A fun arcade title while it lasts. Worth owning for those that like walk-n-shoot type of arcades.
The basic plot of E-SWAT is that you are a cop, and you eventually get promoted into a Cyber policeman for E-SWAT. And throughout the rest of time, you arrest people, and kill tons of bad dudes.
Back in the old days of video games, Sega used to make many unique arcade games, this being one of them. This is basically a walk-n-shoot type of arcade. I can't help but say that this game is an obvious copy of Robocop, both the 1987 movie and the 1988 arcade game. You start the game as a police officer, walking around levels and shooting bad guys. You can sometimes heal yourself, and there are times when you need skills to get further. At the end of each of the game's 7 rounds, you'll be rewarded with a boss, which, once you know what you're doing, are pretty simple. After completing the first 2 rounds, you'll get promoted into the Cyber Police Squad. Here, the gameplay changes. As an E-SWAT officer, you can pick up multiple weapons, fly for a short period of time using your jet pack, and have more health then before. Your weapons include a Gun, a Supergun, A Plasma Gun, A Rocket Launcher, and a Flamethrower. It's pretty fun to try different weapons on your enemies. But this time, this game gets more challenging then ever. There are more robots and thugs in each round then before, and many of them are resistant to some of your weapons. There will be times when you need to figure out a way to blast through a wall or go across a pool of poison sludge. So there's tons of strategy involved here, and it's quite a challenge. But if you're up to it all, then E-SWAT's gameplay will be a fun little ride for you.
Graphics:
Typical 16-bit Arcade quality graphics. You get a decent amount of colors, and decent detail in the rounds. However, the animation is a little lacking and limited in frames, which takes away a bit of realism here. Regardless, E-SWAT looked acceptable during its time.
Sound:
The music is also pretty typical Sega Arcade fare. All the tunes fit in the game well, though they aren't exactly going to be praised for how good they are. However, if you're a sucker for catchy, 16-bitish music, then you might enjoy the music. There's even a couple voices heard, such as "E-SWAT" at the title, and "Mission: Completed" after each round is finished. The only problem with the audio here is the sound effects. When you shoot your gun, it usually sounds rather quiet and unrealistic, and same goes for a couple other sound effects. Still, E-SWAT is what you expect to hear from a budget arcade game.
Conclusion:
E-SWAT suffers what most arcade ports suffer as well, replay value. There's rarely any of that stuff here. All you do is replay the rounds again. Sure, you can adjust the difficultly and how many lives you can have, but they don't make a huge difference. This game is also rather difficult. You'll need a couple hours of playing in order to be good at most of what E-SWAT offers. Overall, if you're looking for a simple, solid arcade shooter, and aren't expecting much, then go ahead and hunt down for E-SWAT.
Pros:
-Nice, fun arcade shooting action
-The concept is cool
-The graphics and audio get the job done.
Cons:
-Little replay value
-Frustrating at times