S.W.A.T. 4

S.W.A.T. 4 Official Boxart Release Date: 2005 Developer: Irrational Games Publisher: Sierra Entertainment, Inc. Series: S.W.A.T. Game Series Platforms: PC Genre: First-Person Shooter

The last vestige of the Police Quest series, S.W.A.T. 4 is the fourth (and to date, final) installment of the SWAT spin-off of the original series of Police Quest adventure games originally conceived by Jim Walls. The game throws the player into the role of a SWAT team leader. As a police unit, SWAT's prime objective is to make their arrests and bring suspects alive to stand trial if at all possible.

Overview

As a tactical police simulator, the game has a number of quirks with regards to its firearms system, described below:

• As with Operation Flashpoint, ammunition for most of the weapons in this game is tracked with a magazine system (some simply draw from a single ammo pool). Players can only carry a certain number of magazines for a given weapon, and reloading with a partially-filled magazine will return it to your inventory instead of being discarded, and when all fully-loaded magazines have been used, the partially-filled magazines will be loaded instead. An inventory item called an "Ammo Pouch," available only in the expansion pack, can increase the amount of ammunition a player character can carry for a primary weapon.
• Several weapons can use multiple ammunition types. The most commonly used are Jacketed Hollowpoint (JHP) bullets and Full Metal Jacketed (FMJ) bullets, for use against unarmoured and armoured opponents respectively.
• Being a police simulator, it is not possible for players to use weapons procured onsite in this game, either dropped from suspects or discovered at the scene, as these count as evidence that must be confiscated and sent to forensics for analysis. For the same reason, it is not possible for players to take ammunition off of confiscated weapons for their own use. Neither is it possible to take a weapon or ammunition off an incapacitated team member.
• The game does not model ballistic physics for its non-grenade weapons, even with its expansion pack. This results in some less-than-realistic situations when using some forms of weaponry, such as being able to snipe targets with a pistol across a large courtyard, or to allow low-velocity beanbag rounds to cross a far greater distance than they could in real life.
• A major break from reality in the game is that almost all of its less-lethal weaponry is incapable of causing lasting harm to suspects or non-compliant civilians, despite such weaponry being capable of, and attracting controversy for, causing lasting harm or death to those hit or affected by the weaponry. Each less-lethal weapon and its less-than-realistic aspects will described in more detail in their own individual entries.
• Like Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, the game does in fact have differing reload animations depending on whether a tactical reload (performed when the magazine is partially full) or standard reload (when the firearm is completely empty) is required, but unlike the aforementioned title, weapons will not gain an extra round in the magazine due to one still being left in the chamber during a tactical reload.
• Some of this game's weaponry is usable only by players or SWAT team members, and others that are usable only by suspect or civilian NPCs. The weaponry list is divided into player-usable and NPC-usable weapons for this purpose, and each player-usable weapon will have its availability when "Team-Specific Weaponry" is active noted. With few exceptions, NPCs can use weaponry from both categories. In addition, the expansion pack introduced a "Team-Specific Weaponry" option to force players during multiplayer games to use only weaponry appropriate to their side.
• Only AK-type weapons or those produced by Benelli or Colt have their real names in this game--all others go under assumed names.

A list of the weaponry used in both the original game and its expansion pack, titled the Stetchkov Syndicate, follows below.

Player-Usable Weapons

The following is a list of weaponry usable by players or AI-controlled SWAT team members. Some of them are equipped with tactical flashlights, and the exact ones that possess this feature will be mentioned in their own entries (if an entry makes no mention of a flashlight attachment, then it's not possible to use one with the weapon in question).

Handguns

These are treated as backup weapons in this game, though many Suspects use them as their sole armament.

Colt M1911

The standard service pistol of the SWAT team, the Colt M1911 has a magazine capacity of 8 rounds in .45 ACP, can load both JHP and FMJ bullets, and comes with 4 magazines in total. This gun is available to both SWAT and Suspects in Team-Specific weaponry mode, and is fitted with a tactical flashlight. Fans of this pistol in real life will be disappointed at its strangely low stopping power in-game, just barely higher than the Glock 17's.

In Multiplayer, the VIP in the VIP Escort mode gets a special 1911 with only a single spare magazine, it uses the same animations in third person but has unique animations in first person. (The VIP can also opt to use a Glock but only the Colt 1911 gets a unique skin and animations.)

Colt M1911 - .45 ACP

The M1911 pistol in first-person. The M1911's hammer is (correctly) always cocked in first-person.

Reloading the M1911 pistol, providing a better look at the markings on the slide. This also shows off the strange, solid block that constitutes the rear sight; without a notch in the middle, it's not entirely clear how this is supposed to be useful.

The M1911 pistol in its case at the SWAT team firing range. As can be seen in this picture, the world model of the ingame M1911 differs somewhat from the viewmodel; it possesses both front and rear cocking serrations, and these are diagonal as opposed to the single set of rear cocking serrations running perpendicular to the barrel as seen on the viewmodel. Furthermore, it has target-type sights (instead of the viewmodel's standard ones), and the slide also seems too long, extending a bit too far to the rear.

Holding the unique "VIP" Colt M1911.

Reloading the unique "VIP" Colt M1911.

Colt Python Revolver

The Colt Python appears in the game, carrying 6 rounds of .357 magnum ammunition in its cylinders. Players can carry 3 additional speedloaders of ammunition for this gun, for a total of 24 rounds of ammunition (in a break from reality, unfired rounds extracted during a tactical reload will not be put into a common ammunition pool and instead magically return to their original speedloader, now partially loaded--which would be realistic with moon clips but not with speedloaders). It is equipped with high-contrast dot iron sights, and can load both JHP and FMJ bullets. It is available only to the SWAT team in Team-Specific weaponry mode, perhaps as a nod to the Colt Python's one-time popularity among law enforcement officers. Coincidentally or not, Sonny Bonds, the SWAT team commander in this game, also used a .357 Magnum revolver in the original 1987 Police Quest game where he was the protagonist.

Despite being a double-action revolver in real life, meaning that pulling the trigger will both cock and release the hammer, player characters using this weapon are forced to use it in a single-action manner, manually pulling back the hammer with the thumb of the trigger hand for every shot, resulting in a very slow firing rate ("fanning" the hammer with the other hand to achieve a faster firing rate is not possible in this game). This method of firing results in very accurate shots, however, and the ammunition's power means that targets will be downed in one or two hits to the same location, assuming one is not using JHP bullets against armoured opponents (which would take more ammunition to achieve the same result).

Colt Python - .357 Magnum

A SWAT team player wondering if he should make like Faye Valentine and show an arcade machine prop gun what "the real thing" is like.

Reloading the Colt Python. Despite being an elite SWAT team member, your player character still swings the cylinder shut with a flick of the wrist, instead of pushing it closed with the other hand, something that will eventually cause cylinder misalignment and a potentially explosive malfunction.

Unlike Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, this wannabe cowboy's "heroic last stand" will NOT be turned into a classic feature film.

Desert Eagle

Exclusive to the expansion pack, the Desert Eagle appears as the "Mark XIX semiautomatic pistol," can load both JHP and FMJ bullets, and has a magazine capacity of 8 rounds despite having its caliber listed as .50 Action Express (barring an additional round in the chamber, Desert Eagles chambered in .50 Action Express have a magazine capacity of 7 rounds, with 8 rounds per magazine being appropriate for the .44 magnum version). Players can carry only 3 magazines of ammunition for this handgun, compared to the standard 4 for pistols. It possesses red-coloured dot sights, and is available only to Suspects in Team-Specific weaponry mode. In the expansion pack's singleplayer campaign, it is the last weapon to be unlocked for the player's use.

Understandably popular with players in multiplayer matches, its stopping power is largely equivalent to the Colt Python, but its semiautomatic nature makes for faster (though less accurate) follow-up shots. It is also slower to aim than most of the other pistols, possibly to reflect its real-life weight and bulk.

The ingame Desert Eagle has a few unrealistic elements. First, the slide is always depicted as locked back unless the player character reloads from empty, whereupon the slide will move forward into battery. Second, the gun is depicted ingame as capable of double-action semiautomatic fire (in other words capable of firing from an uncocked hammer), which is erroneous as the real-life weapon is single-action only and requires the hammer to be cocked for firing. Finally, the ingame Desert Eagle's slide never moves while firing, unlike the slides of the other semiautomatic pistols ingame.

Mark XIX Black Finish - .50 AE

"DROP YOUR WEAPON AND HIT THE FLOOR!"
"Why should I listen to you, copper, especially when your gun's slide is locked back?"
"BECAUSE MY GUN'S BIGGER THAN YOURS, AND CAN STILL FIRE THIS WAY!"

Officer Jackson with a Desert Eagle, something no real-life law enforcement agency would ever allow.

Glock 17

Appearing as the "9mm Handgun" ingame, the Glock 17 has a two-tone finish, and has a magazine capacity of 17 rounds of 9x19mm ammunition, coupled with a tactical flashlight. Players can carry 4 magazines in total for this weapon, and it can load both JHP and FMJ bullets. This gun is available to both SWAT and Suspects in Team-Specific weaponry mode, and is popular in multiplayer for its oddly high stopping-power-per-bullet ratio, ease of aiming, and generous magazine capacity. In addition, this weapon is the only player-usable handgun that cannot be used by AI Suspect NPCs.

Glock 17 (3rd Generation) with stainless steel slide - 9x19mm

Shooting the Glock 17 at the SWAT team firing range.

The Glock 17 in its case at the SWAT team firing range.

Intratec TEC-9

The Intratec TEC-9 is the sole pistol capable of both semiautomatic and fully automatic fire (in reality it is a semiautomatic pistol and most full-auto conversions lack a fire selector), and is only available in the expansion pack's multiplayer. Labelled the "9mm Machine Pistol" ingame, it is available only to Suspects in Team-Specific weaponry mode, is chambered for 9x19mm ammunition, and can only use FMJ bullets (the ingame reason being that "other ammunition types severely decrease this gun's reliability"). It has a magazine capacity of 32 rounds, and players can only carry a total of 2 magazines for this weapon. For some reason, the player character will always pull the charging handle when reloading this weapon, making it one of the few ingame firearms to use only one reload animation regardless of whether the chamber is empty or contains a round.

While both NPCs and players can use this gun, it is erroneously listed as a submachine gun rather than a handgun for NPCs (a weapon category that includes the ingame machine pistols, to which the TEC-9 belongs) in the game's "Quick Mission Maker," a utility included with the game to make custom missions. Furthermore, the ingame model depicts a small underslung flashlight on the gun that unfortunately cannot be used.

TEC-9 - 9x19mm

Firing the TEC-9 machine pistol at an impromptu target practice room in a slum. Note the extreme crosshair size when firing in full-auto from a standing position. Either your player character needs to use a better grip or else get this weapon to a gunsmith to have a compensator/suppressor/forward strap grip installed.

A close-up third person view of the TEC-9 machine pistol. The method of the weapon light's attachment is not visible, never mind the question of how one might attach such an accessory to a barrel shroud instead of purpose-made rails.

Submachine Guns/Personal Defense Weapons

FN P90

Dubbed the "5.7x28mm Submachinegun" ingame, the FN P90 was introduced in the Stetchkov Syndicate expansion pack. Using a 50 round magazine, the ability to use both JHP and FMJ bullets, and possessing semiautomatic, three-round burst, and fully automatic firing modes, coupled with its lower-than-average aiming time, it is a potent and popular weapon in multiplayer. Players can carry only two magazines for this weapon, but with the ammo pouch item, they can carry four. It has a tactical flashlight.

A few graphical errors exist with this weapon, however. First, shell casings are shown to eject from the right side of the weapon (when in reality they eject downwards from the weapon's rear). Second, opaque black magazines are used for the ammunition, when transparent magazines for the P90 are standard for the real version. Third, the slant-cut muzzle is properly modelled ingame, but is not present in the weapon's inventory view. Finally, thanks to an animation bug, certain NPCs cannot use this weapon at all, or use it improperly, as its bullpup design is too short for the standard two-handed grip for the game's two-handed weapons.

P90 - 5.7x28mm

An FN P90 in First Person View, with the tactical flashlight active and highlighting an Easter Egg in the form of graffiti on the level's walls. Irrational Games was the developer for both SWAT 4 and its expansion pack.

Officer Zachary Fields with an FN P90 during a roof insertion by helicopter.

Heckler and Koch MP5

The Heckler and Koch MP5 appears in the game as the "9mm Submachinegun," and is fitted with a safe-semi-three round burst trigger pack.

The ingame MP5 has a fixed stock, a magazine capacity of 30 rounds of 9x19mm ammunition, and the ability to use both JHP and FMJ bullets. It allows players to carry four magazines of ammunition (or six with the ammo pouch item). It is equipped with a tactical flashlight, and a version with a fixed (but not integral) suppressor can be used. Both versions are available to both sides in all multiplayer modes.

MP5A2 - 9x19mm

The MP5 in First Person View, with the tactical flashlight active. When reloading from empty, the player character will lock back the cocking handle, load another magazine, and perform an "HK slap," despite the fact that the L-shaped indent necessary to hold the cocking handle in the rearward position is not modelled ingame.

Officers Reynolds and Girard with MP5s, Reynolds with the suppressed version, and Girard with the standard version.

Heckler and Koch UMP45

The Heckler and Koch UMP45 appears in the game as the ".45 Submachinegun," and is chambered for .45 ACP, equipped with a vertical foregrip, a tactical flashlight integrated into the vertical foregrip, and an unused Picatinny rail on top. It possesses a 25 round magazine, is capable of semiautomatic and fully automatic fire, and can use both JHP and FMJ bullets. This weapon is only available to the SWAT team in Team-Specific Weaponry mode. Players can carry 4 magazines for the weapon, or 6 with the ammo pouch item. Strangely, it is not available in a suppressed form, despite the fact that the .45 ACP round it uses is already subsonic, which means that it would lose less velocity and stopping power than most suppressed 9x19mm firearms would.

UMP - .45 ACP
The ingame version, due to engine limitations, treats the spaces inside the skeleton buttstock as opaque black, raising the question of why the developers didn't just use a solid buttstock instead, as the ingame version's buttstock is never seen folded to the side (a capability the real-life version has). The cooling vents are also opaque white in the ingame version.

You need a great deal more than balls to even play at being a SWAT officer in this game.

Before rushing onward to face death around every corner in a diamond wholesaler's building invaded by heavily-armed robbers, Officer Steven Reynolds decides to check up on his favourite social networking sites on the security guard's former laptop, H&K UMP in hand.

IMI Uzi

Named the "Gal Submachinegun" ingame (in reference to the last name of the Uzi's creator in real life, Uziel Gal), the Uzi appears in its full-sized SMG incarnation, chambered in 9x19mm, capable of semiautomatic and fully automatic fire, with a 25 round magazine of either JHP or FMJ bullets. Players can only use a version with a sound suppressor, and it is restricted to the Suspects in Team-Specific Weaponry mode. The Uzi's buttstock in this game cannot be unfolded, and is depicted as having unrealistically high recoil despite the suppressor, which would reduce felt recoil in reality. Players can carry 4 magazines for the weapon, or 6 with the ammo pouch item.

Uzi - 9x19mm

The Uzi SMG in First Person View.

Whenever the player character loads the Uzi from empty, he will always rack the bolt to charge the gun, suggesting that the Uzi ingame is modelled after a version with a closed bolt, rather than the original's open bolt. An open bolt firearm does not require this action unless the trigger was held down after the last shot, whereupon you simply need to pull the bolt back again to ready the weapon--it will not spring forward by itself, unlike a closed bolt firearm.

A suppressed Uzi SMG near its fallen former owner.

While unsuppressed versions of the Uzi SMG are not available to players, Uzis that appear to have both their barrels and suppressors removed can be seen in certain levels or even wielded by Suspect NPCs, where they are mislabelled as MAC-10 submachine guns.
In this picture three Uzi SMGs sit on a weapon crate next to an M249 SAW. The fact that the unsuppressed MP5 is also available to both teams in multiplayer certainly helped to make a player-usable unsuppressed Uzi SMG unnecessary as well.

Shotguns

Like many First Person Shooters featuring buckshot-firing shotguns, the size of the crosshair determines the area that the buckshot will fill at random when fired, which is unrealistic because real life shotguns have a spread that is largely fixed, determined mainly by the barrel length, the barrel configuration, and the type of buckshot load being fired, rather than changing size depending on how the user moves.

Unlike many other games with shotguns, each press of the reload key will only insert one shell at a time rather than continually loading the tube magazine to capacity. This also means that if the player character presses the reload key when a shotgun is completely empty, he will manually chamber the first round inserted into the tube magazine (unlike many games where manually chambering a round in a shotgun is only done after the last round is inserted into the tube magazine). This is necessary to make the weapon ready to fire with only a single round, and at the same time allow the weapon to obtain the +1 round capacity when the tube magazine is fully loaded.

Both of the lethal shotguns use the same two ammo types, which are 00 buckshot and shotgun slugs. The former cannot penetrate barriers but is quite useful against opponents not wearing heavy body armour, while the latter is fairly accurate and can penetrate all barriers and even multiple opponents in a straight line. With the exception of the Compact Breaching Shotgun, players can only carry 30 total rounds of ammunition for shotguns, or 60 with the ammo pouch item, whether that ammunition consists of buckshot or shotgun slugs. The ammo pouch item can, however, increase a Less-Lethal Shotgun user's beanbag count to a generous 80 when equipped.

Benelli M4 Super 90

The Benelli M4 Super 90 shotgun appears in the game, with a tactical flashlight, an unused Picatinny rail, and a useless shell holder rack. It has a capacity of 4 rounds + 1 in the chamber, can fire semi-automatically, and can use both 00 buckshot and shotgun slugs. The tube magazine capacity is somewhat unrealistic since it would be more appropriate for the civilian version (rather than the law enforcement version which has a capacity of 7 + 1 rounds), but it can be surmised that this lowered magazine capacity was made for the purposes of game balance.

The M4 Super 90's semiautomatic nature combined with its powerful ammunition make it a very potent close range weapon, albeit one that requires a long time to reload. Despite being less accurate than the Benelli Nova shotgun, it is quicker to aim than its pump-action cousin.

Benelli M4 Super 90 - 12 Gauge
This image shows a model with a civilian-legal tapered tube magazine, something the ingame version does not have.

Regardless of whether he loves you, you won't love getting hit by the rapid-fire barrage of shotgun slugs or buckshot from this weapon. Sadly the shell holder rack is purely cosmetic--you won't be able to load the shells from the rack or load the rack itself. The player character will also pull the bolt on the right side to manually chamber a round when loading on an empty chamber instead of working the pump-action as is the case for the ingame Benelli Nova Tactical.

Officer Anthony Girard with his Benelli M4 Super 90, trying to intimidate a non-compliant civilian into surrendering (and failing).

Benelli Nova Tactical

The Benelli Nova Tactical appears in the game as a version with an unused Picatinny rail and a tactical flashlight. It is pump-action, is chambered for 12 Gauge, and unrealistically has a tube magazine capacity of 7 + 1 in the chamber (the ingame model depicts the tube magazine to be only of standard length, which would, in reality, only be capable of holding 4 + 1 rounds), and can fire either 00 buckshot or shotgun slugs. It is one of the few weapons that can only be used by players or AI-controlled SWAT team members, not civilian or suspect NPCs.

Its pump-action nature allows for more accurate (though slower) shots than its semiautomatic cousin is capable of, since muzzle climb is allowed to level out while the player character works the pump mechanism.

Benelli Nova Tactical with M68 Aimpoint Red Dot Sight - 12 Gauge
The weapon in this photo has a tube magazine extension that would give it a capacity of 7 + 1 rounds of 2 & 3/4ths inch-long shotgun rounds, but the ingame version unrealistically does not have this.

Busting a drug lab with a Benelli Nova Tactical in hand. If you look closely, you can see the company name "Benelli" on the left side of the weapon, near the player character's left hand.

Officer Allan Jackson with a Benelli Nova Tactical, providing a good view of the tactical flashlight and the unrealistically short tube magazine for its ingame capacity of 7 + 1 rounds.

Less-Lethal Shotgun

Essentially a Benelli Nova Tactical loaded with beanbag rounds (AKA "collapsible baton rounds") and painted green to ensure it is only loaded with less-lethal ammunition, this weapon otherwise has the same stats as the standard Benelli Nova shotgun loaded with slugs in this game. Without the ammo pouch item, the shallow ammo pool of 30 rounds can become a real problem since it normally takes several beanbag hits to batter an uncooperative or hostile NPC into compliance.

In the singleplayer campaign and multiplayer co-op missions, this weapon is unrealistically portrayed as a completely non-lethal device when used against either NPC civilians or suspects, without any of the real-life dangers of its usage. No amount of beanbags fired at an NPC suspect or civilian at any distance will break bones, or crush windpipes, or crack ribs, or snap necks, or inflict concussions, etc., all of which can happen with improper use of this weapon in reality. Due to the fact that this game does not incorporate ballistic physics for non-grenade weapons, beanbag rounds thus have a unrealistically long effective range in this game (whereas in real life their lower muzzle velocity and unaerodynamic shape mean they fall to the ground after only 20 metres of travel or so).

In non-cooperative multiplayer modes, the less-lethal shotgun can stun opponents for a short time with each hit, during which they can be arrested (by the SWAT team) or taken hostage (by the Suspects). Heavy body armour can limit the amount of time an individual beanbag round can stun a player, but the less-lethal shotgun can still kill or incapacitate other players if it hits them enough times, something that will not happen in any other game mode.

Firing beanbags at a non-compliant homeless person ingame. Note that the embossed Benelli logo, though painted over, is still clearly visible near the player character's left hand.

Officer Steven Reynolds with a Less-Lethal Shotgun aimed at a civilian.

Remington 870 (Compact Breaching Model)

More of a tool than a weapon, the Remington 870 Compact Breaching Model (referred to as the Compact Breaching Shotgun ingame) is a compact pump-action shotgun loaded with frangible breaching ammunition that is optimized for breaking locks on doors rather than harming opponents. It offers a non-lethal alternative to using C2 explosives, since opening a door using the Breaching Shotgun will not harm anyone on the other side. This shotgun has a magazine capacity of 5 breaching rounds, a toothed extender to ensure the proper distance between the barrel and the door when firing (which is also used to hit opponents in melee, an ability introduced in the expansion pack), an unusable tactical flashlight in the handguard (though its functionality is still in the game's coding and can be restored via mods), and a useless shell holder rack.

Because of its ammunition, the Compact Breaching Shotgun is amazingly ineffectual at penetrating even light body armour, and is extremely short-ranged. The shotgun cannot be reloaded after expending all 5 shells either, though the ability is still within the game's coding and certain mods that give this weapon more shells will let the shotgun reload normally. Somewhat unrealistically, this is the only shotgun which can be used to breach doors, and it is not possible to load breaching ammunition into the other ingame shotguns, even though they are also in 12-gauge. In reality, numerous varieties of 12-gauge shotgun ammunition are capable of breaching doors, though none of those are as safe to use for that purpose as dedicated breaching ammunition.

Remington 870 with a pistol grip and Breacher Muzzle - 12 gauge.

Preparing to bust open a locked door with the Compact Breaching Shotgun.

Officer Allen Jackson with a Compact Breaching Shotgun slung on his back. As nice as it might look to carry three weapons instead of only two, it's too bad that this weapon is so poor at actually harming the opposition.

Assault Rifles

Slow-aiming but powerful, these weapons are commonly used by both teams and are often capable of downing even heavily armoured opponents in two FMJ bullet hits to the same location. All assault rifles allow players to carry three magazines of ammunition, or five with the ammo pouch equipped, regardless of the selected bullet type or the ammunition's caliber.

AKM

The AKM appears in the game as the AK-47, and is a powerful weapon often used by terrorists and other well-equipped suspects. Chambered for 7.62x39mm ammunition, this classic firearm uses 30 round magazines, can fire JHP or FMJ bullets, and is only available to the Suspects in Team-Specific Weaponry mode in multiplayer. Its disadvantages include its heavy weight, which makes it the slowest aiming of the assault rifles, along with a firing rate slower than those of the 5.56mm caliber rifles. On the positive side, the ingame AKM possesses the lowest crosshair bloom rate when firing in full auto, coupled with a higher damage-per-bullet ratio than either of the other 5.56mm assault rifles can muster. These factors are why it's one of most popular run-and-gun weapons in multiplayer.

AKM 7.62x39mm

Booze, drugs, guns, and rock-and-roll--all of them hot commodities that will never completely go away, whether from the legal or illegal markets.

An AKM sitting atop some ammunition belts in a storage crate at the Stetchkov Warehouse armoury. Here the slant-cut muzzle is clearly visible, identifying it as an AKM rifle. It also appears to have an AK-74 style buttstock.

Colt M4A1 Carbine

The M4A1 Carbine is present in the game, equipped with a Surefire M500A weaponlight and vertical foregrip. This automatic carbine is chambered for 5.56x45mm, can use both JHP and FMJ bullets, has a 30 round magazine, and is capable of semiautomatic and fully automatic fire. Both teams can use it in multiplayer, even with Team-Specific Weaponry mode on.

This weapon aims quickly for its class, but suffers from extreme muzzle climb when fired in fully-automatic mode, despite its vertical foregrip. Thanks to an animation oversight, most Suspect NPCs do not use the vertical foregrip and hold the handguard with their off hand instead.

M4A1 - 5.56mm

Everything you need to clean up a hotel attacked by terrorists is in this picture--the right gun to shoot the Suspects dead, the mops, towels, and sprays to clean off the blood, brains and guts splattered everywhere, and a mini-fridge full of nice drinks to cool you off when you're done.

Officer Steven Reynolds with his M4A1 carbine at low-ready position.

Heckler and Koch G36C

The G36C appears in the game as the "GB36s Assault Rifle." Chambered in 5.56x45mm, this compact assault rifle possesses a 30 round magazine, can fire both JHP and FMJ bullets, a Surefire M570 weaponlight, rail-mounted iron sights, and is capable of two-round burst or fully automatic fire. It is available to both teams in multiplayer, even when Team-Specific Weaponry mode is on.

While this rifle has stopping power identical to the M4 carbine in this game, its aiming characteristics are worse, taking longer to aim and producing more recoil and muzzle climb than the M4A1 carbine, despite the trend in this game for shorter weapons taking less time to aim. About the only advantage it has over the M4A1 carbine is its two-round burst mode, allowing for a good balance of mid-range accuracy and stopping power. The ingame version also features opaque magazines, despite the real-life firearm using transparent magazines.

G36C - 5.56mm

Raiding the offices of a criminal gang's warehouse with the G36C. The tactical flashlight is active and clearly visible.

Officer Allen Jackson with his G36C at the ready.

Sniper Rifles/Designated Marksman Rifles

Colt Accurized Rifle

Essentially a Designated Marksman Rifle variant of the M16 with the iron sights removed, a rail-mounted scope on top of the receiver, and an extended barrel with an unremovable suppressor attached. The Colt Accurized Rifle (which is no longer offered by Colt) is chambered for 5.56x45mm ammunition, is restricted to semiautomatic fire only, carries 20 rounds per magazine, and can only use FMJ bullets. Due to a developer oversight, the player character never pushes the bolt release (unlike the player character does with the similar M4A1 in this game) when loading a magazine from empty, nor does he pull the charging handle. Players can carry two magazines for this rifle, or four with the ammo pouch item. This rifle is also the only weapon in the game with a usable scope. Introduced in the expansion pack, only the SWAT team can use this weapon in multiplayer with Team-Specific Weaponry mode active.

Thanks to its longer barrel, this weapon possesses markedly higher stopping power than the other 5.56mm firearms ingame. This weapon is also one of the few that can only be used by players or AI-controlled SWAT team members, not civilian or Suspect NPCs.

First Person View of the Colt Accurized Rifle ingame. Note the Picatinny rail on top.

A view through the scope of the Colt Accurized Rifle. A programming gaffe doesn't turn the rifle invisible to the player, so that the tip of the suppressor is still visible through the scope in the wrong place, especially when moving while looking through the scope.

Officer Girard covering an area with a Colt Accurized Rifle.

Unknown Sniper Rifle

During some singleplayer missions, sniper support covering a few windows and areas will be available to the SWAT team. Unfortunately the snipers' weapons are never seen; only the view through their scopes is visible to the player. The snipers appear to use bolt-action rifles, perhaps manually chambered, because they have to work a bolt action after every shot, but never seem to replace magazines (or stripper clips, as the case may be). The sniper support is quite useful for precision headshots or shots to the hands, to make a suspect drop his or her weapon. Using a sniper is the only method of killing an armed suspect where rules of engagement (beyond not harming unarmed civilians) do NOT have to be obeyed.

According to in-game files, the unseen sniper rifle is based on a bolt-action Remington 700, which would fit with the ingame capabilities of the weapon if it was used as a single-shot, manually chambered firearm.

Looking through the scope of a SWAT sniper's weapon.

Machine Guns

M249 SAW

The only weapon of its class in the game, the M249 SAW is named the "5.56mm Light Machine Gun," is chambered for 5.56x45mm ammunition, is only capable of three-round burst or fully automatic fire, can fire both JHP and FMJ bullets, and is belt-fed from a 200-round box magazine. The ingame model does not possess a bipod, or a Picatinny rail, or a vertical foregrip, and sports a solid synthetic stock. Players are restricted to carrying only one 200-round box magazine with the weapon, or two in total if the ammo pouch item is equipped. Introduced in the expansion pack, the M249 SAW is only available to the Suspects with Team-Specific Weaponry mode active in multiplayer, the ingame reason being that SWAT considers it overkill, being a police rather than a military unit.

Due to its weight and bulk it is the slowest-aiming automatic weapon in the game, and for some reason has an unrealistically low rate of fire (around 600 rounds per minute in the game, while the real-life versions range from 750 to 1000 rounds per minute), with stopping power identical to the M4A1 carbine (but less recoil and muzzle climb). If a player with this weapon is given time to aim beforehand and is in a good firing location however, it is quite useful for area denial and suppressing fire, despite the slow firing rate.

M249 SAW - 5.56x45mm NATO

Firing the M249 SAW at the SWAT team Riverside Training Facility.

An M249 SAW sitting atop some ammunition belts in a weapon crate, in the Stetchkov warehouse armoury.

Grenades

This game is one of the few First Person Shooters where all grenades are of the less-lethal type. Not even the Suspects in multiplayer can use the more conventionally harmful grenade types (i.e., fragmentation, concussive, incendiary, etc.), but the game claims that the Suspects in multiplayer are more of the kind to take hostages with grenades than kill outright with them. No civilian or suspect NPC can use this weapon type.

Flashbang Grenade

Arming and throwing this grenade produces a brilliant flash and loud report that temporarily blinds and deafens anyone without flash suppression goggles caught in its blast radius. One of the less-than-realistic aspects of flashbang grenades in this game is how in multiplayer, just getting caught in the blast radius without the right protective gear (or not behind some solid cover) will result in getting blinded by the flash--having the detonation in view is not necessary, though in real life looking away or closing your eyes would lessen or prevent the blinding while still leaving you temporarily deafened. Another less-than-realistic aspect is how you can be blinded by "friendly" flashbang detonations in singleplayer, despite wearing flash suppression goggles.

Despite what the game manual claims, flashbang grenades are completely non-lethal in the unmodified game.

M84 Stun Grenade

The Flashbang Grenade in First Person View.

Officer Zachary Fields with a Flashbang Grenade strapped to his belt while he restrains a civilian.

Sting Grenade

The Sting-Ball Grenade is essentially a fragmentation grenade, except the fragments propelled by the explosive charge are small rubber balls instead of metal shrapnel. The impact from the balls will not penetrate the skin but will cause extreme pain and disorientation, which translates into having your vision blurred and losing the ability to walk straight or fight back ingame. Opponents wearing heavy armour will only be affected for half the normal duration, however. Civilian and Suspect NPCs can be incapacitated when subjected to a point-blank Sting Grenade detonation, and opposing players in multiplayer can be killed by the same if they are already injured.

Despite the fact that it possesses the smallest area of effect, as well as the shortest duration for its effect among the less-lethal grenades in the game, there is no way opposing players can completely nullify its effects when hit, and this is the main reason why many players in multiplayer use it frequently in close quarters.

Model 9590 Sting-Ball non lethal grenade

A Sting Grenade in First Person View. Unlike the other two less-lethal grenade types in this game, the Sting Grenade leaves behind no empty shell when used and thus cannot be recycled.

Officer Anthony Girard with a Sting Grenade strapped to his belt.

Tear Gas Grenade

This type of less-lethal grenade when armed and thrown produces a thick cloud of CS gas in an area (it is actually thick enough to act as an impromptu smoke screen for properly-protected players). Being caught in this cloud without a gas mask causes coughing, choking, and blurred vision, during which civilian or Suspect NPCs are unable to resist and are more likely to surrender, or be further "persuaded" with other less-lethal methods into compliance. Opposing players affected by this gas in multiplayer are also incapable of fighting back and can be immediately handcuffed, but may still slowly walk away while incapacitated (unlike the Sting Grenade, CS Gas does not impair a player's physical co-ordination).

Two less-than-realistic aspects plague this weapon type in the game. First, the duration of exposure an unprotected player in multiplayer mode receives does not change the amount of time that player is incapacitated by the gas--a hapless player who walks into the edge of a cloud of CS gas will be incapacitated for the same amount of time as an unprotected player who cannot escape the cloud. Second, while the singleplayer mode does not allow the player to don a gas mask, the player character is never affected by CS gas at all.

M7 CS Gas Grenade

A CS Gas Grenade in First Person View.

A used CS Gas Grenade sitting on the floor.

Launchers

Heckler & Koch HK69A1

Labelled the "40mm Grenade Launcher" ingame, the HK69A1 fires 40mm versions of the aforementioned less-lethal hand-thrown grenades with more distance and accuracy than the hand-thrown varieties can muster. Players can carry 8 grenades of a single type for the launcher, or 16 of a single type with the ammo pouch item. The launcher is a single-shot weapon and must be manually reloaded after every shot. In the expansion pack's multiplayer, it is available to both teams in Team-Specific Weaponry mode. Suspect NPCs cannot be equipped with it. While the HK69A1 can be assigned to AI-controlled officers, they will not use it as a primary weapon and are restricted to firing it directly at NPCs rather than at a designated location in a level, which may be due to the code letting them use this weapon properly being incomplete or else never implemented.

All three hand-thrown varieties are available in 40mm versions for the HK69A1, but it also has an exclusive grenade type which launches three beanbag rounds when the "mother" grenade contacts a target or a surface. The main advantage of this version is that it has no splash damage and is safe to use at close quarters, but unlike the Sting Grenade (which performs a similar function) it is likely to affect fewer targets since the beanbags can't cover as much area as a Sting Grenade's rubber pellets can. The HK69A1's munitions share the same lethality issues as the hand-thrown varieties do, but civilians, suspects, or opposing players can be incapacitated or killed outright if directly hit enough times with a launched grenade.

HK69A1

First Person View of the HK69A1 ingame. The launcher's leaf sight is clearly visible in this view, but unusable ingame.

Preparing to reload the HK69A1.

Reloading the HK69A1, sadly with some of the player character's fingers clipping through the grenade.

A stash of HK69A1s on a weapons crate in the Stetchkov warehouse armoury. The previously invisible buttstock is in clear view at this angle.

Other

Advanced Taser M26

The Advanced Taser M26 is a single-shot electroshock weapon that appears in this game, simply labelled the "Taser." It must be manually reloaded with each shot, is strictly a short-range weapon thanks to the length of its wires, and does not possess a "Drive Stun" mode (unlike the real-life weapon). Since this is a secondary weapon, it occupies the same slot as a pistol does, so the two cannot be carried together. Despite being depicted with a laser sight (one of only two ingame weapons to possess one), it is unusable ingame.

Suspect or civilian NPCs hit with this weapon will be immediately paralyzed and helpless for a short while, and it is capable of "persuading" most targets into compliance with a single shot. Opposing players in multiplayer suffering a hit from this weapon will also be unavoidably paralyzed (regardless of their equipment), but can be handcuffed immediately after being shocked, unlike AI-controlled NPCs. Players can carry 15 electrodes for this weapon, and both teams can use it with Team-Specific Weaponry mode active in multiplayer. In addition, any time this weapon is fired, small yellow tags are seen to fall from the muzzle of the weapon, which are the "accountability tags" stamped with the cartridge's serial number and type.

In a major departure from reality, electroshock weapons in this game are completely non-lethal, regardless of the target it is used on, or the number of times it is used on a single target. There is absolutely no danger of giving a subject a heart attack, positional asphyxia, or other forms of sudden death no matter how many times they are shocked, or what kind of pre-existing medical conditions (drug withdrawal, heart problems, etc.) they might have. There is also no penalty for using it as a first resort against non-compliant, unarmed civilians, whereas in real life, standard procedure dictates using a Taser is the second-last resort before using lethal force.

Adv. Taser M26

Preparing to shock a non-compliant civilian into docility with the Advanced Taser M26. The red LED at the back of the weapon pulses on and off if the weapon is loaded and ready to fire, and will not flash if the cartridge is already expended. In reality, the LED will pulse as long as the weapons' batteries have enough power can be used to deliver a shock, regardless of the status or presence of a cartridge in the weapon. The dataport used to download firing data from the weapon can also be seen at the back of the weapon in this shot, but in reality it is kept covered with a rubber plug except when downloading data to prevent damage to the port.

Officer Zachary Fields shooting a taser at an non-compliant civilian. You can almost hear the protestors now . . .

Stinger S-400

Referred to ingame as the "Cobra" Taser because of how it holds two sets of electrodes much like a cobra's two venomous fangs, this electroshock weapon is available as a secondary weapon if the Stetchkov Syndicate expansion pack is installed, and shares the same ammunition, range, and realism problems as the Advanced Taser M26 does in this game. Unlike the latter weapon, however, this weapon is only available to the SWAT team in multiplayer when Team-Specific Weaponry mode is active, and is somewhat less accurate. It has an onboard computer (with a blue LCD screen pointed toward the user, but useless ingame) that records the times fired, the shocks delivered, etc, and like the Advanced Taser M26, spews yellow accountability tags every time it is fired. It is also unlocked for the player's use right at the beginning of a new singleplayer campaign in the expansion pack.

The Cobra Taser is similar in function and capabilities to the real-life Taser X2, but the game was developed and released before the Taser X2's own release in 2011. Instead, the Cobra Taser shape and capabilities more closely resemble the Stinger S-400 developed by Stinger Systems, a competitor to Taser International, who effectively sued Stinger Systems out of business by 2010.

Because of this weapon's configuration, it is possible to fire both sets of electrodes at once, or one set at a time for a total of two shots, much like a double-barrelled shotgun can. Firing both sets of paired wires at once does not cause a longer incapacitation period, but does increase the chance that the intended target will be hit with at least one pair (hitting a target with just one wire out of a pair will, unrealistically, also cause incapacitation, despite the fact that in real life just one wire will not form a viable cathode-anode pair for electricity to flow through). Regardless of which firing mode is used, the weapon can only reload one set of electrodes at a time. It is also possible to use this weapon in "Drive Stun" mode (using the weapon like a conventional contact-only stun gun), unlike the Advanced Taser M26 in the game. Drive Stunning can even be done with cartridges loaded in the weapon, and stunning targets this way leaves them stunned for an equal length of time as regular Taser hits do even if the user moves away, the latter of which is unrealistic as the shock (and most of the stunning effect) would cease as soon as the weapon was no longer touching the target. As with the Advanced Taser M26, the S-400's spare cartridges can be used up, but the weapon's battery power cannot be.

The Stinger S-400 itself was likely the first multishot Taser-style weapon to become commercially available, but was never widely adopted due to issues with its weight and bulk. It was first released in March 2005 with production ceasing by December 2006, fitting the Stetchkov Syndicate's own release date in February 2006. The real-life Stinger S-400 had a laser sight at the top of its muzzle, which is not emulated in this game.

The Stinger S-400 Conducted Energy Weapon. The unique shape of the weapon was apparently to remind users and onlookers that this was not a firearm.

Using the Cobra Taser's "Drive Stun" feature against a helpless senior citizen. Needless to say, such an action is NOT recommended in real life.

Officer Zachary Fields shocking a passively resisting civilian into compliance with the Cobra Taser. The original company called the Stinger S-400's ability to fire all four darts at once "Quadrashock" technology.

Pepperball Gun

A paintball gun firing frangible projectiles filled with pepper spray compound. The pepper compound is released when the balls hit something, such as a suspect. This weapon is semiautomatic-only, sports a tactical flashlight in the handguard, cannot be reloaded, and has a 200 pepperball ammunition capacity (though for some reason the remaining carbon dioxide in the canister, which serves as the propellant for the pepperballs, is not tracked). As with the other less-lethal weapons in this game it is not possible to kill or incapacitate someone with this weapon, not even in multiplayer (unlike the Less-Lethal Shotgun, for instance). Opposing players hit by this weapon will have their vision turned to dark red and be unable to fire their weapons for a short time, though this period of vulnerability is greatly reduced if a gas mask is worn. Both the Suspects and the SWAT team can use this weapon in multiplayer, but AI-controlled Suspects cannot. The ingame Pepper Spray item has a similar effect but is much shorter-ranged.

Unlike other weapons with semiautomatic firing modes, however, there is no maximum semiautomatic firing rate imposed on this gun by the game itself--it will fire as fast as you can press the fire button. Furthermore, in an attempt to depict the effects of the pepperballs' low velocity, the game developers made them slowly drop in altitude once fired (but in a straight diagonal line, rather than a true ballistic curve thanks to the lack of physics for non-grenade ammunition in this game). To emulate the "splash" effect that real pepperball projectiles have when they hit something, ingame pepperballs leave a small cloud of pepper powder at the impact point for a brief moment, and if a character walks into this cloud before it disperses, s/he will be affected as if directly hit.

First Person View of the Pepperball Gun, highlighting the tactical flashlight. The embossed letters on the ammunition hopper read "Pepper-Sting" while the letters on the gun barrel read "Pepper-Sting Technologies."

Officer Steven Reynolds with a Pepperball Gun.

NPC-Only Weapons

This section covers the ingame weapons that cannot be used by players or AI-controlled SWAT team members, but may still be used by NPC suspects or civilians. Due to their unusability by players, it is not possible to determine most characteristics for these weapons (such as magazine capacity, caliber, etc.), aside from what can be deduced from their appearance or how NPCs use them.

Handguns

Beretta 92FS

Labelled the "Cheetah N9" ingame, this pistol's ingame model most resembles the Beretta 92FS pistol. It is not a Beretta Cheetah (despite the ingame name) which can be concluded from the fact that its safety switch is mounted on the slide, instead of the frame as is the case for Cheetah-type pistols.

Beretta 92FS - 9x19mm.

The Beretta 92FS ingame.

The Beretta 92FS also appears mounted on "SWAT Urban Justice" arcade games, a nod to the cancelled game before SWAT 4.

HK USP

The Heckler and Koch USP appears in the game, labelled the SLP40, and chambered in an indeterminate caliber (though its ingame name implies that it's chambered for the .40 S&W cartridge).

USP - .45 ACP

The HK USP ingame.

Skorpion Machine Pistol

The Skorpion Machine Pistol appears in the game, with what appears to be a 10 round magazine (of indeterminate caliber bullets) and a shoulder stock. NPC suspects always use fully automatic fire with it, but never actually use the shoulder stock. It is often used by gang members or other low-level criminals ingame.

A view of some Skorpion Machine Pistols in a cardboard box in the Stetchkov Warehouse armoury. The machine pistol's shoulder stock is also visible, folded over the barrel. To the left of the box are some spherical frag grenades, a weapon class that is otherwise completely non-existent in the game.

Personal Defence Weapons

Heckler & Koch HK53

A Heckler & Koch HK53 is only available to Suspect NPCs, and is labelled the "GB53" ingame. NPCs always use it in fully-automatic fire mode.

Heckler & Koch HK53 - 5.56x45mm.

A HK53 lying on a bathroom floor, next to a Colt M1911 pistol on the left.

Shotguns

Benelli M1 Super 90

An older entry in the Benelli Super 90 series of semiautomatic shotguns, the Benelli M1 Super 90 is only usable by Suspect NPCs, featuring a tactical flashlight in the handguard, and a collapsible buttstock.

A view of the Benelli M1 Super 90 ingame.

Various Unnamed Shotguns

This section collects the shotguns that are not given proper names within the game, and cannot be used by players or AI-controlled SWAT team members.

A Sawed-Off Pump Action Shotgun of unknown make and model in the game.

A full-size Pump Action Shotgun of unknown make and model, with a rail system atop the receiver and a rifle-style grip with a fixed buttstock.

A Pump Action Shotgun with a pistol grip instead, essentially the previous shotgun's model without the buttstock. The rail remains on top of the receiver.

Assault Rifles

Rarely carried by suspects in the unmodified game, this class of weaponry is most often toted by terrorists (of any fringe) sporting body armour and a willingness to commit mass murder for their cause(s).

AK-74

The AK-74 appears in the game, fitted with a Kbk wz.88 Tantal-styled buttstock.

AK-74 - 5.45x39mm

Kbk wz.88 Tantal - 5.45x39mm

The AK-74 assault rifle ingame. Note that while it has the Tantal stock, it still has the AK-74 muzzle device, identifying it as an AK-74.

AKS-74U

The AKS-74U appears in the game, also with a skeletonized buttstock.

AKS-74U - 5.45x39mm

The AKS-74u compact assault rifle ingame.

Unusable

M26 hand grenade

The M26 hand grenade is a cut weapon from the game and can be seen in gameplay with different textures in the proof of concept video of Division 9 running on the SWAT 4 engine. The grenade makes a physical but not usable appearance in the Stetchkov Warehouse armory.

M26 High-Explosive Fragmentation hand grenade

The M26 grenades are visible on the left.