Finally a realistic, engaging tactical shooter in all it's pride
This game is have to be the best tactical shooter out there, in terms of realism and what catches me really bad is that the briefing is so excellent and that you can choose less-lethal weapons which makes me cry some tears in happiness, finally is it possible to in fact catch the bad guys without having that thought in the back of your head that you're gonna get so gunhappy that you'll kill the suspects and the hostage becuase of some reason.
And with Less-Lethal weaponary , with the Taser pistol which is a electronic pistol that is designed just to give unwilling suspects and civilians such a pain that they'll basicly surrender and some Tear Gas it's often that you'll finish a mission without having anyone get hurt and that's rewarding you greatly in terms of the ranking you'll get efter all missions and you'll feel proud of yourself (yeah actually)
The AI in the game is excellent and you'll have to act correctly to not injure yourself, your team, any hostage, and try to stay away from killing the suspects if they're not pointing their weapons at you or your team. This makes this game very stradegical, and from the information from the briefing you'll have to pick weapons, type of ammo and other gear currectly for you and your team to most succesfully finish the missions.
And if you're having a couple of friends or having a couple of computers connected to a LAN there's nothing cooler than to go co-op with your friends over it. Even tho there's no use of mic in this game it uses really great system for playing co-op together over either Internet or LAN with a big list of maps, gear, commands and such you'll have to work as a team in the best possible way and communicate with the commands (it sounds very annoying but it isn't and it's very effective)
Or if you just want to take on your friends on some team deathmatch-like play instead you'll find all the gear from the single player into the multiplayer which is a great idea and works very well, you'll have to choose between gas-mask which protects you from CS Gas (Tear Gas Grenades) and other gases but gives you a restricted line of sight and no protection against projectiles as the standard helmet does but the helmet doesn't provide any gas-protection, so you're going to make a correct choice even in the non-co-op modes in the multiplayer.
To end with, SWAT 4 is a game all fans of previous games gotta get or for those who just want a correct, realistic tactical shooter and are looking for a great time.