SWAT: Global Strike Team Review

Developer	Argonaut Games
Publisher	Sierra Entertainment
Genre	Tactical Shooter

Although it’s been just over a half-decade since Rainbow Six was released, the five years since that game was released have brought new life to the often-stagnant action genre. The tactical, close-to-life team based approach of that game was one that would be sampled in numerous forms by an even greater amount of titles since then – variations were based on the level of realism, the number of members in a squad, and other things. The SWAT series, an offshoot of the excellent Police Quest adventure games on PC, has tried a number of different approaches in its various incarnations (point and click adventure, real-time strategy) before settling on the tactical shooter with the third game in the series – the very approach that Global Strike Team, the SWAT series’ first entry into the console gaming world, tries. Utilizing a more streamlined arcade style, and taking the traditional urban conflicts of the series into even more varied territory, SWAT: Global Strike Team is a mostly-hit affair that isn’t afraid to try new things – a choice that helps to make it at least somewhat distinctive from the myriad other titles of this style.

The decision to take the series global (SWAT is now an international anti-terrorist organization) is an interesting one, and at very least the globe-spanning missions provide a change of pace from the standard urban environs that the series has offered. As Kincaid, a fairly generic character that I wish I could’ve been more attached to, you command T.J. and Lee in a series of missions pitting you against two warring drug cartels whose conflict starts to draw the world into its crossfire.

Gameplay – A key thing that has historically separated this series from others in the genre is that as SWAT officers, there is a strict protocol to follow as you make your way through each mission, and failure to comply with certain key features can cost you at the end of the mission. GST’s arcade-like approach still allows for most of those protocol to exist in the game, but it’s never as overt as it could be, both a good thing and a bad one. A compliance gauge in front of every enemy shows how close they are to surrender, and while it’s possible to ignore all that and go gung-ho, it’s also an option to use a flash-bang grenade or a warning shot to coerce them into throwing up their hands. It still is suggested that you avoid killing except where absolutely necessary, that you shouldn’t shoot unless shot at, and a secondary mission goal present on every stage asks that gamers arrest a certain number of perpetrators – but with the exception of a message onscreen chastising you for unnecessary use of force, there isn’t much to make the player feel that they are bound to the rules of engagement as it should.

That’s not to say that there aren’t any tactics in the game at all – in fact, the available tactics are small enough in number that it’s hard to confuse them, but there are always enough options in any given situation to keep things relatively fresh. Aside from the importance of sticking to SWAT protocol, there are a number of well-thought features, among which include the ability to crack the door and toss a grenade through, to the ability to kick down a door and surprise an enemy on the other side into surrender, and the option to position your teammates to guard certain areas.

As an arcade-style game, GST finds one of its other major flaws; it often feels as though your team members could be eliminated and the game could be played just as effectively. Granted, it wouldn’t be much fun that way, but with a team of only three people, one of whom (Lee) is a sniper and is often “across the street” giving cover fire, it doesn’t feel as though your teammates get much use. To the developer’s credit, your team A.I. is quite intelligent, and despite some minor pathfinding issues, they respond to your commands and won’t hesitate to drop an enemy as efficiently as possible.

This leads us to one of the key features of SWAT – using either the X-Box Live headset or the PS2’s USB one, your teammates (and certain enemies) will respond to your voice commands. Aside from coming the closest to fulfilling one of my childhood police fantasies then anything has, this feature, while flawed, is implemented well enough not be ignored. There are several different voice commands available, from ordering a teammate to restrain a downed suspect to moving them into position to kick down a door while you both wait with weapons raised. The game offers several different key words for each command – yelling SWAT and POLICE will both increase the enemy’s compliance gauge, but you can only set one at a time, based on whichever you feel is easier to say/less geeky to be caught yelling. The recognition is a bit choppy, and it often requires that you yell the command several times in order for the desired effect to happen, but it’s also just as easy to use the directional pad to issue the same commands.

The only other problem worth mentioning is that despite the variation of the missions (in terms of location and objective), the structure of the gameplay feels much the same from mission to mission – capture a key suspect, shoot your way through a few hot-spots and either disarm a bomb or rescue some hostages. This is the only aspect of the game in which the more simulation-oriented approach of other tactical shooters is missed; in general, the arcade style approach SWAT takes feels like a solid decision. The control is solid, although nothing special, and while there are twenty one globe-spanning missions (and the fact that co-op missions differ from their single-player counterparts), the lack of fundamental mission variation means that about halfway through the single player campaign, things start to get a bit tiresome. It’s unfortunate that there isn’t any online play, although there are already new downloadable maps for splitscreen play, and new content will eventually be released via X-Box Live.

Graphics – Although sporting some excellent lighting, evidenced by the result of staring at a flash-bang explosion, and a number of scattered details, the graphical package of SWAT is nothing spectacular. Character and enemy models are fairly generic, and the animation for a fair majority of enemy actions have an obviously canned feeling to them. And while the game does take you all over the world, there isn’t much distinction to the many, many cramped indoor locales that you inevitably end up in.

Sound – A solid musical score, some tolerable voice acting and decent sound effects elevate the audio package above the average. Although the multi-national mission briefings sport some of the most blatantly fake accents outside of Peter Sellers (but not in a good way), the sound effects in-game make up for that. Still, one almost wishes that characters – enemies and allies alike – said more during the missions.

Overall Value - While not the most polished title on the market, there’s plenty between the voice-recognition and the various tactics available to make SWAT: Global Strike Team a worthwhile endeavor. When compared to higher-profile tactical shooters available (such as Ghost Recon or SOCOM 2), SWAT: GST begins to seem a bit more deficient, but there’s a feeling about the game that makes it fun to play on its own merits. A lack of online play and a less-then-absolute forecast on the downloadable content stifle extended play of the game, but what’s here is done reasonably well, and will hopefully be the groundwork for future SWAT titles on consoles that can build on this game’s strengths.

Review by Adam Matlock