Swat 4 Open Beta Released

[jAkUp]

Now it's available for non subscribers

http://www.fileplanet.com/betacenter/swat4/

Been playing for about a week or so, it still needs some work, but shows great potential, being a huge Raven-Shield fan I'm probably gonna pick this one up in April

[dimmy32]

Can I try it out for free ? I dont see where...

[Kamakazie]

Originally posted by dimmy32
Can I try it out for free ? I dont see where...

Yeah, you just download it... you still need to have a free Fileplanet account.

[PointlesS]

yeah you can use your free account...just login first before you sign up...waiting 22 minutes then downloading...can't wait since rainbow six 4 seems to have gone lame to appeal to more people...I'm defiantely looking forward to this...

[Kamakazie]

Originally posted by PointlesS
rainbow six 4 seems to have gone lame to appeal to more people...

Nah, it just looks like the console versions now.

[proxemo666]

Just curious but what is the difference between the swat series and rainbow 6 raven shield. I know I know I can download the demo but I just want a quick and dirty explanation.

[DAoC]

Well the Rainbow Six series has always been a standard FPS. Swat2 I believe it was, was a more cartoony topdown view of the playing field and you controlled characters that way. Swat1 was a spinoff of the Police Quest series I believe (probably wrong, was a long time ago). Swat3 was "standard FPS view" but it had a lot of cutscenes and really didn't play like a FPS.

[Kamakazie]

SWAT 1 was a poor FMV adventure game, SWAT 3 was more Rainbow Six-style, there werent a lot of cutscenes as DAoC says

[Spaceman Spiff]

I have all the SWAT games, liked em all, but the series is NOT CONSISTENT at all.

The first SWAT game was called "Police Quest: SWAT", and it was a fairly subpar FMV shooter of the mid 90s.
SWAT 2 was better, but again, entirely different. It used a 2d, isometric camera and you controlled your SWAT units like a strategy game. Think "Commandos" with SWAT units. You'd be deployed to a location, pick your team and their gear, call in the chopper for surveillance, set-up snipers around, negotiate with suspects, etc...it was really pretty fun for the time, aside from the bugs and such. There was alot more management and depth that went into it. You'd be penalized for using lethal force without justification, or be rewared for quickly saving hostages and neogotiating a peaceful resolution.

SWAT 3 was a a FPS tactical shooter like Rainbow, except it was more like a real SWAT team would function. Basically, in Rainbow, if you see a bad guy, you shoot him. No questions asked.
SWAT on the other hand, you try to get the suspect to surrender peacefully and make an arrest. You can do this by chucking CS gas, rubber bullets, flash bangs, or even yelling at them to drop their weapon. When and if they do, you can run up to them and put them in handcuffs.
Of course, you can use lethal force (and unfortunately, because the game isn't perfectly balanced, you'll use it alot more than anything else), but you really TRY to resolve it non-lethaly.

I hope SWAT 4 takes the design of SWAT 3 and expands on it and cleans up some of the bugs, while moving it graphically into this generation. There is enough different about the SWAT franchise and every other tactical shooter franchise out there to make it stand out on its own. The use of non-lethal force, negotation, and real police tactics seperates it from all the Rainbow clones floating around.

If anyone plays this beta who has played SWAT 3 in the past, PLEASE post your impressions and thoughts. Would love to hear them.

[dimmy32]

I'll be surprized if Swat 4 can beat out rainbow six 3 . I downloaded it , and played it for about 10 mins.
The walk/run speeds are just not happening, in my book. Feels like I'm wearing 50 pounds of gear ! sooo sloowww .
Graphics are pretty tho.

How are you guys liking it so far ?