Playing strategic combat games is a lot like sucking a chewy sweet.

Slipping into the shadows, creeping, executing silently... it's tasty, satisfying. But the urge to chew, jump out in the open running full tilt at the enemy with guns lit up like roman candles is utterly overwhelming.

Siege cannot be played this way, you'll have your face torn off in a second. You don't head into Clancytown without this in mind; Grand Theft Auto isn't Tetris, but then Tetris doesn't tease you with an open world environment, a fancy car and helpless pedestrians gagging to be mown down. Not in my version, anyway.

No, bestill that beating machine gun and grab a pair of your finest sneaking socks, you're going to need them. But best you have some similarly-blessed friends, for once again we are bereft of any decent single-player campaign. What is it with modern ignorance of the friendless gamer, or those who just don't fancy interacting with hyperactive 12-year-olds up past their bedtime just to get through a scenario?

There are some bit and bobs in which a single player can indulge him or herself, but no campaign, and that's a hefty oversight when you're shelling out for a full-priced game.

But those who slather themselves in multiplayer online goodness will be well rewarded. But be warned, you've only got one life and one sack of energy. Lose these and your game is over, and that puts a whole different, far more realistic spin on how you approach situations.

Given its multiplayer focus, there's a surprising amount of variation, with 20 different Operators on offer, each with their own marked specialism, a load of maps and an array of objectives to keep you up until your eyes bleed.

It's a good wheeze unless you're lumbered with idiots who don't know what they're doing or couldn't care less about the objectives. It all rests on finding a decent bunch of strategy-savvy chums online.