SWAT 4: Gold Edition

Boy, was that a satisfyingly tough game! If SWAT 3 took me 28 hours to complete, SWAT 4 took whole 64 ! The controls are more convenient here, but it’s balanced out by the increase in difficulty. Save maybe for the first few, each mission takes as two-digit number of attempts to learn and to get the luck you need to pass it, as sometimes you will simply miss when trying to hit an enemy dead in your crosshairs or get shot seemingly out of nowhere and there is nothing you can do about it (the enemies are once again placed randomly each attempt). On second thought, I was trying for the elite scores, so it might actually be easier on lower difficulties (The expansion ups the difficulty even more - you can no longer afford to lose a single team member if you're hoping to get the elite score in those missions). Now, unlike the previous game, SWAT 4 doesn’t have any big overarching story across its missions. The missions themselves ARE given context, which is often more detailed than in SWAT 3, but recurring enemies and/or the continuation of the nuclear treaty saga could have given the game a much greater sense of purpose, without which it’s just a collection of well-designed missions. The expansion actually does include the titular Stetchkov Syndicate as recurring bad guys, but it barely amounts to anything. But even without a story SWAT 4 is a good game… which requires a special mod or manual tweaking of its files to run at a modern resolution.

This game was phenomenal when it was released and it still holds up really well. The graphics have definitely aged, but the gameplay is something that has been drowned out by the cover based shooter fair of recent "tactical" shooters. Even so, everything about this game still feels right so right, everything from stacking your team in the right place and ordering a simultaneous entry, flashbangs, gas grenades flying, and you and your team yelling for people to drop weapons, followed by the swift arrest of everyone in the room. Although there's a limit to maps, perps and hostages are randomised, coupled with the quick mission maker and you have many hours of fun. A few recommended ways of playing this- 1) Play the expansion, it has added more depth to commands and loadout than the original plus you can still play the original missions via quick mission maker 2) Use the quick mission maker in Stechkov and create a scenario pack with all the maps in from the original right through to the expansion. That way you can play through everything much more quickly. Don't forget to keep everything as campaign settings. It's a real shame that you can't play online for this anymore, because the multiplayer was amazing (me held as a vip hostage and the douche terrorist team constantly flashbanging while I try to crawl away was oddly hilarious) Get this game, it's probably the last of its kind- a genuine tactical first person shooter, done right.

An excellent simulator from the good old days in which one can spend countless hours agonizing over precarious, randomized life or death situations. The emphasis on the use of non-lethal force ratchets up the tension by forcing the player to always be thinking several steps ahead, as a perp only needs a shot or two to take them down. It's about getting the jump on them before they can do the same in return. Highly recommended, for its simulation value. I tend to call it a simulator rather than a tactical shooter because it is about the simulation of the role of a police officer (role play) more than it is about being able to land precise and immediate head-shots.

SWAT 4 is just a fantastically fresh game, even though it's over a decade old now. A tactical shooter unlike anything you can play today, and for the most part, anything you could play back then. Irrational Games did a fantastic job with the levels, and making each mission feel very alive. Couldn't recommend it more.

I'm so happy they released this. I'm gonna cry lol.