August 10, 1999 Web posted at: 5:15 p.m. EDT (2115 GMT) by Joel Strauch

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(IDG) -- Sierra's SWAT teams have tried their hands at a variety of gaming genres. The first game surfaced during the mid-'90s full-motion video craze that most gamers try not to remember. The second was a well-implemented, if flawed, real-time strategy effort. And with SWAT 3, it appears that Special Weapons and Tactics has finally found a good home in a first-person tactical simulation.

You control the Element Leader of a five-man squad broken into Red and Blue elements. You decide who goes where, how they breach doors, and how aggressively they take down suspects. Element members move two ways--Dynamic and the more cautious Stealth--and the game's music reflects changes between them. The Element Leader usually stays back and follows an individual member's progress through a "picture-in-a-picture" viewport, which can be cycled through the various element members.

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So far, SWAT 3 seems to have it all down. Sierra provided a build that included one mission with squad and enemy AI intact, and, generally, both sides had their heads firmly attached their shoulders. Troopers called back status reports to the Element Leader, entered rooms in typically bad-ass SWAT fashion, and brought down tough and well-entrenched suspects.

The environments live up to the "close quarters" kicker. All of the action-from hostage rescues to counter-terrorism strikes-take place indoors, so there won't be any of the sniping tactics from SWAT 2. The 18 close-quarter missions can be played in any order or followed through in sequence on various "career" paths.

"This is real entry-team level," said producer Rod Fung.

First, you'll need to set up your squad. You have 16 members to choose among, with differing skills and experience. (In Career mode, their experience will increase after missions--if they survive.)

Each squad member can be uniquely equipped with realistic SWAT weapons and gear. Every weapon has a primary and secondary load, such as the shotgun's breaching slug for those moments when you really don't feel like knocking. The flight of individual bullets--even all nine pellets in a primary shotgun load--are traced by the game engine, and affect different materials in appropriate fashion. For example, shooting a stone wall won't have a great effect, but firing into a thin, wooden wall sends the bullets on through it--and perhaps into a waiting suspect.

But the bad boys aren't going to sit around on the other sides of walls waiting for you. The enemy AI allows them to respond to sounds, such as gunfire, as well as track down wounded SWAT members by following blood trails.

The characters--both good and bad--look great. "All of the motion capture [used for character design] was done by an LAPD SWAT officer," said Fung. The SWAT 3 engine, based on the Gabriel Knight engine, renders the upper and lower body separately, allowing SWAT members to lean sideways like the real SWAT members, peek around corners, and keep as much of their bodies covered as possible. The graphics show an eye for detail. Each team member's name appears on their vest (à la real SWAT), bullet holes stay where they should, and faces can be recognized, even behind the SWAT masks.

In addition to the regular missions, two training missions will be included, with a talking tutor who walks you through appropriate SWAT tactics, complete with lingo. ("Slicing the pie" isn't part of the dessert menu. It means keeping the smallest possible angle of exposure.)

This release of SWAT 3 will include only the single-player game, with a multiplayer version set for spring 2000. Sierra isn't sure how it will handle the multiplayer package, but it's sure to include cooperative play as well as squads of SWAT members going head-to-head.

Sierra has ditched what didn't work in earlier SWAT games, worked with what did, and modeled it beautifully in a 3D engine. The third time may truly be the charm for SWAT.