Swat 4

[rappo]

I copy me review from 'ze Mod Shack...

My friend was rambling on and on about SWAT 4, so I decided to pick it up for myself. If you enjoyed any of the Rainbow Six games, you'll like this, too. I'm not into the tactical sort of stuff, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this game (I haven't finished it yet, though. Just got it today).

Graphics - 9/10
The graphics in this game are great. They're not to be compared with Half-Life 2, of course, but I'd say they are pretty good. This isn't a game you buy for the graphics, though. Here is the IGN screenshots page to see the graphics for yourself: http://media.pc.ign.com/media/680/680038/imgs_1.html. I have an nVidia FX5200 and I am able to play the game at medium graphical settings with no lag, so I'm sure most of you will be fine.

Single player - 9/10
Single player is interesting and fun. You play the lead man (which means you can command your team of officers to do whatever you like including picking locks, blowing up doorways, restraining suspects or civilians, covering you, and much, much more) in a group of five or so SWAT officers that go on several missions throughout the city. Missions take you from businesses to residences, making your neutralize the suspect. You get points for doing, or not doing certain things. These points are added up at the end of the mission and the sum determines whether or not you are able to pass the mission. If you play the game on easy mode, you can pass the mission with 0 points. Normal mode requires 50 points. I don't know the rest, I used normal. Points are rewarded for several different things including keeping all of your officers alive, keep suspects alive, collecting the evidence, reporting injuries, deaths, and hostage rescues, etcetra etcetra. The two missions first missions were kind of similar and I'm afraid it's a trend that this game will follow. You rescue the civilians and neutralize the suspects, that's all you can really expect from the game, I'm guessing. So, because of the repetitiveness, this section gets a point off.

Multiplayer - 10/10
This is the best part of the game, in my opinion. You can tell that the developers put a lot of time and though into the multiplayer portion of the game. There are several things you can do in multiplayer mode. There are different styles of battles including VIP escort, barracding resuce (I think), and rapid deployment. The gameplay here is a bit like Counter-Strike. There are the SWAT and Suspects (basically like counter-terrorists and terrorists). However, unlike Counter-Strike, there is no money to collect. So, the equipment you choose is completely up to you. More armor and heavy ammo obviously means slower movement, so you just have to prioritize. There is also LAN play with these same options. But, the coolest part of multiplayer is the cooperative feature. This allows you to play through the missions of the single player mode with buddies (or complete strangers, whatever) online. This is something that many games need to start implementing. I am yet to play this part of the game, but it sounds very cool and I see a lot of servers doing it.

Overall - 9/10
Overall, this is a great game. I really recommend it for those of you that enjoy good first person shooters. It's something different, not your everyday run and gun (trust me, I love me run and guns!). It requires some skill and thought, and that makes it fun.

Addition:

I'll update y'all on PCGamer's review next issue because they published their May 2005 issue just before the release of SWAT 4 and all they had in there was a preview with some screenshots. But, it reminded me of some features in the game.

Not all weapons are lethal. These come in handy during the game, and it's your job to find out when. It's always a good idea to make sure that one of your officers has a non-lethal weapon and the beginning of the mission while you're choosing your team's equipment. For example, in the second mission, when you go upstairs exploring the rooms, you find the suspect's mother saying that her son would never hurt anybody blah blah. But, she refuses to get on her knees and allow the officers to restrain her. So, you have to use some force, but if you kill any civilians (in this case, at least) your mission is failed. So I just had an officer shoot her with a bean bag shotgun Other non-lethal weapons include paint ball guns, pepper spray, and tasers.

Also, there are only certain times when you may shoot a suspect. If they have a weapon, that does not mean you can kill them. If you do, you will get points off. You can only start shooting a suspect if they are pointing the gun at you. If this happens, it's usually too late anyways, so it's a kind of strange thing, but whatever, it works.

I really recommend it

[Donald Love's Assassin]

A very good and imformative review. I'll look into byeing it. But I think that you should work on the small details of the review though. Just my opinion. But other than that, good job.

[rappo]

small details such as... ?

[Donald Love's Assassin]

Go more into:
1) Controls.
2) Story.
3) Sound.
4) Longevity.
5) Difficulty.
6) Extras.

Just some suggestions.

I loved SWAT3, so I got this, and got stuck-my guy got phsically stuck- on the first map.
what? no beta testing? same old stoopid AI-great new graphics, seemed rushed to market.
ya know its not all about graphics-gameplay has to be there too.
I dont like it as much as 3. I dont play it. Ill prolly trade it in. Dissapointed.

[Axl Daysra]

I have a question

How many bots can you have in a multiplayer game?

And is there Capture the Flag and the good ol' King of The Hill and stuff?

[steely]

i moite get it i like shooters is it 1st person?

[Donald Love's Assassin]

Hey, just played this today, and found that it was awsome. The multiplayer is fun as well. I'm just adding this to the review...That's all.

Originally posted by FUGITIVE
I loved SWAT3, so I got this, and got stuck-my guy got phsically stuck- on the first map.
what? no beta testing? same old stoopid AI-great new graphics, seemed rushed to market.
ya know its not all about graphics-gameplay has to be there too.
I dont like it as much as 3. I dont play it. Ill prolly trade it in. Dissapointed.

Yeah me too i liked Swat 3 and i bought Swat 4 and i got not that same feeling as 3 unfortunatly. Played it three times, and not played it anymore