SWAT 4: Gold Edition Now Available On GOG

Megalith

Megalith

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So, full disclosure. I have never played a SWAT title in my life. I assume that is something I should be ashamed of, since plenty of people seem to be super excited about the fact that the fourth entry is now available as a digital exclusive on GOG. Looking at the screenshots, I will go ahead and assume it is similar to Rainbow Six—maybe I’ll check it out. Thanks to cageymaru for the heads up.

The adrenaline is always high as you carry on the legendary SWAT® tradition--leading an elite squad of tactical experts into hard-hitting action that delves deeply into every detail of the experience. In a city rife with armed felons and explosive situations, only the unique skills of your men will do--because when SWAT gets the call, there is no other option. Enter the tense, gritty, explosive world that is business as usual for SWAT®. SWAT 4 gives you easy control over advanced strategic and tactical tools. Plan missions. Deploy your team. Take down dangerous criminals. And in the SWAT 4 Expansion Pack, you get additional weaponry, equipment and even greater challenges. It all adds up to a rush so intense, it could only be SWAT.
 
i played the sh*t out of swat3, great game! MIght have to give 4 a try, thanks for the link!
 
Thank you for the heads up on GOG. Though I'd been reading HardOCP regularly since someone in a match of Counterstrike: Condition Zero recommended it to me in 2004, I didn't start a GOG forum account until the year 2010, and that was in order to participate in a HardOCP thread about GOG's publicity stunt in which it seemed to shut down (in reality it was merely transitioning from beta to full release). I love the GOG service and, even though its primary mission no longer is to resuscitate classic titles, I do appreciate that it still carries on that mission in addition to selling new titles.
 
Glad this finally came to GOG. When Direct 2 Drive became Gamefly is disappeared and was no longer able to be bought anywhere. I still have my CDs, but will look into a GOG copy. I recommend the Sheriff's Special Forces (SSF) mod.

The game is now old and out dated, but is actually still the best tactical shooter on the market. Essentially the last proper one to be released, although GRAW 1/2 (PC versions) get honorable mention for being a decent middle ground.
 
Megalith said:
So, full disclosure. I have never played a SWAT title in my life. I assume that is something I should be ashamed of, since plenty of people seem to be super excited about the fact that the fourth entry is now available as a digital exclusive on GOG. Looking at the screenshots, I will go ahead and assume it is similar to Rainbow Six—maybe I’ll check it out. Thanks to cageymaru for the heads up.
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Same here. I never played any of these titles, but the fact that they ahve as loyal of a following as they do suggests to me I might have missed out.

Question is, even at this great price, do I really want to buy a game that was launched back when I had an Athlon 64 2800+, one gig of RAM and an AGP Geforce 6800GT? Can it possibly hold up today if it lacks that nostalgia value for you?
 
I'd say it does, mainly because the experience is a bit unique. It does play a bit differently from your typical shooter but it might not be for everyone. I still play it every now and then. Some missions I get by only firing 5 or so shots.

I would suggest trying the SSF mod. It makes some good changes to mechanics and the scoring system. It is more forgiving for killing suspects who are shooting at you if I recall, which is more realistic. In the base game you get more penalized for killing a bad guy who is dumping an AK's mag at you, which doesn't really happen in the real world. :p There is still some penalty, as arresting nets you the most points and is the proper way to play. Going in guns blazing puts you at good risk of failing by accidentally hitting a civilian.
 
SWAT 3 was awesome! SWAT 4 wasn't bad, but in comparison to 3 it was somewhat of a letdown.

However, I have to admit, the AI team mates can make for some pretty fun (as in they fuck up) gameplay!
 
Flogger23m said:
I'd say it does, mainly because the experience is a bit unique. It does play a bit differently from your typical shooter but it might not be for everyone. I still play it every now and then. Some missions I get by only firing 5 or so shots.

I would suggest trying the SSF mod. It makes some good changes to mechanics and the scoring system. It is more forgiving for killing suspects who are shooting at you if I recall, which is more realistic. In the base game you get more penalized for killing a bad guy who is dumping an AK's mag at you, which doesn't really happen in the real world. :p There is still some penalty, as arresting nets you the most points and is the proper way to play. Going in guns blazing puts you at good risk of failing by accidentally hitting a civilian.
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I haven't heard of that mod before, I might have to look into it. I want to try doing a completely non-lethal loadout run at some point though. That seems like it could be a fun challenge, especially in the later levels.
 
I will mention though, with the SSF mod, they seem to make you replay the mod missions first which are not as high quality as the main game. Some of the maps added in the mod are fairly ugly. So it may be worth playing through the main game first, otherwise the lower quality of the added in maps will put you off. But they're nice to play once you've done the included maps a few times.
 
endalykt said:
SWAT 3 was awesome! SWAT 4 wasn't bad, but in comparison to 3 it was somewhat of a letdown.

However, I have to admit, the AI team mates can make for some pretty fun (as in they fuck up) gameplay!
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Very much so. "Oh hey, there's someone shooting at me from up the stairs. I'm going to charge at him for no reason". Gotta love 12 year old game AI.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Question is, even at this great price, do I really want to buy a game that was launched back when I had an Athlon 64 2800+, one gig of RAM and an AGP Geforce 6800GT? Can it possibly hold up today if it lacks that nostalgia value for you?
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I'd say it holds up, even without nostalgia factored in, just because there are no modern games like it. If you want to play a proper tactical FPS, this is how you do it. If you're willing to look past some of the dated aspects of the game, it's still very fun and rewarding. If there was a (good) modern game with a similar set of gameplay mechanics, then Swat would more than likely be a pass for anyone who didn't play it back in the day. Until that happens, if you're curious to play a game with a pace like Swat has, spend the $10, put your blinders on in regards to the graphics, and just have fun.
 
I know a lot of people knock the AI, but it honestly has some of the best AI I've seen in a game. Even the modern ones. In particular I am referring to the friendly squad AI. They move to every corner of the room automatically, effortlessly swap positions when needed to bring appropriate gear forward, and have good navigation/reflexes in general. It isn't perfect, but they behave so much more life like and do so much more than essentially every other game I have played since. And they have nice voice acting, which adds a lot to the immersion.
 
Flogger23m said:
I know a lot of people knock the AI, but it honestly has some of the best AI I've seen in a game. Even the modern ones. In particular I am referring to the friendly squad AI. They move to every corner of the room automatically, effortlessly swap positions when needed to bring appropriate gear forward, and have good navigation/reflexes in general. It isn't perfect, but they behave so much more life like and do so much more than essentially every other game I have played since. And they have nice voice acting, which adds a lot to the immersion.
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Until they drop flash bangs at their feet, run right by people shooting at them, decide to randomly not clear a room, decide a room is clear while ignoring a corner of it where the enemies are actually hiding, just decide to not follow you when their told and instead run through rooms that haven't been cleared yet, charge right at people shooting them, and so on.
 
I've rarely seen them drop one by their feet; sometimes it might hit an obstruction at some off angle but it was never much of a problem. Never seen them not clear a room. Maybe a few areas on some certain maps may be iffy, but I have played through each mission well over 20 times. Add in "murder enemy AI runs" and it must be close to 50. I've played the game a lot. It isn't perfect, but I've yet to see a game with NPCs as on point as the squad members in this game.

* I mainly played with some mods, which I believe changed the AI in slight ways.
 
Derangel said:
Until they drop flash bangs at their feet, run right by people shooting at them, decide to randomly not clear a room, decide a room is clear while ignoring a corner of it where the enemies are actually hiding, just decide to not follow you when their told and instead run through rooms that haven't been cleared yet, charge right at people shooting them, and so on.
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I can't knock them too bad for that. I can't tell you how many times I accidentally hit the fucking wall with a flashbang. It's harder than it looks :dead:
 
One of the great things about this game, which heightened immersion; is how filled out buildings/rooms are, with props. Most rooms look and feel feel used, lived in, etc.
 
I used to have friends over and we would play this. I really wish they'd make a new one or similar with today's graphics. It's still the one game though that I could play despite the graphics. Anything else I fire up and see old graphics I have to exit back out.
 
This is great but I'm going to be playing too much Ghost Recon Wildlands to go back and try to get my friends to fire this up for nostalgia even though it was exactly the kinda tactical FPS action I miss , the lure of the open world co-op and the customization aspects are too strong for me.
 
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