Finding a multiplayer shooter that’s worth sticking with is hard to come by these days. It’s not enough to just offer good game-play anymore. With so many games coming out, developers need to to do more and more to keep their player base alive. “Rainbow Six: Siege” is the case of a game that appeals to a more niche audience while still managing to foster an active community.

The closest thing to “Siege” on the market right now is “Counter-Strike.” Matches are 5-on-5 elimination style and are generally slow paced. The player picks from a roster of characters, each with their own weapons and special abilities. Every character in this game can die from just a couple of shots, so having fast reflexes and good positioning is vital.

“Siege” is completely focused on online multiplayer, which is a shame because the “Rainbow Six” series has always had quality single-player campaigns. The only thing you get is a few training missions that teach the basics of game-play. Even then, if you want to learn the intricacies of the game, you’re better off looking online.

The developer, Ubisoft, has helped keep the game alive by giving players new maps for free and releasing new characters. These new characters can be bought with the in-game currency that is earned by playing matches, but the amount of time you’d have to play to unlock just one of them is ridiculous. You’re pretty much forced to buy these new characters for $5 each, or $30 for a set.

A game getting new characters that cost more money is nothing new. However, in “Siege,” the newest characters that have been released seem objectively better than most of the ones that came with the base game. This only pressures newer players to sink more money into the game so that they have access to better characters. That doesn’t mean that you have to buy newer characters to stand a chance, but it doesn’t seem balanced at all.

This is a heavily flawed game, but I can’t help but applaud it for being unique in a genre that has become highly homogenized. Even with new shooters coming out every year, I find myself going back to “Siege” because it offers something that no other game has. No other shooter in recent memory has provided moments as tense and heart-pounding’ as this. “Siege” has a load of problems and most of them don’t have easy solutions, but at its core, it’s a fun, challenging shooter with a lot more upside than most of its contemporaries.

[Final Score 3/5]

Ulises Duenas can be reached at [email protected] or @OrionUlisesD on Twitter