Simply brilliant. The AI can occasionally make some questionable decisions but overall this is probably the best team-mate AI in existence. SWAT 4 is understandably more popular as there is a gigantic modding community, but personally I think SWAT 3 is the more engrossing game. The scenarios are diverse and the sense of immersion is unreal. The Last Resort Mod (an all-purpose utility hub which only adds minor bug fixes and leaves the core gameplay intact) and perhaps a dgVoodoo wrapper are the only things you'll need to get this running up to par.
What's been achieved here with such an archaic engine is quite astounding. The novelty of a brand new Build game aside, this is a masterful FPS by any era's standards. The combat is extremely polished and exhilarating despite the modest arsenal and enemy roster. Whilst each enemy has a unique and identifiable look, they feel like specialised units of a larger force and (acid-spitting giant centipedes aside) there is a wonderful sense of cohesion. Great audio mixing and music, the gun sounds are meaty and very present in the mix. The ambient noise for each level puts many modern games to shame. Lots of great references to pretty much everything imaginable from the Duke-ish keycard readers to the grenade clangs modelled after those in Quake. Ion Fury puts into perspective once again how boring AAA games have become. If 2.5D is this good, who needs 3D?
On the surface there's not much to analyse. Scary monsters and spooky castles. You sit down with it to mess about for twenty minutes and mysteriously an hour (or two) has passed. The Quake 1.5 remaster is very tasteful and worth trying but in it's vanilla form it still kicks interdimensional ass.
One of my old favourites. Just like Quake 2 RTX, it shows how lighting is what really makes or breaks the atmosphere of a game. The story is alright but it never really grabbed me like the shooty bits did. The AI aren't Deep Blue but they are great fun to fight. The difficulty on the highest two settings feels just right. If you get into the flow during combat, you feel unstoppable but if you make a boo-boo then you are quickly directed to the afterlife. The graphics aren't anything spectacular but the particle effects, lighting, sound design and AI keep it youthful.
Played this a bit at the turn of the century but I was much too young to fully appreciate it or finish it. This is the best parts of Doom and the best parts of Duke 3D. The difficulty is a bit jarring at first but once you get acquianted with the mechanics, things start making sense. The game is bursting with fantastical and creative ideas, be it the weapons, the levels or the enemies. The shooting feels as good as any of the Dooms or Quake. A joy to play.
