Realism Achieved
When you hear people talk about how realistic this game is, they mean REALISTIC. Sierra has modeled the exact workings of a
SWAT element down to a science. The feedback and ideas from actual LAPD members shine throughout. When you down an enemy you
can walk up to them and take the rifle that they had and even the pistol out of their holster. That of course would be done
in real life to secure the area. Some of the other things that caught my attention were the rotating security cameras, awesome
muzzle flashes with smoke, working light switches, realistic facial expressions that include blinking and even opening eyes
wide open, and the artificial intelligence.
The AI at times is just simply brilliant but can be equally frustrating as well. Your AI team members can be seen impressively
breaching and clearing rooms, intelligently strafing, and even using cover to aim. One of the major complaints in recent squad
based games is the fact that your team frequently gets mowed down when making a room entry. The same does hold true for S3.
As one person enters the room and is gunned down, the rest of the team just files right in without regard to the danger and
you end up looking at a stack of dead teammates.
Terrorist AI is equally as impressive. They will strafe and take cover,
shout taunts, and even run to the cover of their cohorts in crime. One time I brought a terrorist down to his knees to
surrender and after picking up his rifle I went to finish clearing the room without cuffing him. As I came back around to
him I was just in time to observe him pulling out his pistol and stand up to shoot me. Surprising AI like that just totally
makes this single player experience very enjoyable.
