Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha Gonna Do? SWAT 4 Reviewed

Even though SWAT 3 was released over five years ago, it feels like just yesterday that I was still playing it. And that's not too far from the truth. But if I were to be more accurate, it's probably been a couple months since I played SWAT 3 - it was actually SWAT 2 that I was playing yesterday. It is a great game for laptops.

Needless to say, I am a bit of a fan of the series, and have watched it with great interest as it has evolved over the years. The first game, which actually bore the name of SWAT's founder Chief Daryl F. Gates, was pretty weak. In spite of being a strategy title, playing it felt more like a game of Myst or Riven. The sequel was much better, though still of the strategy genre. Finally, SWAT 3 was much better received, with its shift to the first person perspective, tighter gameplay, and great team control.

Now it's years later, and SWAT 4 has finally arrived. It seems like the developers at Irrational Studios have spent the entire time since SWAT 3 learning from the successes and failures of the earlier entries in the series (and there were many of each.) One of the biggest decisions they made was a surprise, but a welcome one. Instead of heading more towards the traditional First Person Shooter (FPS) model of constantly firing at everything that moves, they moved back towards a focus on strategy.