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{{quote|"''[[Artificial Stupidity|You're in my way, sir.]]''"|'''Your squadmates''', ''[[Welcome to Corneria|all the time]].''}}
A [[Nintendo Hard]] tactical [[First-Person Shooter]] video game, developed by [[Irrational Games]] (makers of ''[[System Shock]] II'', ''[[
SWAT is primarily a life-saving organization, so your main objectives are always to rescue all civilians, arrest all suspects and occasionally secure some needed evidence. This is not as easy as it sounds, since you have to take caution not to harm or kill any of the civilians and make sure you fire at suspects or outright kill them only when necessary. Trying to beat the game by fighting your way through guns blazing is not an option. Fortunately, you have a wide variety of special weapons, ammo and SWAT gear in order to defuse high-risk situations.
The game aims heavily for realism, being one of the few games on the far end of the [[Fackler Scale of FPS Realism]]. Well known for its quality production values and innovative gameplay, as well as a famous and funny [[Let's Play]] by [[The Spoony Experiment]].
----
{{tropelist}}
* [[AKA-47]] : [[Zig-Zagging Trope|Both averted and played straight.]] The firearms manufactured by Colt and Benneli all have their proper names in-game, but the assault rifles and submachine guns manufactured by the German company Heckler und Koch all have bland names, like "9 mm SMG", etc. Irrational probably couldn't get permission from H & K to name the guns after their real names.
* [[Always Night]] : Each mission is set in the late evening or at night time.
▲* [[AKA-47]] : [[Zig-Zagging Trope|Both averted and played straight.]] The firearms manufactured by Colt and Benneli all have their proper names in-game, but the assault rifles and submachine guns manufactured by the German company Heckler und Koch all have bland names, like "9 mm SMG", etc. Irrational probably couldn't get permission from H & K to name the guns after their real names.
* [[Arms Dealer]] : A whole international gang of them in the penultimate, 12. assignment. It's a pretty hard mission, since it's set in a decaying abandoned building in the industrial quarter of the city and the hallways and rooms are hard to navigate because they're full of junk, makeshift barricades and debris.
** The first mission also features a [[Harmless Villain|much more amateurish gang]] of gun dealers and modifiers, hiding their illegal business behind the guise of a local Chinese restaurant.
** The Stetchkov Syndicate's eponymous Bulgarian crime family count as well. The [[Expansion Pack]]'s missions deal with the effects of the Stetchkovs' recent and unusual forays into the arms trade, which are pointed out in the [[Mission Briefing|Mission Briefings]].
* [[Artificial Brilliance]]: But, to its credit, the game does have very sophisticated AI at some parts. Too bad for you though, as most of this intelligence is limited to the criminals. Even then, your teammates do have their moments.▼
* [[Artificial Stupidity]]: Quite ''a lot'' by your squadmates.
** If you give an order, sometimes it can be overruled and ignored if something "'''more important'''" comes up. Examples include getting an urgent message on the radio, issuing multiple orders in a row, spotting a suspect, etc. This sort of makes sense, but can be frustrating when you later notice that the action you made still hasn't been completed.
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*** Not really. They usually scan the room thoroughly before giving off reports like that. But some AI wonks do occasionally appear in more tighter or crammed-in spaces.
** Sometimes your teammates ''even accidentally shoot you'' if your squad is caught in a fire fight with the criminals. Sometimes ''they run in front of your gun while you're trying to fire''.
*** Or switch place in front of the doors if one of them is lacking the type of grenade you ordered to be thrown into the room. Which is of course logical... unless there's a friggin' suspect right in front of the door, mere centimeters away, ready to shoot them while they're waltzing in front of the exposed doorway.
** Most of the AI issues of your squadmates and problems with giving more complex chains of commands were thankfully fixed by patches and the [[Expansion Pack]].
** They'll occasionally get stuck trying to walk through a door.
▲* [[Artificial Brilliance]]: But, to its credit, the game does have very sophisticated AI at some parts. Too bad for you though, as most of this intelligence is limited to the criminals. Even then, your teammates do have their moments.
* [[Asshole Victim]]: When you and your team storm the Diamond Wholesaler's Meeting Room, you will find a slide show that shows what they were discussing before the bank robbers came; how their outsources in central Africa [[Blood Diamond|will suffer a dramatic decrease in efficiency due to the "local enforcement of human rights"]]. ''Ouch''.
* [[Awesome Yet Practical]] : Your non-lethal weapons and special equipment :
** A modified paintball gun that uses pellets filled with tear gas instead of the usual food
** The simple, yet invaluable Taser pistol and Pepper spray.
** A special "opti-wand" fiber optic camera device with a small LCD display. Used for peeking around corners and under doors, in order to spy a potentially hostile area ahead from safe cover.
** In addition to the the camera, there are the equally simple-yet-awesome Tactical Wedges. They're used for forced blocking of doors, in order to prevent the suspects from running around the building, escaping a room or getting the drop on your unsuspecting squad at the worst possible moment. They seem plain and weak, but are actually very powerful and can hold any door, as long as they're deployed under it.
*** Both of these little contraptions can literally ''[[So Cool Its Awesome|decide the outcome of a whole mission]]'', if used properly.
** The beanbag-shooting stun shotgun is the best weapon in the game, because one or two shots will stun any enemy, not matter how well armored. The beanbag shotgun is pretty much essential if you want to complete a mission with a perfect score.
** Don't forget the [[Crippling Overspecialization|breaching shotgun]].
** On a related note, the [[Boring but Practical]] C2 door detonators, police multitools (with stealthy picklocks and bomb-disarming pliers) and plastic quick-cuffs come in handy as well.
* [[Badass Army]]: The militiamen you face off against late in the game, along with the North Korean special forces.
* [[Badass Crew]]: Your squad, obviously, being SWAT officers.
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** The evening news heard on the radio dubs him "[[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|The Law School Lyncher]]".
* [[Better Than It Sounds/Video Games N-Z|Better Than It Sounds]]
* [[Black and White Morality]]: There are no missions where it's remotely ambiguous if suspects are guilty and high risk warrant suspects helpfully incriminate themselves when subdued so you have no questions on if you are arresting an innocent man.
* [[Big Applesauce]]: Though they changed the city name, it was clearly intended to be New York. At the beginning of Mission 4 (The A-Bomb Club), a large ad is painted on the wall for a garage in Brooklyn, the briefing for mission 9 tells you the command post is at Broadway and 100th in "Manhattan north," and the diplomat in Mission 12 was in the middle of a speech to the United Nations. Your teammates will also sometimes sarcastically tell suspects to "Have fun in Rikers," referring to a jail complex in New York City.
* [[Blatant Lies]]: The suspects on some missions, particularly those featuring drug dealers, come up with some pretty amusing excuses as to why they're there while you and your team arrest them. Take this soundbite from a mobster in the mission where you raid a Stetchkov-controlled drug lab as an example:
{{quote|
* [[Bomb Disposal]] / [[Time Bomb]] : An objective in the penultimate mission set in a hotel taken over by [[Right-Wing Militia Fanatic|an extremist group]]. In The Stetchkov Syndicate, the mission wherein a Department of Agriculture office is besieged by a union of disgruntled farmers has this as well . Also a
* [[Brand X]] / [[Bland-Name Product]] : Virtually every product you see in the game is of this variety (even company ads and promotional posters for movies and games), [[Played for Laughs|but with obvious nods to the brand it's parodying]].
* [[City Noir]] : Quite a lot of it, especially in the more darker missions taking place in various crumbling urban hellholes.
* [[Continuity Nod]] : Sonny Bonds, the protagonist of SWAT's
* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: See the [[Asshole Victim]]-example above.
* [[Cowboy Cop]] or [[By-The-Book Cop]]: Depending on your style, you can choose to go in gunning down every suspect without calling for compliance. But, as already mentioned, the game only rewards you for playing by the book.
* [[Cluster F-Bomb]]: Suspects react pretty appropriately to getting shot, [[Video Game Cruelty Potential|tazed, gassed, sprayed with mace, beaten, or hit with stinger grenades.]]
* [[Creator Provincialism]] : The architecture and skyline of Fairview is very similar to Boston and your squadmates and most of the other characters have various forms of the Bostonian or New England accent. Hardly surprising, since [[Irrational Games]] are Bostonians to the bone.
* [[Cult]] / [[Church of Happyology]] : {{spoiler|The Tarronians, led by a certain [[Sinister Minister]] from Iowa named Andrew Tarrone.}} You visit their eerie half-abandoned
* [[Deconstruction]] : This is an FPS which greatly discourages (and outright punishes at harder levels) killing, even directed to bad guys, since the game expects you to become a police officer. However, you are given an array of nonlethal weaponry as your loadout choice.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: In the fifth mission, set in an office building taken over by armed suspects, when you're taking care of the rescued civilians' safety, Girard looks around the cubicles and quips :
{{quote|
** In the fourth mission, where there was a shoot-out between some young delinquents at a rock concert :
{{quote|
'''Officer Fields''': What, and have them miss all this fun ? }}
* [[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything]] : Besides doing your regular SWAT work, you can turn on radios, switch to different stations, shoot fire extinguishers and plumbing pipes to start spraying extinguishing foam and water, shoot glass objects and even a box of donuts to bits, blow up computers, TV sets and gas canisters by shooting them, etc. And a remarkable amount of work has gone to make [[Bland-Name Product|Bland Name Products]] and the advertising of fictional companies look and feel real and believable... [[Rule of Funny|not to mention funny]]...
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* [[Dronejam]]: Inverted, where it's ''you'' who's in the way of the AI characters. And they will ''never'' let you hear the end of it.
* [[Expansion Pack]] : Released a few months later and called ''The Stetchkov Syndicate''. It adds seven new missions connected by a more overarching crime story, various useful new weapons (including a cool tear gas grenade launcher and a more modern tazer pistol, which can double as a melee [[Emergency Weapon]]), the option to issue a whole string of various "to do" commands to your squadmates, and numerous bug and AI fixes (criminals become even more cunning, ruthless and resistant to arrest and your squadmates are also brighter in general).
* [[Fackler Scale of FPS Realism]] / [[Nintendo Hard]] : Very, very, very far towards the hard end of realism. Besides the fact that you have to abide by police regulations and protocol (meaning you can't shoot unarmed people and have to deal carefully with armed suspects), your overall movement and gunplay abilities feel really believable. Characters can't take much damage before they die, even if they're wearing body armor and helmets. No one can jump and you and your squad mates can only run at a reasonable pace, being careful in the potentially dangerous
** One [[Acceptable Break From Reality]] in the game's shooting physics is the complete absence of bullet ricochet.
** Another break from reality is the absence of trigger reflexes or spasms. Those may cause the unplanned emptying of the guns by perps after they themselves were wounded and/or killed (or hit in the correct nerve), or simply out of pure nervousness.
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* [[Friendly Fireproof]]: Averted.
* [[The Fundamentalist]] : The previously-mentioned group of religious fundamentalists who took over a stem-cell research lab. Also, in the [[Expansion Pack]], a group of [[Moral Guardians|Christians opposed to rock music]] storm a concert hall and take the band hostage.
* [[Heroic Mime]] : Averted. [[Standardized Leader|Your player character's]] [[Only Known by Their Nickname|name is never given]], but he talks more than enough during each mission (either by your command or in pre-scripted instances). Unsurprising, since you're the leadsman of the squad and all...
* [[Hide Your Children]]: Well, yeah, the developers don't want you arresting kids. {{spoiler|But then you find the graveyard in the basement of the Tarone residence...}}
* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: You can blind and stun yourself with the flashbang and stinger grenade. Also, if you don't have thermal vision, using the gas grenade is a double-edged sword because it obscures vision for everyone equally, not just the suspects.
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* [[I Got You Covered]] : Standard procedure.
* [[In Name Only]]: The ''SWAT'' sequels that came after on consoles, are best left undiscussed.
* [[Instant Death Bullet]]: Averted for the most part. While it is entirely possible to kill someone instantly with one shot, it requires some realistic situation, such as the gun being of high caliber or simply a headshot. Depending on how good the body armor they are wearing is and how powerful your gun is, its also possible for enemies to survive being shot a couple of times, although if shot in the right place they will lose accuracy or have to limp. Also, they don't always die when shot. Sometimes, their body armor will save them from death, but they will still be incapacitated.
** This could be situational, but this is played straight very often when suspects ([[The AI Is a Cheating Bastard|Read: AI enemies]]) are firing on players, even when wearing [[Mighty Glacier|Heavy Armor and Helmet]], you can still die from one bullet. [[Up to Eleven|From across the map. By suspects who by rights shouldn't even have basic firearms training.]]
* [[Law of Inverse Recoil]] : Averted thoroughly.
* [[Made of Iron]]: Averted. This game is very realistic with damage values, even the fully kevlar-armored SWAT officers or professional terrorists can only take a few shots (2-5 depending on the gun) before going down.
* [[The Mafiya]] : The Stetchkov mafia clan are the main villains in the storyline of the [[Expansion Pack]], aptly named ''The Stetchkov Syndicate''.
* [[Montage]] : [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMm_Eu64i6s The intro cutscene.]
* [[Moral Dissonance]]: Only the unnecessary kills made by the player character ever count as unauthorized uses of deadly force, so your snipers can kill perps with impunity. The player's teammates avoid this by ''always'' obeying the rules of engagement, so any deadly force they use is always justified. This however causes the AI to frequently [[Artificial Stupidity|hold fire]] even when using non-lethal weapons against a suspect that's actively mowing down the entry team with their bottomless magazines.
* [[Mood Whiplash]]: Play the Tarone mission once or twice. You WILL hear gunwomen act innocent (not even the usual denial) and other males telling you to leave, and then turn right around and ask you for escort out.
* [[Never Hurt an Innocent]] / [[Video Game Cruelty Punishment]] : A major gameplay mechanic and plot point of the game. You get penalized for using deadly force against anyone who isn't attacking, criminals included. Even if they've ran off to grab a gun, you can't just outright kill them - unless they actually threaten you, your squad, a civilian, or attempt a shoot-out.
** Non-lethal weapons are the main solution for this problem. People can still be injured by them, but unless you shoot them after they've been cuffed, it doesn't count as a penalty.
** The action key also doubles as a shout button, allowing you to bark orders at both civilians and suspects if they're acting stubborn and don't want to cooperate, comply or surrender. If you want to shoot at any suspect without gaining a penalty to your mission record, you have to give him a final warning first. So, always shout before entering a new unexplored room, hallway or space. The more you shout, the better.
* [[No Communities Were Harmed]] / [[Where the Hell Is Springfield?]] : Welcome to the bustling metropolis of Fairview... somewhere in New England... The briefing of the first mission mentions high capacity magazines being illegal, which limits the game's possible locations to the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and New York (Height of Buildings Act of 1910 and presence of several buildings taller than its restrictions rules out the District of Columbia).
** It's in New York State for sure. Check the TVs in Mission 3. It's also entirely possible that most of the game does take place in NYC, except for one mission where the team is sent out to the suburb of Fairview (which might be too small and have too little violent crime to justify having its own SWAT team, while still having its own newspaper that primarily covers local news).
*** That mission actually takes place in NYC too. In the briefing, the dispatcher mentions that the address is located in the Bronx. Furthermore, in Mission 3, the gas station is described as being on "Pitkin Ave," which a real street in Brooklyn, and the diamond store in Mission 8 which is located on "Broadway."
* [[Oh Crap]]: All too often in
* [[One Bullet Clips]]: Averted. You only carry 3 or 4 clips for your main weapon, and your ammo is measured by the amount of bullets in individual clips rather than all your bullets together. You can easily reload a magazine at any time and they'll have the same amount of bullets you left in them the last time you fired.
** As you can go through entire missions without firing a single shot (hint: flashbangs, stingers, and other less-lethals are your friend), the low ammo count makes sense. In fact, if you've fired off an entire magazine, you're probably doing it wrong.
* [[Right-Wing Militia Fanatic]] : The "America Now" terrorist group from the Old Granite Hotel mission fit this trope to a tee.
{{quote|
* [[Shoot Out the Lock]] : Averted, of course. There are three ways for you to deal with a locked door, and given the game's emphasis on close-quarters combat, each of them affects the suspects on the other side differently.
** Firing a [[Boring but Practical|Breaching Shotgun]] is quick and safe for people on the other side, but doesn't faze the suspects much.
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** To the ''[[Police Quest]]'' series, as already mentioned in the [[Continuity Nod]] entry.
*** Also, during the intro, one of the logos briefly turns into a screen from the ''Police Quest'' games, complete with the [http://obsoletegamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/police_quest_1.png right number of points in the corner].
** To the ''SWAT'' series in general and [[Irrational Games]] themselves : There are penny arcade slot machines in the office of the city garage from the "Victory Auto Imports" mission. One of them is clearly an arcade version of one of the ''[[Freedom Force]]'' games, while the other is apparently based on a previously planned but cancelled installment of SWAT (which was
** Much like the backstory for ''[[Reservoir Dogs]]'', one of the missions is set in a diamond wholesalers specializing in uncut or unpolished diamonds that had just received an uncommon shipment of finished jewels, which attracts the attention of a group of heavily armed robbers.
** One of the objectives in the final mission is the rescue of a research scientist named [[Sturgeon's Law|Theodore Sturgeon]]. The briefing even lampshades it.
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* [[Shown Their Work]]: Hostages have to be handcuffed - you never know who is a real hostage, and there's always the possibility of [[Stockholm Syndrome]] - and they react accordingly. A mayor's aide will be extremely annoyed at his rough treatment, while Greek Orthodox priests reassure you they understand your concerns and gracefully allow themselves to be handcuffed.
* [[Sinister Minister]] : {{spoiler|Andrew Taronne}} from the eighth mission.
* [[Super OCD]]: Apparently, all your computer-controlled teammates have it, given their absolute insistence, when you're gathering around doors, that everyone be in the ''exact'' right spot.▼
* [[Stealth Based Game]] : Not overtly, but you can use some basic sound and line of sight based stealth in every mission, in order to better sneak up on the [[Incredibly Lame Pun|unsuspecting suspects]]. ▼
* [[The Squad]] / [[Badass Crew]] : You and the members of your squad, of course.
** [[Sergeant Rock]] : You. Quite literally, as the player character's stated rank is sergeant. Also, while each of your AI controlled teammates gets to deliver a funny line every so often, your character's soundbytes are almost totally devoid of snark, adding to the whole no-nonsense feel.
** [[Badass Grandpa]] : Reynolds. Unambiguously the oldest member of the team, with almost 30 years of SWAT experience, but performs just as well as the others. His nickname among the squad members even invokes this, since he's dubbed "[[Cool Old Guy|Gramps]]".
** [[Boisterous Bruiser]] : Fields, a.k.a. "Hollywood". While not the most intimidating guy on the squad, he falls under this due to his snarky nature, talkativeness, and general arrogance. Girard may also fall under this sometimes given his propensity to trash-talk arrested suspects.
** [[Scary Black Man]] : Jackson, nicknamed "[[Nom De Guerre|Python]]". Aside from his profile information listing him as a well-conditioned athlete, he keeps up his air of intimidation when tying up compliant civilians. While your other squadmen reassure or playfully tease the civilians whilst cuffing them, Jackson often threatens the civilians to stay compliant.
** [[The Heart]] / [[Fun Personified]] : [[Ensemble Darkhorse|Girard]], a.k.a. "Subway". Oh God, ''[[Plucky Comic Relief|Girard]]''...
▲* [[Stealth Based Game]] : Not overtly, but you can use some basic sound and line of sight based stealth in every mission, in order to better sneak up on the [[Incredibly Lame Pun|unsuspecting suspects]].
▲* [[Super OCD]]: Apparently, all your computer-controlled teammates have it, given their absolute insistence, when you're gathering around doors, that everyone be in the ''exact'' right spot.
* [[Translation Convention]]: In the mission wherein a local hospital has been stormed by North Korean paramilitaries attempting to assassinate a South Korean diplomat, said North Koreans speak with American English speech patterns and accents. The diplomat, at least, [[Just a Stupid Accent|sounds stereotypically Asian]].
** Somewhat averted in The Stetchkov Syndicate, wherein the eponymous Bulgarian arms dealers speak English with a thick East-European accent, but [[Poirot Speak|drop a few Bulgarian words into their sentences]].
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** [[Deadly Gas|CS Grenades]] affect a large area and can bypass cover, but can be resisted by [[Gas Mask Mooks|suspects wearing gas masks]], who are thankfully rare. Outside of said suspects, they are useful [[Boring but Practical|for clearing rooms without engaging in direct combat]].
** Stingers, designed for short-range engagements, [[Crippling Overspecialization|affect a very small area and cannot penetrate cover]], but anyone hit by them is guaranteed to surrender. Such a shame [[The Spoony Experiment|Spoony]] never found out they were good for clearing bathrooms.
* [[Useless Useful Spell]]: Despite what Spoony may tell you, not the stinger grenades, which are actually pretty useful if deployed right. However, in the [[Expansion Pack]], the tazer and pepper spray become somewhat useless when you get the ability to simply punch suspects.▼
* [[Unwinnable]]: The eleventh mission (The Old Granite Hotel) is apparently impossible to finish if you get shot in the leg before you've diffused all the bombs, because the wound slows you down too much.
▲* [[Useless Useful Spell]]: Despite what Spoony may tell you, not the stinger grenades, which are actually pretty useful if deployed right. However, in the [[Expansion Pack]], the tazer and pepper spray become somewhat useless when you get the ability to simply punch suspects.
* [[Video Game Cruelty Punishment]]: Just shooting suspects instead of convincing them to surrender will lose you points and potentially the game. Killing a hostage, even by accident, will cause an automatic Fail.
** [[Video Game Cruelty Potential]]: However, once you fail a level the game doesn't autonomously quit to the starting menu. You are free to roam the
* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: Civilians give one to you when you order/suppress/cuff them, as they are... you know... ''innocent''. But of course, it is part of any special unit's dogma to detain ''anyone'' they come across during such missions, as anybody may be a hazard source for the SWAT officers. So if you leave anyone un-cuffed in any mission, you will lose plenty of points for your negligence.
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