a round and no one was added, meaning that my team was down even to begin the match. It can also take a while to load matches or find new players when first booting up the game. This has gotten a bit better since the game's release but it's still an issue today.

As a mostly single player gamer, Rainbow Six: Siege doesn't offer me much, but as a multiplayer shooter it's tough to beat. It's a tense, competitive and rewarding experience that tries things most other games would not even dare to and the results are mostly positive. If you're looking for more than just your typical online shooter Rainbow Six: Siege is the game you're looking for, now suit up.