SWAT 4

SWAT 4
Game: SWAT 4
Platform: PC
Studio: Sierra
Rating: 8.5/10

GAME STUDIO DESCRIPTION: Looking for a tactical shooter that asks you to do more than charge a building, guns a’ blazin’? With a focus on sparing as many lives as possible, SWAT 4 not only raises the stakes, it raises the realism to a new level. Choose your loadout carefully and only go lethal when all else fails and the lives of innocents or a squad member are at stake.

In SWAT 4, you’re the leader, nicknamed “Boss,” and it’s your job to command three other specialists through a variety of missions in every corner of a perilous, crime-infested city. Your special weapons and tactics squad consists of basic specialist types, an Assaulter, a Breacher, a Scout and a Non-lethal Specialist. These specialists can be customized to your tastes, and you can pick weapons that suit your mission objectives and plan. In keeping with SWAT 4’s focus on non-lethal, life-preserving engagements, you can choose weapons such as tasers, flashbang grenades, and a bean bag-hurling shotgun. Of course, many situations turn hot, and the baddies you’ll face will be well armed, so there is a complete selection of lethal firepower, as well.

Your missions will focus on neutralizing criminal elements and taking as many suspects into custody as possible. How you do that is up to you, but the game demands restraint, stealth and an eye for gaining the tactical advantage over opponents. You’ll use items like the “Optiwand” to look around corners and under doors to scout for foes, before rushing in and subduing a suspect with pepper spray, CS gas or, if things turn ugly, live rounds. Be careful, though; killing innocents will end your mission immediately.

As squad leader, you make the ultimate calls about whether to enter rooms, open fire, or retreat. You’ll command three other capable comrades with the only goal of keeping people alive. SWAT 4’s intuitive command system will have you giving orders and organizing your team effectively in no time. All commands are contextual, meaning the game provides possible options depending on the situation you’re in. This allows you to make decisions quickly, because when lives are at stake and the action heats up, one thing you don’t have is a lot of time.
The SWAT franchise is well known for great multi-player action, and SWAT 4 is no exception. You can play online in one of three modes, Barricaded Suspects, V.I.P. Escort, or Rapid Deployment. Each mode comes with unique challenges and makes special demands on your powers of cooperation and command. Keep a cool head, and keep the body bags to a minimum.

PLAY: You are in control of a swat team and it’s as important to save liveS as it is to kill bad guys. There are a lot of criminals that you meet head on and a lot of innocent people who are between you and them. This is not your regular shoot ‘em up video game.

The training level allows you to brush up on your skills but it’s a lot different when you have to shake off the anxiety and trigger finger in the real situation. You are in charge of your men and you must give the orders. It’s up to you to make sure your guys get the job done and do it the safest way possible. It’s the difference between tossing in a flash grenade and going in guns blazing.

The fact that you can call for the criminal to surrender is very useful. It’s often better to call for surrender than shooting. Just be careful or they might act as if they are surrendering and go for their weapon. You have to pick up their weapons and secure the situation because some bad guys will only go down with a fight. Some will go down once yelled at but others may need to be tasered or gassed.

SWAT 4 is very detailed. One important aspect is reading your briefings on the situation and listening to the 911 calls. You can’t go in unprepared or else you won’t succeed in your mission. You will be rewarded for not making mistakes and doing everything in a well orchestrated manner—however sometimes this isn’t possible.

Your team has a number of weapons at hand—and not all are lethal. Sometimes the weapon isn’t the most important piece of equipment you carry. The Optiwand is a really cool device that lets you peek around corners and under doors without getting a bullet in the head.

GRAPHICS: As the leader of two teams you can do a picture-in-picture and watch both your red and blue team. The animation and environments are fantastic. Because you will spend so much time interacting in and around the environments you quickly begin to admire the details in SWAT 4. Make sure your machine is at the top of its game or SWAT will run noticeably slower.

SOUND: As with the Tom Clancy series, SWAT 4 relies on the chatter between team members. It’s important that you understand what they are saying. The swearing which isn’t surprising as it’s supposed to reflect real intense situations. The sounds of grenade blasts and gun shots are realistic.

FRANKLY: With online game play, up to 16 players, you get a lot replay value. Not to mention you can customize levels and bad guys are never going to act the same or be in the same location. I wonder what a real SWAT member would think of SWAT 4—I do know we dig it!

+ Richie Wright


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