SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle

"Wow this almost makes me want to join SWAT"

Have you ever wanted to be cop or fireman when you were a cop? Well now you can be SWAT member and live your childhood memories of neutralizing suspects and protecting Russian Ambassadors. Yeah it's all in a day's work. Whether it be a hostage rescue or a high risk arrest warrant you will gladly quit whatever you do in the day to pick a gun and detain all those against your cause. Yeah it's the good life alright.

So that whole beginning was just to explain that it is fun being a SWAT member. In video games at least, I mean real life would scare me to death. SWAT 3 is probably the best cop simulation ever. With great graphics, missions, and weapons it makes one killer combo for a great game.

STORY-9/10
Tell me. What is more fun then getting to be one of the Swat members? Well maybe a few things but still don't get me wrong. I love playing this game so much. Every level has their own little story about what happened and what you have to do. You can look at demands, deadlines, and sequences of events that happened. It really adds to the fun of playing the game.

GRAPHICS-9/10
The graphics are simply amazing. All people look great and very life-like and the backgrounds are amazing. I also surprisingly love the lighting in each level. When you get into dark levels everything is dark and when you turn on your flashlight it looks amazing. One other spectacular thing is that every person has their own facial expressions. When you point a gun at an hostage to get them down their eyes light up with fear. Also when suspects shot you while screaming their mouth moves and eyes widen. Did I mention the background looks amazing. Also objects in each level look good to.

SOUND-9/10
Sound is great and it really puts you in the mood while playing. You can hear enemy footsteps while walking around and the moans of wounded suspects and hostages on the ground asking for help. Also every person you arrest says something to you and it might be nice or just plain cruel. Gun shots and the background are good to. Another great thing is when you give commands to your team you actually say the command.

GAMEPLAY-9/10
Gameplay is great just like everything else in the game. Controls are easy if you use the keyboard and mouse. Move with the arrows and change spin around and fire with the mouse. Also to turn on your flashlight hit F, to use something hit U, and to get briefing hit B. Very simple. Also to give commands to your team look at the left of the screen for a list of commands and just hit what number key goes with and you have your command given. I can't stress enough how much fun this game is. The difficulty of the game is perfect to as levels increasingly get harder but still beatable.

REPLAY ABILITY-6/10
This game is so much fun and you'll probably want to go through it again and again but it is kind of a short game. You can go through the game again using different weapons or tactics but it is still somewhat the same.

OVERALL-9/10
Overall it is a great game but shortness and a little lack of replay ability keeps it from perfection. There are other flaws but I think they aren't that noticeable.

THIS IS A MUST BUY
Obviously this is a must buy. I mean there are great missions, weapons, suspects, items, and detail put into every level. The items I mentioned are handcuffs, flash grenades, glow sticks, and lock picks. There is more to the game then meets the eye and more fun then you can handle. It gets really intense when in fire fights and trying to survive a suspects last desperation move. So I hope you get the game and if you do I hope you have fun. You know what they,''Your either Swat or your not''. I guess they say that, I'm not sure.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/03