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!
