SWAT 3: Tactical Game of the Year Edition

Reasons why SWAT 3 is better than SWAT 4: -better squad AI -non-insane rules of engagement -better movement (faster walkspeeds, can move and lean at the same time) -better squad AI -larger, more complicated levels that feature a wider variety of environments -more detailed ballistics (in SWAT 4 bullets can only penetrate doors) -better squad AI -better squad AI -doors actually work like they do in the real world -the command system is much faster once you get the hang of it -better game balance. there are no OP non-lethal weapons to trivialize the game with -better squad AI -better squad AI -better squad AI I cannot overstate how good SWAT 3's friendly AI is, and how much it improves the experience. They can handle room clearings just fine, they will actually engage enemies on sight (as opposed to the SWAT 4 officers that prefer to hurl quips instead of bullets), they approach corners properly (this may be the only game with AI that knows how to slice the pie), they will focus on the entry points of a room instead of staring off into space or at walls. The major downside of SWAT 3 is that it might be a pain in the ass to get running on your computer. I've had computers where it runs just fine with no issues, and others where it requires you to use DGVoodoo. So be prepared to do some tinkering.

First and foremost you should know I was only able to get this title working with a mod and some third party software. The native GOG release of this game did not work for me, and I consulted support before stumbling onto a solution. In SWAT 3 you will be taking on the role of a SWAT team element leader operating in the city of Los Angeles, and as far as I can tell it’s set around the time the game was launched so 2001. The meat of the game is in its campaign, of which there are two, the original base game campaign and the GOTY extended campaign. Throughout the main campaign you will be equipping and leading your 5 man team into various scenarios such as: hostage rescue, anti-terrorist operations, and bomb defusal. Unfortunately the customization options are a little lacking and you are only really given a handful of primary weapons to choose from. There are different ammo types that you can bring along, but I found myself often forgetting that this was an options. It’s somewhat hard to really notice a difference in the weapons as recoil is not simulated and there are no first person models of your weapons. The campaign is rather fun and challenging. Thankfully though there are three difficulty levels you can choose from and you can even adjust the trigger speed of suspects on friendly ai officers. The ai, while it sometimes stumbles is very good, in fact I’d be willing to say it’s better than a lot of ai in modern games. Your ai teammates will be saving you far more often than getting you killed. My only real complaint is that some of the maps are really bad, and the gameplay can feel lackluster and repetitive at times. All in all I’d say I rather enjoyed my time with SWAT 3. There are still those technical issues I mentioned that probably need to be ironed out, but as a complete package I’m not dissapointed I gave this title a shot.

I remember playing this game as a kid. It was the first shooter I played which had more urgency than "gun down all the bad guys". There's far more risk assessment and adherence to moral codes in this game than any other that I've ever played. As a shooter it is much slower than what you are probably used to as you systematically clear room after room, advancing slowly while on high alert. For every doorway you encounter you make the choice; do I enter first, thus leading by example and getting a little gung-ho fun, or do I trust my men to do the entry, thus putting their lives at greater risk? You also have to be extremely careful where you shoot. It's so easy when pumped up on adrenaline to mistake friend and foe and accidentally shoot a civilian or even one of your own officers. You can't always trust your initial identification first either. Some suspects only LOOK like unarmed civilians, and if you don't watch them carefully they may end up pulling a gun at you. Even if someone IS wielding a gun, shooting on sight is not the morally right decision. If they aren't posing a threat at that moment you might be able to coax them into surrendering. The game has some training videos and manuals that teach you when it's okay to shoot and when it's not. If you make a serious effort to adhere to these moral codes and take great pains to complete your missions with minimum loss of life you will be rewarded with medals for your actions. Due to the great difficulty of earning these medals, you feel great pride when they are awarded to you. Every mission starts of with a briefing that instils the urgency of the situation you are there to resolve. You are given all the information available about potential hostages and suspects, area layout and witness accounts and you best study all of it carefully. I highly recommend this game to anyone who wants to play something more serious where you can really feel the responsibility weighing on your shoulders.

The game itself is amazing,the AI team members are some of the best I've seen in games. Levels are detailed and the locations are varied, it's tactical but not as hard as arma ,really enjoy playing this game. However the game simply doesn't work right out of the box,i think this version is exact same as the retail one from 20 years ago.I only got 10 fps at first and it crashed every 5 minutes...had to install dgvoodoo myself to get the game to work properly.not hard to fix,but kind of disappointed that GoG didn't even bother putting nglide in

Some people write, that the game doesnt work on Windows 10. I have Win 10 with a nvidia 970 and it works without problem. The game itself is one of the few games that actually try to make you feel, like a real swat officer. If possible you shouldnt kill suspects and bad guys will often surrender if you gas them and scream in their faces. Dont forget to cuff them and collect their weapons! And be sure to select the 5 man campaign for the main single player exprience.