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SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle
Developer(s)	Sierra Northwest
Publisher(s)	Sierra Entertainment
Series	SWAT
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release	November 23, 1999
Genre(s)	Tactical shooter First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, with multi-player option available in upgrades

SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle (also known as SWAT3 or SWAT3:CQB) is a tactical squad-based first-person shooter, developed by Sierra Northwest and published by Sierra Entertainment for Windows-based PCs on November 23, 1999. SWAT3 is the seventh installment of the long-running Police Quest series, and is also the first game in the series to omit the phrase Police Quest from the full title.

As the first first-person shooter of the Police Quest/SWAT series, SWAT3 received a new game engine with cell and portal technologies for simulation of environments and advanced AI and ballistics. The developers spent some time consulting with LAPD SWAT, including a real-life SWAT element leader and LAPD SWAT founder Daryl Gates in order to create an accurate, realistic simulation. Most of the animations in the game were motion captured from a real-life a SWAT officer. Unlike many other first-person shooter games, SWAT3 places an emphasis on realistic police methods and tactics, including proper room clearance, use of less-lethal weaponry, ordering compliance and arresting enemies rather than shooting on sight, and differentiating between authorized and unauthorized use of lethal force.

SWAT3 is set in 2005 in Los Angeles, with the player assuming the role of a Los Angeles Police Department SWAT officer, leading a five-man element of computer-controlled teammates. Los Angeles is due to host a major, United Nations-brokered nuclear disarmament treaty signing attended by a number of world powers, including the United States, Russia and China. LAPD SWAT is tasked with protecting the treaty event and the attending dignitaries from a number of violent criminal and terrorist groups seeking to either abuse or disrupt the treaty signing event for their own ends, culminating in a direct nuclear threat to the City and an attack at the treaty signing event itself.

SWAT3 also includes a multiplayer mode, including traditional Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch modes, as well as Cooperative play using the single player missions.

SWAT3 was met by positive critical acclaim, attracting praise for its graphics and AI sophistication, and also spawned a successor, SWAT 4 which was released in April 2005, developed and published by Irrational Games and Sierra owner Vivendi Universal.

Gameplay

As the name indicates, the game is based on CQB tactics. The player is in charge of a five-man SWAT element, and unlike other tactical shooters, such as the comparable Rainbow Six games, the player is a police officer; therefore arresting rather than simply shooting suspects on sight is the primary objective.

The single player game features four elective weapons; the HK MP5 and MP5SD, the Benelli M1 Super 90 and the Colt M4A1, in addition to the modified Springfield M1911 side arm issued to all LAPD SWAT officers. All of these feature a flashlight and some have modifications to give SWAT a tactical advantage in certain situations; for example, the M4A1 can fire 'beanbag' less than lethal rounds which hurt but do not kill targets, and the M1 Super 90 has secondary breaching ammunition for shooting locks out of doors. Others have a selection of full metal jacket and expanding hollow point ammunition, whose effectiveness depends upon the situation and the target.

Unlike some other games, some weaponry and ammunition is actually able to penetrate through walls, which makes spray-firing a risk, as a stray bullet can pass through a wall and hit an innocent.

Firearms are augmented by a number of tactical aids, such as CS gas and flashbang grenades, chemical lightsticks, breaching explosives and the 'opti-wand'; a miniature camera on a telescopic wand used for searching around corners.

SWAT officers are outfitted much like in real life, with some advancements for the game's near-futuristic setting; these are used to explain aspects of the gameplay, such as the HUD; officer's fully enclosed helmets have relevant information, such as ammunition counts and a target reticule projected onto the faceplate.

Instead of traditional health points, SWAT3 has a health 'scale' more similar to a life bar, representing sensors monitoring blood loss and body temperature. Wounds cannot be healed mid-mission, and an officer can take very few hits before being incapacitated. This necessitates the use of flashbangs and chemical irritants before entering an area to disorient armed criminals waiting in ambush.

The game has three difficulty levels; easy, medium and hard, which increase the aggression and tactical intelligence of suspects and reduces their likelihood of surrender. There is also a 'reaction time' option for AI officers and suspects, ranging from 1 to 20 milliseconds, which dictates how quickly officers and suspects respond to changing situations.

Within a mission, the game has two 'modes': stealth, and dynamic. In stealth mode, officers move slowly and cautiously, use the opti-wand on doorways and corners, speak softly, do not use flashbangs and pick locked doors instead of destroying them. Suspects are unaware of or can lose track of the SWAT team in stealth mode, potentially giving the player the element of surprise. When a suspect is encountered, the game automatically switches to dynamic mode. In dynamic mode, officers move quickly, speak loudly and shout, and use flashbangs and breaching explosives when appropriate. The player can switch freely between stealth and dynamic modes.

Plot

Factions

There are a number of militant or terrorist factions encountered by SWAT over the course of the game, of various nationalities and agendas. The Kurdish People's Party is a small, disorganised US splinter of a group seeking the independence of Kurdistan from Turkey. The cell is led by Lokman Damar. Malta is a US terrorists-for-hire group led by a man named Ric 'Dog' Peters. The People's Liberation Party, also referred to as the PLP, is a Russian Communist group which seeks the reunification of the Soviet Union. The group is quite large with a number of different leaders, and prefers hostage-taking to achieve their goals, holding many people around the world. Sovereign America is one of the main antagonist factions in the game; a militia recognized as a domestic terrorist group by the U.S. government after the bombings of courthouses and other municipal buildings. Sovereign America asserts that the U.S. government is part of a 'new world order' that will take away their freedom. Accordingly, they reject all government authority, including police. Sovereign America is led by Tobias Stromm, self-proclaimed minister and preacher of "end of the world rhetoric".

Setting

The game is set in Los Angeles in 2005, shortly before the signing of a United Nations Nuclear Abolishment Treaty. The player and SWAT have the responsibility of ensuring that the treaty is signed safely. A number of fictional domestic and foreign terrorist groups serve as antagonists, who plan on using the signing as a platform for their demands. To make matters worse, lost Soviet portable atomic demolition devices ("suitcase nukes") are reported to have buyers in the LA area.

Missions

The original game had 16 missions total, ranging from rapid deployment to VIP protection. Some of the maps are based on real locations such as the LA City Hall and the Convention Center. The expansions added 11 new missions, giving the game a total of 27 missions.

The earlier missions are more routine SWAT deployments, keeping the learning curve shallow for new players, the first being search warrant service at the home of Martin Brenner, a suspected freeway sniper. The next mission introduces Sovereign America with an arrest warrant served on one Victor Getts, suspected of vehicular manslaughter and bomb making.

The bombing of the Turkish embassy, and kidnap of ambassador Jemil Kemal introduces the Kurdish People's Party. This is followed by an invasion of the home of Donald Foreman, CEO of a large cable provider by a heavily armed group, holding Foreman, his wife Linda, and his two children for ransom.

The Orthodox Patriarch Alexei III and his retinue are held in an orthodox cathedral by an armed group is the first incident connected to the treaty signing, as the bishop is visiting Los Angeles to attend the signing. Matters are complicated by the private security team hired to protect Alexei. This security team provide an unknown variable. They may either attack the SWAT team or the terrorists.

The downing of the aircraft of the Algerian president by a Surface-to-Air missile becomes a serious international incident and marks the entrance of the People's Liberation Party. The resulting chaos caused by the shutdown of LAX has created a significant number of vulnerable targets for more missiles, including the plane of Russian president, Igor Stomas. The missile is traced to a waterworks construction site, and SWAT is dispatched to investigate. Soon after, the PLP storms a television studio during an afternoon talk show, holding LA Mayor Marlin Fitzpatrick, Tolerance Defense League Chairman Herman Moyer, host Donna Briggs and many members of the audience and station staff hostage. The group demands an international broadcast of their message of Soviet reunification. The People's Liberation Party again targets President Stomas at his penthouse suite at the Carlysle Hotel, demanding a flight to Moscow with the intention of taking Stomas with them.

SWAT's next task is serving an arrest warrant for Ric Peters at his nightclub, The Phoenix Lounge after he and Malta are finally identified as the group responsible for both the Foreman home invasion and cathedral incident. They also have to respond to a failed bank heist by Sovereign America, who have wounded an off-duty policeman and barricaded themselves in the bank.

In the final run up to the treaty signing, SWAT is given VIP protection duty for dignitaries at a pre-signing meeting at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The day goes smoothly until multiple armed terrorists attempt to disrupt this meeting, holding several important politicians hostage.

The People's Liberation Party strike again after the convention center incident in another attempt to disrupt the treaty signing, creating a national emergency by taking over the LAX control tower, broadcasting false Air Traffic Control information (resulting in a midair collision) and installing another Surface-to-Air missile launcher at the top of the tower, threatening aircraft carrying dignitaries headed to the treaty signing. Air Force One is briefly in the area but is diverted quickly to Edwards Air Force Base. Despite danger the President of the United States being averted, there are many more civilian planes waiting to be diverted to other airports, the FAA closing down LAX after the earlier collision. SWAT storms the tower from the basement and soon restores order.

SWAT is required for VIP protection duty at a World Trade Organization conference at the Ventura Hotel, accompanying the Treaty signing. Death threats have been received by some of the attendees from various militia factions, and several militia men storm the building. This is followed shortly afterwards by the bombing of an electric substation leaving most of LA without power, save for Municipal buildings with backup generators. This was apparently a diversion, to allow Sovereign America forces led by Tobias Stromm himself to take over City Hall, for what Stromm calls an "end of the world vigil". It transpires that Sovereign America was the winner of the auction for one of the suitcase nukes, now installed and guarded by Stromm at the top of the tower, and Sovereign America intends to destroy the entire city in a last stand, but thankfully SWAT breaks the siege and captures Stromm and his gunmen.

During the final preparations for the Treaty signing, and the celebrations afterward, suspicious personnel observed entering the storm drain system near UCLA, where a parade is supposed to pass, carrying heavy equipment and overheard talking about demolitions. The storm drain system had already been cleared once by police officers - after being alerted to these developments, SWAT is sent in to investigate, finding a mysterious armed group disguised as maintenance workers.

Finally, SWAT is tasked with protecting the Treaty signing. In a last-ditch attempt to stop the signing, the People's Liberation Party attack, hiding a second suitcase nuke in the building and taking many dignitaries hostage. Despite this, with the intervention of SWAT, the treaty signing is completed successfully. Mission failure results in the nuclear destruction of Los Angeles.

Release

SWAT3 was released in three main versions:

• SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle - initial release.
• SWAT 3: Elite Edition - added multiplayer, new game modes and new missions.
• SWAT 3: Tactical Game of the Year Edition - added new missions. Retail copies included an 'Advanced Tactics CD' containing real-life SWAT training footage. This content is also available with the game's GOG.com release.

Older versions of the game can be upgraded to a newer version through a free download from the game's website.

Multiplayer

Initially, the SWAT 3 servers for online multiplayer modes were operated by Sierra Entertainment. Following the purchase of Sierra by Activision, the SWAT 3 multiplayer servers went down permanently. However, multiplayer functionality can be restored using VPN software and third-party multiplayer servers operated by SWAT 3 fan communities .

Additionally, a fair-sized modding community has grown around SWAT 3, producing new missions, maps, weapons and character models for use in both singleplayer and multiplayer modes. SWAT 3 includes tools and support for modifying the game.

Reception

SWAT 3 has received overall positive reviews, scoring 81% on Metacritic and 83.76% on GameRankings. Praise has been lavished on the graphics, along with the AI of enemies and civilians and team interaction.

PC Gamer UK gave the game a score of 91%, saying "All the best ideas from other squad based games, shoehorned into a police setting, perfectly."

GameSpot awarded the Close Quarters Battle version of game a rating of 8.3/10, commenting that "SWAT 3's most impressive feature has to be the amazing artificial intelligence employed by friend and foe alike" and praising the graphics and level design, but criticising the lack of multiplayer in the initial release, the tendency for some dialogue to repeat, the need to "radio in" every suspect or hostage secured, and the need to restart missions from scratch should the player be killed.

Reviewing Close Quarters Battle, Tal Blevins of IGN praised the graphics, level design and AI (although noting an occasional tendency for computer-controlled SWAT officers to walk into the player's line of fire, resulting in friendly fire incidents), but also praised the clean interface, dialogue recording and mission briefing screens and the feel of the weapons. However, the lack of multiplayer in CQB and deficiencies in the game's manual were singled out for criticism. A subsequent review of the Elite Edition version responded positively to the new multiplayer component and the new missions, but noted some bugs.

Martin Taylor of Eurogamer awarded the Elite Edition a score of 9/10, praising the graphics and level design, and particularly the new multiplayer component, citing efficient, low-lag networking code and singling out the co-operative multiplayer game mode for its effectiveness, although noting that the deathmatch game mode will often be dominated by one player with a fast connection camping in one area of the map, responding negatively to the WON.net multiplayer service and criticizing the ease with which the arrest-based gameplay can break down in a fierce firefight.

Along with its different released versions, SWAT3 also received a sequel; SWAT 4, developed by Irrational Games and published by Vivendi Universal in April 2005.

References

1. Jim Napier. "Postmortem: Sierra's SWAT3 Close Quarters Battle". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
2. IGN Staff. "SWAT 3: Close-Quarters Battle Interview". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-04.
3. ^ Tal Blevins (November 30, 1999). "SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle review". IGN. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
4. "Swat 3 Mods".
5. ^ "SWAT 3: Elite Edition". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
6. ^ "SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
7. ^ PC Gamer Presents The Ultimate Guide to PC Games. Future Publishing. 2003. ISBN 82-997378-0-X.
8. ^ Michael E. Ryan (December 15, 1999). "SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle Review". GameSpot. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
9. Tal Blevins (October 31, 2000). "SWAT 3: Elite Edition review". IGN. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
10. Martin Taylor (November 17, 2000). "SWAT 3: Elite Edition review". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 23, 2010.

External links

• SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle at MobyGames

• 1999 video games
• Cancelled Dreamcast games
• Sierra Entertainment games
• Police Quest
• Windows games
• Cooperative video games
• First-person shooters
• Tactical shooter video games
• SWAT (video game series)