SWAT 4: Gold Edition

Firstly, this game is a great experience. It really thrusts you into the SWAT atmosphere, embarking on dangerous missions to rescue civilians and pacify threats to the populace. Levels feature randomised AI spawns and behaviours, so if you fail a mission and restart, it'll still be a different experience. There is a lot of replay value because of this. In certain missions you're able to review the map in advance and choose a point of entry, further adding to replay value, as you're able to experience the same scenario from another angle. Graphically, the game still stands up, with good texture usage and modelling. Audibly, the use of 911 calls and SWAT radio chatter in briefings adds an air of authenticity. Gun sounds aren't anything to write home about but portray the weapons used decently enough. Where single-player becomes infuriating is in regards to squad AI. If you play on Hard difficulty you need a score of 75+, Elite, 95+. Prep a squad as much as you want, you are likely to lose a squad member in 90% of your encounters. Why? Well, you're often given two squads, Red and Blue, and can order both grouped as Gold. Having four AI team members results in door blocking, some squad members preventing others from completing their action until they all shift around, and what should be opening a door to flash, gas or sting an enemy, results in said team member poking half their body out and getting shot. There goes your attempt at beating the level. They also get stuck running into each other, if you order them to investigate a door, then move to the next location, and take around 10 seconds to shake out of it. 10 seconds where they can be shot. You'll find it's much more reliable to use your cronies to scout with mirrors under doors, then to Fall In and stay the hell out of the way to protect your score, because they're only competent at being a threatening presence when you bust through doors yourself. Grab that pepper spray, grenades, and lead it.

SWAT4 emphasizes careful planning and not just precise shooting (even though it's important). There are lots of weapons and other equipment at your disposal, which you'll need to make the best use of. In general, SWAT4 is intense. It's difficult, it makes your adrenaline go high and punishes mistakes severely. It forces you to follow procedures such as reporting kills and trying not to kill anyone at all. AI has very diverse behavior. Suspects ordered to drop may surrender, run away, shoot at you, aim at hostages, or even pretend to surrender just to open fire. They may also wander around the map, making it important to check your back every so often. A huge plus is that hostage and suspect locations are random, even if you play the same mission. Maps are diverse and interesting. There are 13 of them in the original game and 7 more in the expansion pack, accounting to a total of 20. But even then, the campaigns are not the only thing the game offers! For singleplayer gamers, there is a quick mission maker, which allows you to create your own mission with custom parameters on any of the 20 aforementioned maps. Want to do a mission solo? Go ahead! Perhaps you'd like to have a time limit? Sure thing. The mission maker is not very complex, but it adds to gameplay value - I've also based on it my mod for SWAT 4 which allows you to generate random missions of various difficulty (I've created a forum thread, look for the Random Misisons Mod there). Then there is multiplayer. It mostly focuses on co-op gameplay, which is very similar to singleplayer missions, but with your officers replaced by other players. There are also several other multiplayer modes, like VIP escort and team PVP, but I haven't played them. Which says a lot, given that I already have over 40 hours spent on this gem. There is a stickied post on the forum which tells you how to restore the multiplayer game browser in SWAT4. Once I've done that, there are quite some players around for such an old title.

I never played SWAT 3 or 4 until 2018, so with no nostalgia on my part, here is what I think: SWAT 4 is the best of the best when it comes to tactical shooters, period. It's not perfect by any means and has some technical and AI issues - but it just hits that bullseye between realism and fun, between strategic thinking and reflexes, between killing and saving lives. While this game will reward good marksmanship and good planning, where it REALLY gets under your skin is by testing your ability to react to the unpredicatble. As compared to the other juggernaut of the genre - Rainbow Six - it's less about planning and more about execution. One of the game's selling features is the randomized placement of enemies/hostages/etc. on levels through each playthrough. But does it work? Yes, and it's bloody brilliant! A big part of why it works is not just the randomness, but the excellent level design. The game's maps themselves are tiny by any FPS standard - many are no bigger than an average two-story house. In a Call of Duty game, you'd cover that amount of space in 20 seconds of game time. But SWAT 4 proves that it's not the size but what you do with it, and you will spend hours in its little levels and have a blast exploring them. Besides being great tactical setups, the levels are also brimming with atmosphere, and feel like real places. The famed "serial killer house" level ranks up there with the best horror games. Others, meanwhile, reveal a great sense of humour with things like posters on walls. Last but not least - if you get this game, you MUST immediately download the "Elite Force" mod. It is essentially an unofficial patch series, still in development as of 2018, which fixes numerous gameplay and technical issues, restores features cut from the game's final release, provides a new framework for multiplayer (including co-op campaigns), and adds some very welcome content - without changing the essence of what SWAT 4 is about. Get it! And yes, get this game!

This game is pretty fun. You can configure your team pretty adequately and the game does not punish you for CPU's causing fatalities. Simply put, if you play this game expecting a serious experience and zero glitches or weird AI decisions, you are going to hate it. If you are in for a hilarious SWAT hijinks such as getting killed by a failed dooring or a round-circling running baddie, you are going love it. The replayability value is high because of things can go easy or super hard depending on enemy positioning and the things they are going to do. Let's get to the meat of what you should do to enhance your experience in case you buy this game. Get a bunch of mods and a major map pack to bulk up the otherwise limited level selection. You can even co-op the expansion missions with some mod or a patch that also lets you use the vastly more fun expansion-provided taser with multiple shots. The expansion maps have somewhat more depth than the one's in the original game. Even if you usually do not like FPS games, worry not as you have three CPU buddies that you can (and SHOULD) do the FPS'ing for you, at least until the baddies injure your last CPU guy and you'll have to dirty your commanding hands. Unlike in Rainbow Six, there is no rush as the terrorists do not usually start killing the hostages. Only in one fan-made map with tons of constantly wailing hostages around the baddies does that consistently happen. Watch some videos about this game. Skip the slow parts to the action. Enjoy the fun of having to shout baddies to drop their weapons to follow the SWAT conduct even though you know from their looks that they are ready to die. Even the seemingly boring parts are fun when you are doing it. Failing is surprisingly fun because you can always pick another map to play and "winning" (reporting children's graves in cultist basement is hardly an accomplishment). This game is FUN in a way that goes beyond the people who like FPS games.

Decisions and planning before going in are important. There are lethal and non lethal options for primary or secondary weapon; and quick but loud, or lengthy but quiet gadget choices for things like lock picking/mini-shotgunning locks. The game rewards preservation of life but there are situations where most if not all enemies will not give up without serious injury or death. Game-play is slow, suspenseful and rewarding. Some levels like the kidnapper level are so suspenseful and tense it felt like I was playing a horror game.