SWAT 3 was a rarity when it was released back then: it was one of the few shooters (along with the early Rainbow Six games) that forced players to carefully advance through each corridor and doorway, or else your squad won't survive intact. What could be a frustrating objective, becomes incredibly fun, since your teammates does their job incredibly well, and you really feel like you are commanding an "elite squad". During each mission you and your squad must rescue hostages, handcuff criminals, and only kill when necessary (unlike every other shooter of its time). There is a bomb disarm mission, and while it can frustrate you, it's the only one of its kind. What makes the game memorable is how everything you and your squad do must follow the conduct rules: Each time you interact with someone (be it handcuffing, hitting or killing him/her) you must notify your commander; killing an innocent means immediate failure; every weapon must be collected; doors must be lockpicked; you must ask even armed criminals for compliance; a flashbang or smoke grenade thrown in the right place can avoid deaths and so on. And your AI teammates do their part beautifully, rarely being shot down by anyone, an ability that they somehow lost in the next game... SWAT 3 is an incredible demonstration of how playing the responsible, calculating guy can be fun, and while SWAT 4 improved in almost every aspect (especially the interface), it's AI was so worse (just ask Spoony) that SWAT 3 still has the best balance between the fun of just finishing the game and the challenge of getting medals and a better leadership score.
