Parent's Guide: Rainbow Six: Siege - Age rating, mature content and difficulty

Rainbow Six Siege is a first person shooter where players take on the role of a counter-terrorist operators, along the same lines as the SAS. As part of a small team, it's up to you to either infiltrate a building, or defend a hostage/room from attack, in intense, and often quite tactical close quarters combat. Most of the game is focused online, and relies heavily on making use of your surroundings, and team work with other players. The single player offering here is limited to a tutorial-style mode, consisting of a series of 10-15 minute 'situations' that serve as an introduction to certain character classes (more on this later) and pieces of equipment. Almost all of the game is online oriented, then - and as always, you'll require an Xbox Live or Playstation Network account to play online on consoles.

When playing online, you'll be playing in a team of up to five players, working co-operatively against computer controlled bad guys, with several different modes to pit your wits against. One mode asks you to enter a building and find a hostage, "neutralising" enemies as you go, before escorting the hostage to a safe area; another sees you entering a building and simply having to kill the enemies inside; while another asks you to protect a hostage from the enemy, barricading a room and setting up traps to stop the enemies getting in, and keep the hostage safe. There are multiple different characters available to play as, known as "operators", and each has different weapons and equipment to choose from, along with a unique ability. Some might be able to disable electronics, while others may be skilled in heavy arms, so you'll need to work together with your team to complete the mission. Each operator's equipment is customisable and can be changed/upgraded using the in game currency called 'renown'. Booster packs can also be purchased in game with real-life money, which give you more 'renown' to spend.

In terms of accessibility, Rainbow Six Seige is a game aimed at experienced shooter players, and those who like to think several steps in advance. Tactical play is key here, and you'll need to be able to think on the fly to adapt to a rapidly changing situation. Each round begins in a rather fast paced way, as you aren't given a lot of time to choose your weapons and character, with the rest of the game playing out in a similarly rapid style. You'll need to be able to stay on your toes and think fast in terms of how you'll approach a situation, as running straight in may not always be the best option - and if it goes wrong your team mates may not be best pleased! With a fully destructible environment, things can very quickly start to go wrong, and the enemy can come at you from literally any direction. With a wide array of weapons and technology at your disposal, friendly fire that's always turned on (so you can accidentally kill team mates - and they can do the same to you), and the fact you can only be revived once (after that, you stay dead and simply have to watch the rest of the game play out), you'll need a steady head to succeed. This is also a reason why the game is often more enjoyable and beneficial if played with a headset and microphone to allow you to communicate with other players online, although a microphone certainly isn't a necessity.

As a game based around rescuing hostages and taking on terrorists, Rainbow Six Siege contains a fair amount of violence. With a variety of firearms to choose from, from pistols to shotguns to machine guns, along with grenades and equipment such as barbed wire, each of which causes realistic impacts and spurts of blood from enemies who get shot, covering both the enemies themselves and the floor/wall, there's a fair amount of claret on show. When trying to defuse a bomb, you'll also see hostages gagged and tied in distress.

Cutscenes during the game (that the player doesn't control) during each operator's introduction also contain violence, with a man shown being shot in slow motion, and explosions sending at least two people flying to name just a couple. What can also be seen in cut scenes as well as in game is small bags of cocaine and other drugs on counters and tables - possibly even on floors depending how much destruction has taken place. It should also be noted that bad language is also featured throughout, and during gameplay the word f**k can be heard being muttered from your own player, or being shouted from wounded operators and enemies. As the game is mostly focused around online play, and encourages you to use a headset and microphone, it's pretty likely you'll hear other players swearing or saying inappropriate things too - although voice chat is optional.

Age Ratings

Format Reviewed: Playstation 4