One of several commercial games I had installed on my family computer in the mid-2000s thanks to my dad, SWIV 3D is a sequel to SCi Games' Amiga classic, SWIV—a fact I found out many years later, if only because SWIV was a Europe-only game and I hail from America. Having played the original SWIV on an emulator and revisited and personally reviewed the sequel last year, I admit, I prefer the original. For one, SWIV 3D has no multiplayer mode. For another, while there are more than adequate levels to graze, a lack of level editor seems to not be up to Interplay's typical standards of replayability or longevity.
Despite these missed opportunities, SWIV 3D elegantly styles itself as a shoot-'em-up that crams more firepower into the player's vehicles than most war machines, just like its predecessor. The jeep—though admittedly underpowered compared to the helicopter this time—faces more challenges, as the terrain and waters work against it. Everything that moves is an enemy, but they all can be reduced to hunks of metal and all structures to rubble, not to mention geographical features such as trees. The main feature of SWIV 3D that stood out is the fact that it was a decent shoot-'em-up in a time when the genre was seemingly irrelevant. It would be great to not just have it on GOG, but with multiplayer and a level editor included.