If sometimes your team members' AI has some flaws, the one of the enemies is much better and Irrational Games has introduced a behavior that changes according to abilities and morale. To get accustomed to the interface, it is recommended to play the game's tutorial, because although things are pretty simple, later in the game when the reaction time is critical, you need to master the commands. The commands are simple and clear it's obvious Irrational Games considered that a SWAT 4 player will give orders and watch their carrying on, intervening only if necessary, rather than involving personally in the game. You can choose commands like: ?Open and Clear" which mean the team members will open the door and enter, ?Open, Bang and Clear" which means that the team members will open the door, launch a flashbang grenade and neutralize threats. For example, when you are in front of a closed door, you can access a menu by right clicking. The interface of the game allows you to give simple orders. However, once they have decided to move, your team members will carry out the orders correctly. Fortunately, this doesn't apply to SWAT 4 and the only flaw is that sometimes your team members can react too slow or too fast and that gives the perpetrators enough time to reconsider their tactics. To ease things, Irrational Games have included in the team members' equipment a video camera which allows you to see in any moment what the other team is doing.Ī game where you have to rely on the team members' AI can be a failure if it's not well implemented. For example, a room with two entrances can be charged by both teams from different directions. The four fighters will be divided in two teams, Red and Blue, a feature which adds flexibility to your strategy. In SWAT 4 you won't assume control of an ordinary member in the team, you will be the main character, the leader of an assault team made up of 4 members who will blindly obey your orders. Since all the missions have a briefing, it is recommended to study all the details, from pictures of the terrorists to the ones of the hostages and/or the plans of the building or other available information, so that you know exactly what to do once you get there. Obeying these rules of engagement will make the game more difficult hence, you won't be able to enter a room, slam the door against the wall, shoot in all directions and maybe afterwards get a medal for killing everyone. The "shoot first and ask questions later" technique will have as a result a dramatic score decrease, and in case you shoot a civilian, even the mission's failure. Nevertheless, because the missions' objectives are always different (from capturing a drug lord to releasing hostages from a building) and the enemies never behave the same, the game is captivating and spectacular.Īnd since we are talking about SWAT, in every mission you have to behave like a responsible police officer, who first tries to neutralize an enemy or to convince him to surrender without a fight and only afterwards resorts to deadly violence.
SWAT 4 doesn't have an epic line, which would have been welcomed (especially since in 2003 the movie with same name was released), but a collection of 14 single player missions whose difficulty level is increasing. That's way SWAT 4 is a very realistic game, a feature contributed by all the elements of the game: from scenery, hostage and terrorist behavior to weapons' ballistics. The actions of a SWAT team are not always based on firepower and on the ability to shoot more and fast than the bad guys, but on the strategic approach of the objectives. The SWAT teams (Special Weapons and Tactics) come in when the police is unable to handle a situation their mission is to solve a crisis situation with minimum human casualties (both terrorists and possible hostages). Having exciting missions, a multiplayer mode (present in all recently released titles) and an interesting commanding mechanism, SWAT 4 has all the chances to bring back the glory days of the series.
Unfortunately, it had a limited success, and even jeopardized the franchise's faith.įive years after, Irrational Games and Vivendi Universal Games decided that it's time to bring back the series to life and launched SWAT 4, a tactical shooter. Only in 1999, starting with SWAT: Close Quarters Battle, the game was designed as a FPS. The first games from the SWAT series were emphasizing the strategic aspect, rather than the first person shooter aspect of the action.