SWAT 4: Gold Edition

I loved SWAT 3 and 4 since it release. It was always a real simulation of SWAT. Though the vanillia versions have their flaws, they're unrerached even in 2023 in what they are. People may compare it to Rainbow 6, but its very different and far more realistic in terms of SWAT play. Yeah I know that Rainbow Six is more on the counter terrorism side of things, but still. In SWAT, its all about arresting not killing if any possible. The Elite Force mod makes it a perfect game, since it enhances everything. https://www.moddb.com/mods/swat-elite-force you may need a fix called m4d.dll https://worldmafia.net/threads/a-fix-for-swat4-massive-crashes.5930/ In my opinion SWAT 3 and 4 with mods are far superior to the Rainbow six franchise, but hey, it's just my biased opinion. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS GAME !!!!!!!!!!

TLDR: (if you are new to SWAT) Pick this up for a truly unique first person experience. Decisions matter, equipment changes your gameplay, and following the rules of law enforcement make SWAT4 feel fresh to this day. TLDR: (if you know what it is) If SWAT4 is on your computer since it wasn’t on sale anywhere, now’s the time to give the game the attention it deserves. This game is extremely unique. By nature of its premise, violence carries much more weight and meaning. As a law enforcement officer, rather than a CTU like in Rainbow 6, there are strict guidelines for engagements. Each moment you must make split second decisions of the meaning of protecting and serving. Does it mean taking a life? Does it mean waiting for compliance and risking death? It’s up to you, and your actions will severely impact your score. You might be wondering, why get this over SWAT3? There’s many more items to take in SWAT4 which drastically change the way you play. The non-lethal options are expanded greatly ins SWAT4, and this is extended more with mods. PICK THIS UP. Most other payment options before were wrapped discs from its original box release, and many go for over a hundred dollars. Having this on GOG for 10 bucks is a steal. Speaking of stealing (ok, not stealing but copying) if you picked this up as abandonware, then I would suggest buying this to legitimize your love for this game. I believe that showing interest in SWAT4 and games like it with your money is the best way to encourage their development. If this game gets insane sales on GOG then developers might know that there’s a demand for challenging shooters with unique rules and gameplay. Sure, you may already have access to the experience, but nothing shows confidence in a product or idea like money.

I had this game when it first came out - but lost the disc and thus the option of re-installing. Thank you GOG for bringing this to us after so long waiting, because this really is as good as light tactical shooters get. It strikes a perfect balance between accessibility and depth, giving you a myriad of approaches and ways to complete your mission, while never really leaving you with too much management and fiddling. Each mission is crafted with a great intro briefing (many with authentic 911 calls) and a fairly claustrophobic map full of little corners and side rooms for perps to hide in. Each mission also has plenty of great details in the environment that tell a wider story without ramming it down your throat. It gives the game this fantastic sense of character that most tactical games utterly lack. Oh, and there's a bean bag shotgun. It's great.

People must have the nostalgia goggles on tight because this game is awful to play solo. Don't trust your AI companions to do anything right. Ask them to clear a room and most of the time they'll get shot in the face as soon as the open the door. If that doesn't happen, they'll get shot in the face after they try to follow the game's awful ROE. Basically, you aren't allowed to shoot a suspect unless they point their gun at someone. See an armed suspect run away from you as you enter a room? Better let him ambush you later unless you want to lose points. Stunned suspect refusing to drop his gun? Let him recover and shoot you in the face or lose points. Suspect RUNNING STRAIGHT TOWARDS YOU WITH A SHOTGUN? DON'T SHOOT, HIS GUN ISN'T POINTING AT YOU. Now none of that would even be so bad if points weren't required to unlock the next mission. This often leads to replaying the exact same mission 5-10 times, usually ending up 2-5 points below the minimum.

This game (and its predecessor SWAT3) almost made me get fired from secondary school because of the sleepless nights I spent trying to stop heavily armed and armored robbers with the pepper gun. Its graphics used to be nice, and won't irritate your eyes much today, but that's not the point with SWAT 4 : this game is a classic, it makes people think, improvise and replay its missions again and again, and yes, you can still shoot bad people in the face. Oh thank you GOG for having secured this game for us.