The “Rainbow Six” franchise of shooters have always set themselves apart in the gaming world as being much more cerebral than the run-and-gun, shoot-em-up games. The newest installment, “Rainbow Six: Siege,” seems to continue that legacy while still making some concessions to modern clichés.

There is a tense energy to the matches unlike any other multiplayer shooter. It only takes a shot or two to kill a player, and the fact that every room is able to be breached by the opposing team at a variety of points leaves little time to feel secure.

What sets “Siege” apart is the tactical side of the game. With such few health points, it forces a team to communicate and work together to stay alive. If everyone works on their own, the match will devolve into a chaotic mess and an almost guaranteed loss.

“Siege” feels like something between “Call of Duty” and “Counter-Strike.” The point system seems mainly cosmetic, with each successful objective or kill being rewarded with a meaningless point value; yet at the same time there’s something about seeing those numbers that just feels good.

There are enough game types and maps to fill more than a week’s worth of playing, and each one feels fun and enticing in its own way. With the exception of the “bomb” and “hostage” game types, which essentially force a team to get to a certain point on a map, each match will likely turn into a pseudo-death-match with a team usually winning by wiping out all their opponents.

It’s frustrating to see yet another game that’s built to be played with a group of four other friends. It’s not always possible to gather that many companions to play with. Players should not be punished for not being able to convince other people to join them.

That being said, the beautiful sound and art design of the game are a joy to behold. They do, however, suffer from occasionally lengthy frame-rate drops as the game’s servers attempt to keep up.

The $59.99 price is a little too high for a game with such little single-player playability. It’s clear the meat of the game is in the multiplayer with the single player as an afterthought. Not to mention there is an abundance of micro-transactions that pop up constantly. They have little effect on gameplay and are mainly weapon skins and quick bonuses to your multiplayer rank, but it seems to be an unnecessary and desperate cash grab.

All in all, it seems almost as if “Rainbow Six: Siege” suffers from a lack of confidence. The gameplay is relatively good, but it doesn’t go far enough to set itself apart from the herd to justify the asking price.