SWAT 4 Is The Creator Of BioShock's Secret Masterpiece

thegamer.com:

Before Rapture there was Fairview. This fictional North American city is the setting for SWAT 4, a tactical FPS created by the same studio that made BioShock. That's right: before dragging us down into the depths of Andrew Ryan's doomed utopia, Irrational was developing cop games. Not a lot of people remember SWAT 4, which is a shame because it's one of the best games on PC. But it's also interesting because, despite the wildly different subject matter, there are traces of BioShock in its design.

In some respects, SWAT 4 is like any other tactical shooter. It's a game about commanding a squad, surveying the environment, formulating a plan, and executing it with brutal efficiency. The crucial difference here, however, is that you're not a soldier. You can't just run in and gun everyone down. You have to follow protocol, only fire your weapon if someone shoots at you first, and subdue rather than kill suspects. It's an unique take on the genre, and as you might expect, incredibly tense.

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A cleverly designed point system ensures you play things by the book. Every action you take earns or loses you points, and a tally at the end determines whether you unlock the next level or not. Handcuff a suspect and you'll earn points; shoot them without determining whether they're a threat and you'll lose points. If you kill a hostage, or do anything that results in their death, it's an instant game over. One mistake can absolutely savage your score, meaning you always feel on the brink of failure.

There are no mid-level saves either, adding to the tension. You can't even memorise where the hostages and enemies are placed, because they're randomised every time. Luckily you have a