SWAT (game series)
SWAT is a computer game series from Sierra Entertainment .
In each of the titles published so far, the player takes control of a SWAT team, a special unit of the US American police with the task of fighting crime. The individual games in the series differ greatly in their graphic representation.
Origins
The SWAT series is a sequel to Sierra's classic Police Quest adventure game series . In the mid-1990s, the popularity of this genre steadily declined and Jimm Walls , the series' former designer, left Sierra. He was replaced by Daryl F. Gates , co-founder of the Los Angeles SWAT units (after he had only recently been dismissed from his position as Los Angeles Police Chief after the 1992 riots in Los Angeles ). Gates released the sequel Open Season , which, however, flopped by lengthy game mechanics and its too clichéd plot. Sierra then looked for a new genre for their popular police simulation series.
Police Quest: SWAT
| Police Quest: SWAT | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Sierra Entertainment | ||
| Publisher | Sierra Entertainment | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
September 30, 1995 | ||
| platform | Windows | ||
| genre | Tactical shooter | ||
| control | Mouse , keyboard | ||
| Age rating |
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The first part of the series, the Police Quest: SWAT published in 1995 , was a mixture of an interactive feature film with full-motion video sequences and arcade-like shooting sequences. In the four very detailed missions, the player was able to make decisions using interactive selection options to influence the plot. The outcome of the game was mainly determined by the strict adherence to the procedures and the use of teamwork. However, the game suffered the same fate as many other games of the genre released during the so-called multimedia explosion in the mid-1990s.
Police Quest: SWAT 2
| Police Quest: SWAT 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Yosemite Entertainment | ||
| Publisher | Sierra Entertainment | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
June 30, 1998 | ||
| platform | Windows | ||
| genre | Tactical shooter | ||
| control | Mouse , keyboard | ||
| Age rating |
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After this new flop, it took three years for another game to be released. Police Quest: SWAT 2 (1998) was a team-based real-time strategy game with an isometric perspective in the style of the classic X-COM or Jagged Alliance games, but emphasized more the tactical component. In addition to the 15-mission SWAT campaign, there was a second campaign on the part of the terrorists, in which hostage-taking, bombings and assassinations had to be carried out.
Daryl F. Gates was also involved in the development of this title. SWAT 2 received much better reviews than its predecessor, but suffered from the overly complex user interface and poor AI .
Sonny Bonds , the protagonist of the old Police Quest Adventures, has a cameo appearance . He appears in this game as one of the selectable police officers that the player can assign to his SWAT team.
SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle
| SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Sierra Northwest | ||
| Publisher | Sierra Entertainment | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
November 23, 1999 | ||
| platform | Windows (from Windows 95) | ||
| genre | Tactical shooter | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer (Internet & LAN , up to 10 players) | ||
| control | Mouse , keyboard | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
Intel Pentium 233 MHz 32 MByte RAM 550 MB HDD memory 800 × 600 SVGA high color 4 MB graphics card |
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| medium | 1 CD-ROM | ||
| language | English German | ||
| Age rating |
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The most successful game in the series to date is the third part, SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle , released in 1999 . Again, the game mechanics have been changed almost completely compared to the predecessor. After experimenting with the graphical representation several times, Sierra used a 3D graphics engine for the first time , which made SWAT 3 a real tactical shooter , comparable to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six . One difference to most of the games in the genre is that they put a lot of emphasis on not killing enemies until they cannot be avoided. The game was supported by SWAT, who also worked closely with the development team.
The setting of the game is the fictional Los Angeles of the year 2005 (then five years in the future), which is the host of a world peace conference, which is however threatened by terrorists. The player takes over the control of a five-man deployment team. From various factors, including unnecessary use of deadly force, killing of cooperative enemies and correct use of the means of communication, a rating of the leadership qualities of the player is calculated after completion. Medals are awarded based on the situations the player had to face in the missions, but are rarely affected by a low leadership score.
The missions (there are a total of 13 in the campaign) offer the player different scenarios, from arrests of serious criminals and personal protection for dignitaries to bomb disposal. The positions of the hostages and terrorists are randomly selected at the beginning of each game, which means that the player experiences the scenario differently each time. Some of the cards are based on real buildings, such as Los Angeles City Hall or the Convention Center . In contrast to other tactical shooters, however, the player did not receive an exact overview map or plans of the room layout of the buildings to be stormed during the briefing before the start of the mission. The developers justified this with the fact that even the real SWAT teams rarely have precise floor plans available during their operations.
Sierra later released two major updates for SWAT 3: Elite Edition (2000) and Tactical Game Of The Year (2001), which added support for mods and other game modes, maps, weapons and skins. Although these versions were released as new games, the new content they contained was also freely downloadable from Sierra's SWAT-3 website.
SWAT 4
| SWAT 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio | Irrational Games | ||
| Publisher | Sierra Entertainment | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
April 5, 2005 | ||
| platform | Windows | ||
| Game engine | Vengeance Engine | ||
| genre | Tactical shooter | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer (Internet & LAN , up to 16 players) | ||
| control | Mouse , keyboard | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
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| medium | 2 CD-ROMs | ||
| language | English German | ||
| Age rating |
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The last part of the series, SWAT 4 , was developed by Irrational Games and published in April 2005. It consists of 13 thematically different missions with over 30 different weapons and equipment. The game uses the Havok - physics engine and the Unreal Engine 2. In addition, were Multiplayer -Möglichkeiten expanded. In this version, too, the running gag with Sonny Bonds (known from the Police Quest series, from which SWAT emerged) is continued. Sonny Bonds acts as the instructor in the training mission.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer mode has been greatly expanded compared to its predecessor, SWAT 3. There are four different types of play:
- Barricaded Suspect (also called VVP ):
The SWAT team is playing against the terrorist team. The team that has achieved the number of points set by the server administrator or the most points within the lap time wins. This is the same as classic deathmatch , except that capturing an opponent counts five points, while a kill counts only one point.
- Rapid deployment:
Three to five bombs are randomly placed on the map . The SWAT team must defuse the bombs within a certain period of time, which is determined by the server administrator. The suspect must prevent this. If the bombs explode (one bomb is sufficient), the suspects win; if all bombs are defused, the SWAT team wins.
- VIP escort (VIP escort):
In the SWAT team, a player is randomly chosen as a VIP, whose armament and protection is determined by the server administrator, in most cases he wears a white suit and a simple pistol . Usually he has no further protection. The rest of the SWAT team must try to protect this VIP and get him to the vanishing point within a given time in order to win. The suspects must handcuff and hold the VIP for two minutes. The VIP can then only crawl, i.e. move very slowly. During this time the SWAT team must try to free the VIP. After the two minutes, the suspect's team must shoot the VIP, and the suspects win. Otherwise the VIP must not die, otherwise the game is over and the team that shot the VIP loses. If the time is up before the VIP was arrested and held for two minutes or he reached the vanishing point, the round ends in a draw. The same happens if the VIP leaves the server prematurely or kills himself.
- Cooperation (Co-Operation):
You play the single player missions in multiplayer mode with a maximum of five people. This mode can only be played as a SWAT. The SWAT storm the house and have to kill or arrest all suspected people and rescue the hostages. Each player is only "deployed" (spawned) once per round. If a member of the SWAT team dies, not all tasks are completed, or suspected people are shot instead of being arrested, points are deducted. If all SWAT members die or a hostage is killed by a terrorist, the mission is deemed to have failed.
equipment
Before each mission, the player has the task of equipping his team. The options available to him are divided into several categories. All weapons in the game correspond to real models, although not all of them appear in the game with their real names. The terms used below correspond to those from the game, while the links always refer to the real weapons.
The primary weapons (Engl. Primary Weapon ) differ in their ammunition penetrating power and function. Both stunning weapons and deadly weapons are available. Stun weapons include a pepper ball rifle and a non-lethal shotgun. Deadly weapons are Colt M4A1 carbines , MP Kal. 45 , 9-mm-MP , silenced 9-mm-MP, Nova pump gun, M4 Super 90 and GB36s assault rifle . In multiplayer mode, the Gal submachine gun and Kalashnikov are also available.
In addition, the player has a selection of secondary weapons (English. Secondary Weapon ). They also differed in ammunition, penetration and function. The taser is the only non-lethal secondary weapon. 9mm handguns and M1911 handguns can be deadly. Furthermore, the Colt Python can be selected in multiplayer mode . With the deadly weapons, the player also has the choice between different types of ammunition. With the shotguns he has shotgun cartridges and shotgun barrel projectiles at his disposal, with all other weapons hollow-point and full-jacket projectiles.
Furthermore, the player known as tactical tool features (Engl. Tactical ). This term includes all aids that do not count as weapons. These include, on the one hand, the stun grenade , CS-Gas and stinger, and on the other hand, the remaining aids such as pepper spray , Opti-Stab (fiber optic camera similar to the endoscope ) and door wedge. Each SWAT officer can only carry five of these pieces of equipment with them. The player also has the choice between two noisy tools for opening a door, namely C2 breakthrough charges and a breakthrough shotgun. Due to the explosive effect, the C2 charges can be fatal to people immediately behind the door to be broken. However, the breakthrough shotgun does no damage when fired directly at an enemy. Furthermore, all SWAT officers carry a multi-function tool with them that can be used to quietly open doors, manipulate electronic devices and defuse bombs. In addition, each officer has an unlimited number of plastic handcuffs.
In single player mode, the player can only act as a SWAT and therefore does not have all the weapons in the game. Only in the multiplayer mode does he have access to all weapons, aids and protective equipment. In addition, the player must choose his protective equipment in the multiplayer mode. Protective vests and head protection are available as protection against deadly weapons or grenades. The light body armor protects against hollow-shell ammunition. The heavy body armor protects against full-jacket ammunition, and it also minimizes the effects of stingers and stunning weapons. However, the player can only move slowly. As head protection there is the gas mask, which eliminates the effects of CS gas and alleviates the effects of pepper spray, thereby reducing the player's field of vision. There is also a helmet with tactical eye protection that eliminates the effects of stun grenades, and a night vision device as an add-on.
Mods
SWAT 4 can be changed or improved with many modifications . You can change your own uniform or use other weapons so that two primary / secondary weapons can be used. There are also mods that increase the number of tools (so that you can put three grenades in one slot instead of one). There are also some modifications for SWAT 4 - The Stetchkov Syndicate.
SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate
| SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio | Irrational Games | ||
| Publisher | Sierra Entertainment | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
February 21, 2006 | ||
| platform | Windows | ||
| genre | Tactical shooter | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer (Internet & LAN , up to 16 players) | ||
| control | Mouse , keyboard | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
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| medium | 1 CD-ROM | ||
| language | English German | ||
| Age rating |
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In February 2006 Vivendi Universal released an add-on to SWAT 4 with seven other missions, which is called The Stetchkov Syndicate . All missions build on each other thematically, the game story revolves around an arms dealer. So drug laboratories or the Ministry of Agriculture must be stormed. At the end of the campaign, the head of the organization must be arrested in the camp.
With this add-on, the cooperation mode has been increased to a maximum of ten participants instead of five in the main game, and an additional multiplayer mode has been added with slam and record (Smash & Grab) . A suitcase is placed on the card. The suspects have to find him and get him to a point. The SWAT has to prevent it. The porter can only use the secondary weapon and can only walk very slowly. If the porter dies prematurely, the case must be picked up again. If the time expires before the suspects have brought the suitcase to the exit, the SWAT wins. If the suspects manage to get the suitcase to the hatch within the time, the SWAT loses.
Reviews in gaming magazines
- PC PowerPlay 04/05 86%
- PC PowerPlay Award for level design
Other titles
In 1997/98 Sierra published the Police Quest Collection Series , which contained all four Police Quest adventures and Police Quest: SWAT .
In December 2003 the game collection SWAT Generation appeared , in the Police Quest: SWAT , SWAT 2 and SWAT 3 Elite Edition were included.
Sierra was also planning two game console titles that focused primarily on pure action. The first game, SWAT: Urban Justice , was announced in 2002, but development stopped a year later. SWAT: Global Strike Team has been released for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 . The more trigger-happy gameplay mechanics created some tension between SWAT and Sierra.
In autumn 2007, the game SWAT: Target Liberty was released. The third-person shooter developed by 3G Studios was released exclusively for the PlayStation Portable game console .