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> Results: SWAT 4
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SWAT 4 is a bit of a conundrum for us here at GamerDad. As our leader Andrew Bub has often mentioned, we're all gamers here and so it's tough when we have to review a game that's great but maybe not for children. SWAT 4 is one of those games. It's an outstanding first-person shooter. The excellent SWAT 3 is a tough act to follow but Irrational's developers have done some fine work, making SWAT 4 a gripping and educational experience.
In SWAT 4 players command a Special Weapons And Tactics team assisting the police when a criminal suspect creates a situation calling for advanced urban combat skills. SWAT teams are a real benefit to modern police forces facing a world increasingly filled with risks involving automatic weapons and explosives. SWAT 4 is obviously not the first in this respected series from Sierra. But where the other titles have been more forthcoming about associating SWAT with its origins in Los Angeles under the charge of the controversial Darryl Gates, SWAT 4 seems to recognize that the SWAT concept is now implemented in many cities.  I suppose it is only coincidence that as I started the work on this review, I discovered that the son of a friend was a SWAT member in Alabama. As he described his son's experiences, it was like he was describing many of the things I'd only hours before seen in SWAT 4. Most notable was his description of the training grounds where SWAT operatives practice room clearing tactics in mock buildings while an instructor oversees the training from scaffolding above. The weapons he described were also in the game. Most importantly, the discipline of real SWAT team members was borne out readily in the teachings of the game. SWAT 4 reminds the player constantly that SWAT teams have a reverence for life and hope never to harm. My friend claimed his son in many years of service used his weapon only once and for suppressant fire. Obviously the gunmen with automatic weapons in Los Angeles a few years ago did not warrant the same treatment, but we can be thankful their case appears to be the exception to the norm. SWAT 4 follows many of the conventions set by SWAT 3 in this regard. It provides a training area, some background information on SWAT, and continues the use of a scoring system that rewards players that follow proper police procedure and avoid improper use of deadly force. Missions include investigating dangerous situations with unknown circumstances and also situations where the suspects are known to be heavily armed and armored. But the encouragement is always the same: subdue suspects non-lethally and arrest rather than kill. Deviations from lawful procedure, such as failing to verbally address suspects giving them an opportunity to comply before using force, will at the least penalize the player's score and in some cases cause mission failure. The player is also penalized for failing to take the safety of himself or his team into account. Despite such realism, SWAT 4 probably features more frequent and intense gunplay than real-world SWAT teams face, an understandable concession to gameplay expectations. But the strong focus on disciplined behavior stays with each mission. There is no room for Rambo in SWAT. As far as software craftsmanship goes, SWAT 4 is again a winner. The game has some high system requirements, but I found it ran very well on my system and the graphics looked excellent even though my ATI Radeon 8500 is considered well over-the-hill. The game recommended 800x600 but I successfully ran it at 1024x768 (caveat: my PC has 1GB of PC2700 RAM installed). I didn't encounter any fatal bugs though I have yet to fully test the multiplayer support. Strong marks are also awarded for the interface, which honors the legacy settings of SWAT 3, but can be customized in multiple ways to user preference. I especially like the options to change the way the secondary mouse button click operates. Someone at Irrational understands user interaction.  Against its peers like Raven Shield and SWAT 3, SWAT 4 makes a respectable showing. Raven Shield has a few features that work really well in urban combat, such as the ability to open a door incrementally rather than all at once, and support for team synchronization techniques like verbal "Go" codes. Comparable features would have been useful in SWAT 4 (perhaps SWAT 5 will include Go codes activated by voice support?). Mitigating this somewhat is the ability to control the snipers providing coverage from neighboring buildings. It's almost as if the Irrational guys remembered this complaint from my old SWAT 3 review on Daily Radar and added sniper control. Also commendable are the artificial intelligence improvements. The player's teammates still sometimes do some goofy things, leaving some hallways or doorways uncovered, but largely they maintain and slightly improve on the behaviors seen in SWAT 3. I often wished they'd take more initiative to use the non-lethal methods to subdue suspects. Interestingly enough, they've gained a sense of humor and will sometimes add tastefully brief moments of levity to this intense game. If you're looking for a shooter where you mow down assailants indiscriminately, this is not your game. Nor is it the game for players looking to tool around with the latest military hardware. This is a very tense experience that requires high concentration and attention to details to play properly. Aside from the single player campaign, there are also instant action missions, a scenario builder, and multiplayer modes to give SWAT 4 some legs. Any mission in the single-player campaigns can also be replayed to attempt for improved scores. 
Although the gore in the game is not always as pronounced as that in comparable titles like Raven Shield, SWAT 4 holds its own. The combat can be violent and bloody, and there are often disturbing images surrounding the creeps the SWAT teams have to deal with. The lair of a serial killer may contain scary allusions to victim dismemberment or sexual crimes. There is also some language in the game. Criminals and angry civilians will verbally express their anger by lashing out at the SWAT team members. Such realism is what gives SWAT 4 remarkable grit. It is clearly not for maladjusted audiences, however, despite the laudable illustration of SWAT's commitment to saving lives.
Mature teens might be able to handle SWAT 4, but I strongly recommend parental involvement in any decision to let youths under 18 watch or play it. For anyone interested in learning a little more about SWAT and how the organization works, this is an impressive game worthy of being called a simulation. In this way, it may be helpful to young adults curious about law enforcement, although some of the earlier SWAT games were actually a little better in providing SWAT background and reference information. Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "SWAT" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: SWAT 4 |
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