Im new to the swat franchise, if your new wich one uis best to start with?

go straight to SWAT 4, it has advanced everything and is the best in the series for what does but I do still love 3 but 4 man you can touch how good it really is in it's own way.

JUST DO SWAT 4 thank me later :) and ps paintball gun is fun when you shoot hostages with pepper balls XD

Swat 4 has a newer game engine so looks better but in my opinion that is where it ends in terms of being better than Swat 3. Well, if you are a person who like deathmatch and team deathmatch Swat 4 will be the better pick. I am sure that Swat 4 will be more active because of both of these reasons alone.

If you are looking for a realist cooperative Swat game then Swat 3 is better. Swat 4 was dumbed down for the masses. A prime example of this are the magical Swat 4 doors that always open away from the player. In Swat 3 you had to think about which side to stack up on and sometimes opening a door towards you was a challenge.

Get Ready for a long and unorganized mess of words

Gameplay wise, I would choose Swat 3. What Swat 4 didn't have was a more competent ai, particularly with your squadmates. The squadmates in swat 4 do alright, but there can be frequent times where they don't shoot at suspects at the right time, or get pathfinding issues. In Swat 3, they clear rooms a lot better. They are more trigger happy than in Swat 4 which can be bad if you're trying to finish a mission without them killing every suspect, but it's better than having moments where they don't engage when they're suppose to. They can arrest suspects or civies on their own and throw lightsticks automatically which is pretty handy. Plus, they technically report suspects they have killed themselves, though anything else you have to report to toc.

Some other reasons why I think Swat 3 is better. While you can still get unmarked penalties which can lower your leadership score (think mission score in Swat 4 if you've seen it, but averages up every mission), ones like killing suspects in unauthorized cases don't detract too much because of that one incident. Stealth and Dynamic modes add some immersion to the game, and can actually help. The suspect ai is actually a determined foe, and they won't always just run away like I see in Swat 4. The fact that you have to manually report or evacuate people through some keys than a push of a button in Swat 4 add more to the immersion once again. Reporting wrongly, such as reporting a downed suspect as dead can get you corrected by your squadmates and slightly lower your leadership score. Adding to the immersion again, when they say a mission is completed, the whole area may not be completely clear. There are a few missions that get completed once a certain amount of suspects are cleared off and all other objectives are complete, but there will still be one or even more suspects still out there. Most of these may be some little things that actually don't add to the gameplay that much, but the immersion means so much to me.

I think Swat 4's multiplayer is a lot more fun, but the last time I played swat 4 in gameranger, it was mostly pvp in that restaurant map. Swat 4, according to some, has more memorable missions and maps. I would continue some more advantages Swat 4 has, but I don't have a lot of time left as of now.

Both are great games, however I would choose Swat 4 for the simple fact that it runs with less of a hassle on modern machines while improving graphics and still keeping enough tactical depth to be challenging, albeit streamlined.

If you don't mind getting your hands dirty with technically tuning the game and prefer more complex tactical mechanics over graphics (i.e.: Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon (the originals)), go for Swat 3.

Both games boast with active online communities, but from my experience Swat 4 is easier to set for online gameplay as well.

SWAT 3 hasn't aged very well, but is still a great game. In my opinion the squad behaves more intelligent in SWAT 3 than in SWAT 4. The AI was groundbreaking then and is ever since. Plus there is (was, not sure, if the old sites are still up) a bigger modding community. However, you can't run SWAT 3 under Windows 10 without modifying some game files.

Try SWAT 4 and if you like it, go for SWAT 3, as it offers more depth imho.

As others have said - Graphically and for ease of use SWAT 4 wins out.

However for a SWAT tactical game SWAT 3 trumps it for me. SWAT 3 was a bit more demanding in the procedural area. You had to make the right radio calls and you had to ensure the area was fully clear and secure - the game would not end the mission for you because you met all objectives.

SWAT 3 also had the dynamic and stealth modes. I missed this in SWAT 4 as it really added to the depth of the tactics and it helped with Immersion. After going loud you could then tell the team to go back to stealth. Also while in stealth the radio chatter was whispered and shorter , whereas when you wen dynamic everyone just starts shouting and barking into the radio.

SWAT 4 did improve upon the narrative with some standout missions and a kind of connected campaign. As a Tactical shooter it still stands head and shoulders above many of the other games in the genre past and present.

Both games are good and you should play both , however if graphics are an issue for you then go for SWAT 4. Both games have mods and addons you can download. For Swat 3 i recommend the last resort mod especially if you running it on anything later than windows 7.

But do try one of them , it is a fantastic series and such a different experience playing an "FPS" where you are trying not to kill the bad guys.

Yup there are still mod websites with huge collections.

http://www.swat3reunited.com/

http://induktio.net/swat3/

Swat 3 ran with Windows 10 fine for me on several machines I have at home however I know some people had problems. If you want the game to run as smoothly as possibly it will involve some tweaking. I think we made instructions available that don't make this process too difficult.

I personally would vote SWAT 3 without too much deliberation.

SWAT4 is nice as far as graphics and weapon models (i.e., you can actually see it) but I honestly found the whole less-lethal stuff and scoring system to be tedious and frustrating. Having to stand there and yell at someone to put down their weapon, just to have a fraction of a second to react when the suspect finally decides he's going to shoot you got old after the first few missions. There's a YouTuber, Gggmanlives, that does a great review of the game and points out these same negative points more eloquently than I can.

SWAT3 felt like a perfect blend of quick and accessible mechanics with tactical and suspenseful gameplay. I like to think of it like the Rainbow Six (old ones) without the planning or movement handicaps. If you see a suspect with a weapon, you can shoot him without worrying about having to redo the entire level to meet the minimum score for level completion. Not having to argue with every suspect you encounter doesn't mean the game isn't "tactical", it just allows you to focus more on what I personally enjoyed about the game (shooting armed suspects) instead of playing the role of negotiator.

Just my 2 cents :D

For this reason I'd vote for both (I mean it's like, what 8 euros for both?):

-SWAT 3 is more combat oriented and builds more on the tactical side of this series, the squad's and the enemy's AI is way more advanced than the sequel and you have more command options than the sequel. And (at least for me) it has WAY harder missions (because of the advanced enemy AI, and specific factors like the aforementioned "inflammable gas" sewers mission). If graphics bother you, SWAT 3's graphics are obviously dated compared to the sequel.

-While SWAT 4 in all of its streamlining it actually becomes a more realistic version of the game series. For example (as in real life) not all suspects are highly trained hitmen who will bam-headshot swat forces in milliseconds (hence the aforementioned "suspects running away" point),civilians might be so shocked that they won't comply, "tricky" suspects faking attempts at surrendering their weapons etc. Also you get some extra gadgets that will help you deal with suspects more efficiently.

The only disadvantage of SWAT 4 (compared to SWAT 3) is that I'm always hesitant when it comes to sending a team in a room without me supervising them ( many maps have multiple entrances to the same room, so it's generally a good tactic to send the first team from a specific entrance, while you flank the suspects from other entrance(s) with the second team ), because they are much less trigger-happy (than in the prequel) and might get killed because of this.

Having said that I'll repeat myself and claim that if it's possible, get both games. They quite literally have infinite replayability (try getting elite score on most missions in SWAT 4 and you'll see :P) and are the perfect games for someone who enjoys tactical shooters.

PS: Did I say that I hate FPS games? Yep, these 2 games (along with Shadow Warrior 2, but I don't consider this game a true FPS game :P ) are the sole exceptions.

EDIT: Typo.

Before I begin - I'm not a fan of FPS games unless there is some sort of tactical or unusual element to them.

That means I enjoy SWAT3 and SWAT4, as wel as No One Lives Forever 1 & 2, things like Rainbox Six (old versions) and even things like Overwatch or Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory.

Quake, Doom, and so on? Not so much. In the SWAT games you won't be jumping around like a madman with a heavy .50 cal machine gun in one hand and a heavy grenade launcher in the other while still jumping up several feet into the air, dodging enemy fire mid-air sideways, reloading and then one-shotting them in their heads without a scope twenty trillion miles away - while still airborne and right through an armoured vehicle they happen to be hiding behind. Lag due to latency is also less of a thing compared to those traditional FPS.

Get ready for a jumble of words - or just read other people's opinions here, as I tend to agree with most of them.


I like both, but do prefer SWAT3 GOTY over SWAT4.


Why?

The controls were quirky but remappable, but the tactical co-op options and for instance the mechanism for throwing grenades is implemented much better in my opinion.

In SWAT4, you can toss a grenade either low or high (swing up or swing down), but in SWAT3 you could essentially control the force applied when throwing the grenade more subtly. You could throw it slow or fast in multiple levels by keeping the button pushed until released to throw.

The bots in SWAT3 weren't the brightest but the game shines in multiplayer co-op. And yet, the AI in SWAT3 followed tactical procedures in a more realistic manner than in SWAT4.

There is deatch match in there too, which I never cared about and there used to be tons of mods available on the Internet to tweak the game, with lots of interesting maps, behavioral realism tweaks like Stockholm Syndrome, other weapons other skins up to entirely new worlds.

The HUD overlay in terms of controls, speeding up (PgUp) / going dynamic and slowing down (PgDn) / going stealth... with the exception of the game not using AWSD as the defacto FPS layout all the controls just made sense to me (even the way you could give orders to team mates or bots). The controls however could be remapped anyway you like them.

SWAT4 I also enjoyed but basically just because of better graphics and less trigger happy AI (that has consequences though - read other people's comments to discover in what way).

The controls in terms of giving orders were slower and quirkier to me than SWAT3's. There should be no reason for it, but personally I never got used to them. SWAT4 has a completely different engine and plays more like a Rainbow Six or Counter Strike game than like SWAT3, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective and preference.

SWAT4 is a lot darker, has much better graphics and if you prefer something like simple team DM, is probably the way to go. However for DM there are much more enjoyable games available these days or even back then (games like LucasArts' Outlaws with the Kill the Fool with the Chicken game spring to mind, UT99 CTF as well).

When co-op, stealth and multiplayer mission-based ops and mission diversity (disarmb bombs, free hostages, arrest warrant, evaccuation, VIP detail) are your thing (including split up among two separate teams with separate entry points while fighting AI), then I can highly recommend SWAT3.

If you are just looking for a modernized version of SWAT3 which retains co-op and mission based focus but with a darker atmosphere and contemporary controls which plays slightly more like a traditional but tactially oriented FPS, SWAT4 is not a bad choice even if there may be better ones available by now.

One thing which is more realistic in SWAT4 compared to SWAT3 is the fact that the limited amount of weight you can carry around is more strict compared to SWAT3, meaning less grenades on one person etc. Almost everytyhing else, from a co-op point of view, I liked more in SWAT3 for some reason.

If you do opt for SWAT4 (also a great game), you may wish to have a look here:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/swat-elite-force

There is also a SWAT4 remake mod which features HD graphics, but the Elite Force mod will bring more realism (and would thus have my preference).

The latter will address many of the grievances I experienced with SWAT4 and more resembles what SWAT4 probably could and should have been even if personally I still enjoy SWAT3 a bit more - that could also admittedly be due to nostalgia though.

In the end it comes down to what you prefer to be realistic. The gameplay or the graphics.
And even there, from a gameplay perspectice in some areas SWAT4 does actually offer an improvement over SWAT3 but in most areas SWAT3 is definitely much better.

So, from a "police tactictal procedure" perspective, I'd go with SWAT3 if you must choose.
If you can afford both, just get both - they won't disappoint those who enjoy mission-based tactical co-op FPS, even against AI.

Depends on who you ask, i prefer Swat 3, but then again i grew up playing it, and i happen to like its distinct photo-realistic texture work.

For the normal modern gamer, swat 4 with the appropriate fixes and mods.

I grew up playing games like Police Quest and Police Quest III, so Swat 3 feels like home for me, where as swat 4's plastic-like xbox 360 era graphics don't really grab me.