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{{redirect|SWAT 1|the 2003 first film in the S.W.A.T. film series|S.W.A.T. (film)}}
{{redirect|SWAT 1|the 2003 first film in the S.W.A.T. film series|S.W.A.T. (2003 film)}}
{{redirect|SWAT I|the electoral district|Constituency PK-80 (Swat-I)|and|NA-2 (Swat-I)}}
{{redirect|SWAT I|the electoral district|Constituency PK-80 (Swat-I)|and|NA-2 (Swat-I)}}
{{Short description|1995 video game}}
{{about|the 1995 videogame, Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest: SWAT 1|other entries in the videogame series|Police Quest}}
{{about|the 1995 video game|the series|Police Quest}}
{{multiple issues|
{{multiple issues|
{{Refimprove|date=February 2017}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2017}}
{{Original research|date=February 2009}}
{{Original research|date=February 2009}}
}}
}}
{{Infobox video game
{{Infobox video game
| title = Police Quest: SWAT
| title = Police Quest: SWAT
| image = Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest - SWAT Coverart.png
| image = SierraOnLine-Box-SWAT1.jpg
| developer = [[Sierra Entertainment|Sierra On-Line]]
| developer = [[Sierra Entertainment|Sierra On-Line]]
| publisher = Sierra On-Line
| publisher = Sierra On-Line
Line 19: Line 20:
| composer = Dan Kehler
| composer = Dan Kehler
| series = ''[[Police Quest]]''
| series = ''[[Police Quest]]''
| platforms = [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Mac OS]]
| platforms = [[DOS]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] (3.x/95), [[Mac OS]]
| released = {{vgrelease|NA|September 30, 1995}}
| released = {{vgrelease|NA|November, 1995}}
| genre = [[Adventure Game|Adventure]], [[Simulation game|Simulation]]
| genre = [[Adventure Game|Adventure]], [[Simulation game|Simulation]]
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
}}
}}


'''''Police Quest: SWAT''''', alternatively known as '''''Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest: SWAT''''' or '''''Police Quest 5: SWAT''''', is a 1995 [[graphic adventure game|graphic adventure]] [[Educational game|educational]] [[video game]] developed and published by [[Sierra Entertainment|Sierra On-Line]] for [[DOS]], [[Microsoft Windows]], and [[Classic Mac OS|Mac OS]]. It is the fifth installment in the ''[[Police Quest]]'' series and the first installment in the ''SWAT'' subseries. The game follows a [[Los Angeles Police Department]] (LAPD) [[LAPD Metropolitan Division|Metropolitan Division]] [[SWAT]] team as they train to handle high-risk criminal incidents across [[Los Angeles]].
'''''Police Quest: SWAT''''' is the fifth game in the ''[[Police Quest]]'' series. It is [[graphic adventure game]] released in 1995, and re-released in 2016 for [[Steam (software)|Steam]]. With extensive use of [[Full motion video|FMV videos]] for its basic gameplay, the game required four [[CD-ROM]]s.

''Police Quest: SWAT'' received negative reviews from critics, but was a commercial success, with sales of over 1 million units by March 2000. A sequel, ''[[Police Quest: SWAT 2]]'', was released in 1998. The game has since been re-released digitally through [[GOG.com]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Police Quest: SWAT 1+2 |url=https://www.gog.com/en/game/police_quest_swat_1_2 |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=GOG.com |language=en}}</ref> and [[Steam (service)|Steam]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Save 35% on Police Quest: SWAT on Steam |url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/560350/Police_Quest_SWAT/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=store.steampowered.com |language=en}}</ref>


==Gameplay==
==Gameplay==
''Police Quest: SWAT'' follows the members of a [[police tactical unit]]. The game is presented through a series of [[Interactive film|interactive]] [[Full-motion video|full-motion videos]]. Gameplay is primarily [[Point and click|point-and-click]]. The player can use their character's LASH radio to issue commands or call for assistance using [[Verb|verbs]] and [[Noun|nouns]]. The player also has an inventory where their weapons and equipment are stored.
In keeping with the strict realism of the previous series, the majority of the game is spent performing training exercises. In fact, there are only three actual missions in the game (a mentally ill grandmother, a barricaded fugitive, and a terrorist attack). The first mission is available after the player completes a single training exercise and then attends a tactical lecture. The second becomes available after completing the first. After successfully playing several variations of the first two, the third becomes available. To increase replay value, the missions play out slightly differently with each playthrough, though only a limited number of variations exist. The role the player takes during the last mission also differs based on the career path they have selected during training, acting either as an element leader, with a greatly expanded list of radio commands to direct their team, or as a sniper, with randomized wind conditions forcing the player to adjust his rifle scope to ensure an accurate shot.


The vast majority of the game consists of [[Training exercise|training exercises]] and [[Lecture|lectures]] at the [[Police academy|Los Angeles Police Academy]] in [[Elysian Park, Los Angeles|Elysian Park]], serving to educate the player on police tactics and knowledge necessary during missions. Only three missions are in the game, unlocked as the player progresses through training. To provide [[replay value]] and tense unpredictability, the missions are lengthy and come in several variations; for example, a suspect may ambush the player in one mission playthrough, but they may attempt to hide in a subsequent replay. In the final mission, the player is issued a role they chose during training: [[Squad leader|element leader]], allowing the player to issue commands and direct the team; or [[sniper]], allowing the player to cover the rest of the team, though they must account for randomized wind effects.
During the training portion of the game, the player can make choices that lead to verbal reprimands. For example, if the player tries to 'skip' the briefings, the commander will scold the player. If the player is told to go to one location but then goes to another, someone there will warn "SWAT Pup" that he needs to be at the other location. If the player pesters other people at the various locations, by trying to talk to them too much or loitering, they may also get annoyed. Only shooting one's fellow officers in the few scenes in which this is possible will result in any form of disciplinary action, however, and this causes an immediate game over.


As is standard for the ''Police Quest'' series, following orders, police policy, rules of engagement, and realism are critical factors in gameplay. Most crucially, the SWAT team is advised to [[arrest]] suspects alive rather than kill them, unless the suspect is attempting to harm them or others. In some mission variations, the player must [[Crisis negotiation|negotiate]] with an otherwise dangerous suspect to [[De-escalation|de-escalate]] the threat, even when shooting would be justifiable. Actions deemed contrary to these can result in reprimands, negative consequences, or a game over.
Verb/noun commands can be issued via the character's LASH radio which allows the player to request assistance from his teammates or, if acting as element leader, give them orders.


==Plot==
In-game items are kept in an inventory that functions like the inventory in other Sierra SCI adventure games of the era, though the only items the player will ever carry are tactical devices such as angled mirrors, flashbangs, gas masks and firearms. These are issued to the player automatically at the beginning of each mission.


The player character, "SWAT Pup", joins the LAPD Metropolitan Division's D Platoon, SWAT. Pup is introduced to the other members of the team, trains with SWAT's weaponry, and attends lectures on tactics, equipment, and procedure.
The game is in first-person whenever in training. It goes into third person whenever interviewing witnesses or talking to fellow officers. Missions are mostly first-person, but the player's character is often shown moving between areas (or being shot) in the third person.


After introductory training, SWAT is deployed to apprehend Lucy Long, a mentally unstable elderly woman suffering from [[delusion]]s, who has barricaded herself in her family's [[North Hollywood, Los Angeles|North Hollywood]] house with a [[handgun]] under the belief she is being [[Gang stalking|gang stalked]]. SWAT is tasked with coercing her to come out and surrender, or if not, moving in on the house to apprehend her. Based on the events that unfold and what SWAT Pup does and orders, Long may either be arrested, killed, kill an officer, or commit suicide.
⚫
The game is built on the SCI2 ([[Sierra Entertainment#1980s|Sierra Creative Interpreter]]) used in the previous ''Police Quest'' game, ''Open Season'', and other adventure games of the era such as ''Phantasmagoria'' and ''Gabriel Knight 2''. It utilizes a single cursor interface similar to these and other SCI2 games (see also ''King's Quest VII''). The game utilizes much of the same technology as the previous game: most backgrounds are scanned photographs with green screen actors (with sprites being used in many places), but there is much more use of FMV.


Later, SWAT is deployed to apprehend an armed burglar hiding in a warehouse in [[Central Los Angeles]]. The burglar shot an officer investigating the building and, based on the testimony of the warehouse's owners, may have taken warehouse employee Hector Martinez hostage. SWAT methodically searches the building to locate the burglar. The burglar may either be arrested, killed, or kill an officer, and Martinez may be rescued, killed, or not be present to begin with.
==Reissue==
⚫
''SWAT'' was re-released under the ''Police Quest Collection Series'' adventure compilation (along with the first four games in the series), the "SWAT Career Pack" (with all six Police Quest games), the ''Police Quest: SWAT Force'' pack (first two SWAT games), and later the ''Police Quest: SWAT Generation'' collection (with ''SWAT 2'' and ''SWAT 3''), and the ''Police Quest: SWAT 1 & 2'' pack from GOG.com.


Finally, after extensive training, SWAT is deployed to stop a [[Terrorism|terrorist]] attack and attempted bombing at the offices of Eastman Enterprises, a plastic producer and government contractor in [[Gateway Cities|Southeast Los Angeles]]. The owner, Mr. Eastman, faced protests and threats over his connections to the [[military–industrial complex]]. SWAT Pup is assigned a role and SWAT deploys to defeat the terrorists and defuse the bomb. The terrorists may be arrested, killed, kill an officer, or succeed in the bombing.
⚫
The game is listed as ''Police Quest 5'' (PQ5) in the file names, folder, and the credits. The number does not appear on the title screen. The full title Police Quest 5: SWAT also appears on the back of second Police Quest Collection it was first included in.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mobygames.com/game/police-quest-collection-series/cover-art/gameCoverId,23708/|title=Police Quest: Collection Series (1997) DOS box cover art|website=MobyGames}}</ref>


==Reception==
== Development ==
⚫
''Police Quest: SWAT'' is built on [[Sierra Entertainment#1980s|Sierra Creative Interpreter 2]], used in the previous ''Police Quest'' game, ''[[Police Quest: Open Season|Open Season]]'', and other adventure games of the era such as ''[[Phantasmagoria (video game)|Phantasmagoria]]'' and ''[[The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery|Gabriel Knight 2]]''. It uses a single cursor interface similar to these and other SCI2 games, such as ''[[King's Quest VII]]''. The game uses much of the same technology as ''Open Season'': most backgrounds are scanned photographs with green screen actors (with sprites being used in many places), but with much more use of FMVs.
⚫
===Sales===
⚫
According to Sierra On-Line, combined sales of the ''Police Quest'' series—including ''Police Quest: SWAT''—surpassed 1.2 million units by the end of March 1996.<ref name=sierrasales>{{cite report | date = March 31, 1996 | title = Sierra On-Line Form 10-K |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416004925/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/724991/0000891020-96-000721.txt | url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/724991/0000891020-96-000721.txt | archivedate=April 16, 2018 | location=[[Bellevue, Washington]] | pages=7-9 }}</ref> ''Police Quest: SWAT'' was a commercial success; ''[[SWAT 3]]''{{'}}s Jim Napier later wrote that it "received only marginal reviews, [... but] sold like crazy."<ref name=milli>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3436/postmortem_sierras_swat3_close_.php |title=Postmortem: Sierra's SWAT3 Close Quarters Battle |date=March 6, 2000 |accessdate=March 3, 2008 |publisher=[[Gamasutra]] |author=Jim Napier |page=1}}</ref> Between January 1998 and July 1998 alone, it sold 152,425 copies and earned $1,622,405 in the United States.<ref name=pcdata1998>{{cite journal| author=Staff |title=Letters; Mys-Adventures |date=November 1998 |issue=172| journal=[[Computer Gaming World]] | pages=34 }}</ref> Its sales that year ultimately totaled 253,128 units, which brought in revenues of $2.73 million and made ''SWAT'' the country's 17th best-selling game of the year.<ref name=pcgsales2>{{cite journal| author=Staff| date=April 1999|volume=6|issue=4|title=The Numbers Game|journal=[[PC Gamer US]]|page=50}}</ref> The game's overall sales topped 1 million copies by March 2000.<ref name=milli />


⚫
The game is listed as ''Police Quest 5'' (PQ5) in the file names, folder, the credits, and as part of its listing in the second ''Police Quest Collection''; however, the numbering does not actually appear in the game.<ref>{{cite web |title=Police Quest: Collection Series (1997) DOS box cover art |url=http://www.mobygames.com/game/police-quest-collection-series/cover-art/gameCoverId,23708/ |website=MobyGames}}</ref>
===Critical reviews===

==Release==
''Police Quest: SWAT'' was released on September 30, 1995 in North America. Due to the amount of FMV data it required, the game was stored on four [[CD-ROM|CD-ROMs]].

⚫
Digital download editions of ''Police Quest: SWAT'' were released on GOG.com in the ''Police Quest Collection Series'' collection (along with the first four games in the series), the ''SWAT Career Pack'' (with all six ''Police Quest'' games), the ''Police Quest: SWAT Force'' pack (the first two ''SWAT'' games), and later the ''Police Quest: SWAT Generation'' collection (with ''[[Police Quest: SWAT 2|SWAT 2]]'' and ''[[SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle|SWAT 3]]''), and in ''Police Quest: SWAT 1 & 2''. The game was re-released on Steam in 2016.

==Reception==
{{Video game reviews
{{Video game reviews
| PCGUS = 70%<ref name=pcgus>{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000226141044/http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/821.html | url=http://www.pcgamer.com:80/reviews/821.html | title=''Police Quest: S.W.A.T.'' | date=March 1996 | archivedate=February 26, 2000 | author=Wolf, Mike | work=[[PC Gamer US]] | url-status=dead | access-date=May 8, 2020 }}</ref>
| PCGUS = 70%<ref name=pcgus>{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000226141044/http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/821.html | url=http://www.pcgamer.com:80/reviews/821.html | title=''Police Quest: S.W.A.T.'' | date=March 1996 | archive-date=February 26, 2000 | author=Wolf, Mike | work=[[PC Gamer US]] | url-status=dead | access-date=May 8, 2020 }}</ref>
| PCZone = 83/100<ref name=pczonebuyersguide>{{cite journal | author=Staff | title=''PC Zone'' Buyers' Guide | date=February 1997 | issue=47 | journal=[[PC Zone]] | pages=112-114, 117, 119, 121, 122, 124 }}</ref>
| PCZone = 83/100<ref name=pczonebuyersguide>{{cite journal | author=Staff | title=''PC Zone'' Buyers' Guide | date=February 1997 | issue=47 | journal=[[PC Zone]] | pages=112–114, 117, 119, 121, 122, 124 }}</ref>
| NGen = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref name=nextgenrev />
| NGen = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref name=nextgenrev />
| rev4 = ''[[Computer Game Review]]''
| rev4 = ''[[Computer Game Review]]''
| rev4Score = 62/61/80<ref name=cgr>{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19961019081500/http://www.nuke.com/cgr/reviews/9603/swat/swat.htm | url=http://www.nuke.com:80/cgr/reviews/9603/swat/swat.htm | title=Licensed to Kill | date=March 1996 | author1=Snyder, Frank | author2=Chapman, Ted | author3=Gehrs, Scott | archivedate=October 19, 1996 | work=[[Computer Game Review]] | url-status=dead | access-date=May 8, 2020 }}</ref>
| rev4Score = 62/61/80<ref name=cgr>{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961019081500/http://www.nuke.com/cgr/reviews/9603/swat/swat.htm | url=http://www.nuke.com:80/cgr/reviews/9603/swat/swat.htm | title=Licensed to Kill | date=March 1996 | author1=Snyder, Frank | author2=Chapman, Ted | author3=Gehrs, Scott | archive-date=October 19, 1996 | work=[[Computer Game Review]] | url-status=dead | access-date=May 8, 2020 }}</ref>
| rev5 = ''PC Games''
| rev5 = ''PC Games''
| rev5Score = C<ref name=pcgamesrev>{{cite magazine | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19961018135852/http://www.pcgamesmag.com/games/Mar96/swat396.html | url=http://www.pcgamesmag.com:80/games/Mar96/swat396.html | title=''Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest: SWAT'' | magazine=PC Games | author=Olafson, Peter | date=March 1996 | archivedate=October 18, 1996 | url-status=dead | access-date=May 8, 2020 }}</ref>
| rev5Score = C<ref name=pcgamesrev>{{cite magazine | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961018135852/http://www.pcgamesmag.com/games/Mar96/swat396.html | url=http://www.pcgamesmag.com:80/games/Mar96/swat396.html | title=''Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest: SWAT'' | magazine=PC Games | author=Olafson, Peter | date=March 1996 | archive-date=October 18, 1996 | url-status=dead | access-date=May 8, 2020 }}</ref>
}}
}}


A reviewer for ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' criticized that the mission instructions are overly ambiguous, sometimes leading the player to receive a reprimand even after apparently following orders correctly. He praised the large amount of content, educational value, and digitized audio, but scored the game two out of five stars, concluding that "this is a decent attempt at a police simulation, but your lack of control leaves much to be desired."<ref name=nextgenrev>{{cite magazine|last=|first= |title=Police Quest: SWAT |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=16|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=April 1996|page=91}}</ref>
A reviewer for ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' criticized the mission instructions as overly ambiguous, sometimes leading the player to receive a reprimand even after apparently following orders correctly. He praised the large amount of content, educational value, and digitized audio, but scored the game two out of five stars, concluding that "this is a decent attempt at a police simulation, but your lack of control leaves much to be desired."<ref name="nextgenrev">{{cite magazine|title=Police Quest: SWAT |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=16|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=April 1996|page=91}}</ref>


''[[PC Zone]]'' offered the game a "Recommended" rating, and a writer for the magazine called it "gun-toting cop fun".<ref name=pczonebuyersguide />
''[[PC Zone]]'' offered the game a "Recommended" rating, and a writer for the magazine called it "gun-toting cop fun".<ref name="pczonebuyersguide" />

⚫
===Sales===
⚫
According to Sierra On-Line, combined sales of the ''Police Quest'' series—including ''Police Quest: SWAT''—surpassed 1.2 million units by the end of March 1996.<ref name="sierrasales">{{cite report |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/724991/0000891020-96-000721.txt |title=Sierra On-Line Form 10-K |date=March 31, 1996 |location=[[Bellevue, Washington]] |pages=7–9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416004925/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/724991/0000891020-96-000721.txt |archive-date=April 16, 2018}}</ref> ''Police Quest: SWAT'' was a commercial success; ''[[SWAT 3]]''{{'}}s Jim Napier later wrote that it "received only marginal reviews, [... but] sold like crazy."<ref name="milli">{{cite web |author=Jim Napier |date=March 6, 2000 |title=Postmortem: Sierra's SWAT3 Close Quarters Battle |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3436/postmortem_sierras_swat3_close_.php |access-date=March 3, 2008 |publisher=[[Gamasutra]] |page=1}}</ref> Between January 1998 and July 1998 alone, it sold 152,425 copies and earned $1,622,405 in the United States.<ref name="pcdata1998">{{cite magazine |author=Staff |date=November 1998 |title=Letters; Mys-Adventures |magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] |issue=172 |pages=34}}</ref> Its sales that year ultimately totaled 253,128 units, which brought in revenues of $2.73 million and made ''SWAT'' the country's 17th best-selling game of the year.<ref name="pcgsales2">{{cite journal |author=Staff |date=April 1999 |title=The Numbers Game |journal=[[PC Gamer US]] |volume=6 |issue=4 |page=50}}</ref> The game's overall sales topped 1 million copies by March 2000.<ref name="milli" />


{{-}}
{{-}}
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[[Category:1995 video games]]
[[Category:1995 video games]]
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[[Category:Adventure strategy games]]
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[[Category:Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department]]
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[[Category:Games commercially released with DOSBox]]
[[Category:Interactive movie video games]]
[[Category:Interactive movie video games]]
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[[Category:Mac OS games]]
[[Category:Police Quest and SWAT]]
[[Category:Police Quest and SWAT]]
[[Category:ScummVM-supported games]]
[[Category:Sierra Entertainment games]]
[[Category:Sierra Entertainment games]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:Strategy video games]]
[[Category:Strategy video games]]
[[Category:Video games about police officers]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Video games set in 1995]]
[[Category:Video games set in California]]
[[Category:Video games set in California]]
[[Category:Video games set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Video games set in Los Angeles]]
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[[Category:Video games set in 1995]]
[[Category:Video games with digitized sprites]]
[[Category:Video games with digitized sprites]]
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[[Category:Windows games]]

Latest revision as of 22:33, 23 November 2024

"SWAT 1" redirects here. For the 2003 first film in the S.W.A.T. film series, see S.W.A.T. (2003 film).
"SWAT I" redirects here. For the electoral district, see Constituency PK-80 (Swat-I) and NA-2 (Swat-I).
This article is about the 1995 video game. For the series, see Police Quest.
Police Quest: SWAT
Developer(s)Sierra On-Line
Publisher(s)Sierra On-Line
Director(s)Tammy Dargan
Producer(s)Tammy Dargan
Phy Williams
Designer(s)Tammy Dargan
Programmer(s)Randy MacNeill
Sean Mooney
Artist(s)Terry Robinson
Writer(s)Tammy Dargan
Composer(s)Dan Kehler
SeriesPolice Quest
Platform(s)DOS, Windows (3.x/95), Mac OS
Release
  • NA: November, 1995
Genre(s)Adventure, Simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

Police Quest: SWAT, alternatively known as Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest: SWAT or Police Quest 5: SWAT, is a 1995 graphic adventure educational video game developed and published by Sierra On-Line for DOS, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS. It is the fifth installment in the Police Quest series and the first installment in the SWAT subseries. The game follows a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Metropolitan Division SWAT team as they train to handle high-risk criminal incidents across Los Angeles.

Police Quest: SWAT received negative reviews from critics, but was a commercial success, with sales of over 1 million units by March 2000. A sequel, Police Quest: SWAT 2, was released in 1998. The game has since been re-released digitally through GOG.com[1] and Steam.[2]

Gameplay

[edit]

Police Quest: SWAT follows the members of a police tactical unit. The game is presented through a series of interactive full-motion videos. Gameplay is primarily point-and-click. The player can use their character's LASH radio to issue commands or call for assistance using verbs and nouns. The player also has an inventory where their weapons and equipment are stored.

The vast majority of the game consists of training exercises and lectures at the Los Angeles Police Academy in Elysian Park, serving to educate the player on police tactics and knowledge necessary during missions. Only three missions are in the game, unlocked as the player progresses through training. To provide replay value and tense unpredictability, the missions are lengthy and come in several variations; for example, a suspect may ambush the player in one mission playthrough, but they may attempt to hide in a subsequent replay. In the final mission, the player is issued a role they chose during training: element leader, allowing the player to issue commands and direct the team; or sniper, allowing the player to cover the rest of the team, though they must account for randomized wind effects.

As is standard for the Police Quest series, following orders, police policy, rules of engagement, and realism are critical factors in gameplay. Most crucially, the SWAT team is advised to arrest suspects alive rather than kill them, unless the suspect is attempting to harm them or others. In some mission variations, the player must negotiate with an otherwise dangerous suspect to de-escalate the threat, even when shooting would be justifiable. Actions deemed contrary to these can result in reprimands, negative consequences, or a game over.

Plot

[edit]

The player character, "SWAT Pup", joins the LAPD Metropolitan Division's D Platoon, SWAT. Pup is introduced to the other members of the team, trains with SWAT's weaponry, and attends lectures on tactics, equipment, and procedure.

After introductory training, SWAT is deployed to apprehend Lucy Long, a mentally unstable elderly woman suffering from delusions, who has barricaded herself in her family's North Hollywood house with a handgun under the belief she is being gang stalked. SWAT is tasked with coercing her to come out and surrender, or if not, moving in on the house to apprehend her. Based on the events that unfold and what SWAT Pup does and orders, Long may either be arrested, killed, kill an officer, or commit suicide.

Later, SWAT is deployed to apprehend an armed burglar hiding in a warehouse in Central Los Angeles. The burglar shot an officer investigating the building and, based on the testimony of the warehouse's owners, may have taken warehouse employee Hector Martinez hostage. SWAT methodically searches the building to locate the burglar. The burglar may either be arrested, killed, or kill an officer, and Martinez may be rescued, killed, or not be present to begin with.

Finally, after extensive training, SWAT is deployed to stop a terrorist attack and attempted bombing at the offices of Eastman Enterprises, a plastic producer and government contractor in Southeast Los Angeles. The owner, Mr. Eastman, faced protests and threats over his connections to the military–industrial complex. SWAT Pup is assigned a role and SWAT deploys to defeat the terrorists and defuse the bomb. The terrorists may be arrested, killed, kill an officer, or succeed in the bombing.

Development

[edit]

Police Quest: SWAT is built on Sierra Creative Interpreter 2, used in the previous Police Quest game, Open Season, and other adventure games of the era such as Phantasmagoria and Gabriel Knight 2. It uses a single cursor interface similar to these and other SCI2 games, such as King's Quest VII. The game uses much of the same technology as Open Season: most backgrounds are scanned photographs with green screen actors (with sprites being used in many places), but with much more use of FMVs.

The game is listed as Police Quest 5 (PQ5) in the file names, folder, the credits, and as part of its listing in the second Police Quest Collection; however, the numbering does not actually appear in the game.[3]

Release

[edit]

Police Quest: SWAT was released on September 30, 1995 in North America. Due to the amount of FMV data it required, the game was stored on four CD-ROMs.

Digital download editions of Police Quest: SWAT were released on GOG.com in the Police Quest Collection Series collection (along with the first four games in the series), the SWAT Career Pack (with all six Police Quest games), the Police Quest: SWAT Force pack (the first two SWAT games), and later the Police Quest: SWAT Generation collection (with SWAT 2 and SWAT 3), and in Police Quest: SWAT 1 & 2. The game was re-released on Steam in 2016.

Reception

[edit]

A reviewer for Next Generation criticized the mission instructions as overly ambiguous, sometimes leading the player to receive a reprimand even after apparently following orders correctly. He praised the large amount of content, educational value, and digitized audio, but scored the game two out of five stars, concluding that "this is a decent attempt at a police simulation, but your lack of control leaves much to be desired."[6]

PC Zone offered the game a "Recommended" rating, and a writer for the magazine called it "gun-toting cop fun".[5]

Sales

[edit]

According to Sierra On-Line, combined sales of the Police Quest series—including Police Quest: SWAT—surpassed 1.2 million units by the end of March 1996.[9] Police Quest: SWAT was a commercial success; SWAT 3's Jim Napier later wrote that it "received only marginal reviews, [... but] sold like crazy."[10] Between January 1998 and July 1998 alone, it sold 152,425 copies and earned $1,622,405 in the United States.[11] Its sales that year ultimately totaled 253,128 units, which brought in revenues of $2.73 million and made SWAT the country's 17th best-selling game of the year.[12] The game's overall sales topped 1 million copies by March 2000.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Police Quest: SWAT 1+2". GOG.com. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  2. ^ "Save 35% on Police Quest: SWAT on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  3. ^ "Police Quest: Collection Series (1997) DOS box cover art". MobyGames.
  4. ^ Wolf, Mike (March 1996). "Police Quest: S.W.A.T.". PC Gamer US. Archived from the original on February 26, 2000. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Staff (February 1997). "PC Zone Buyers' Guide". PC Zone (47): 112–114, 117, 119, 121, 122, 124.
  6. ^ a b "Police Quest: SWAT". Next Generation. No. 16. Imagine Media. April 1996. p. 91.
  7. ^ Snyder, Frank; Chapman, Ted; Gehrs, Scott (March 1996). "Licensed to Kill". Computer Game Review. Archived from the original on October 19, 1996. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  8. ^ Olafson, Peter (March 1996). "Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest: SWAT". PC Games. Archived from the original on October 18, 1996. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  9. ^ Sierra On-Line Form 10-K (Report). Bellevue, Washington. March 31, 1996. pp. 7–9. Archived from the original on April 16, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Jim Napier (March 6, 2000). "Postmortem: Sierra's SWAT3 Close Quarters Battle". Gamasutra. p. 1. Retrieved March 3, 2008.
  11. ^ Staff (November 1998). "Letters; Mys-Adventures". Computer Gaming World. No. 172. p. 34.
  12. ^ Staff (April 1999). "The Numbers Game". PC Gamer US. 6 (4): 50.
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