Originally posted here: https://cultclassiccornervideogames.wordpress.com/2020/03/03/mod-corner-swat-4-elite-force-swat-4-sketchkov-syndicate/
While SWAT 4 and it’s expansion pack Sketchkov Syndicate had a fantastic premise and a lot of great features that were executed pretty well, it also had a notorious difficulty spike and often annoying unpredictability that made a lot of the later levels a tedious slog to get through. That’s where SWAT: Elite Force comes in, not only adding even more great features to the game, but ironing out some of the problems that I had with the game.
From the get go, the changes are immediate. While the graphics remain the same, the mod still manages to add a few new bells and whistles, such as resolutions that go up to 8K, meaning that you no longer have to deal with the 1600×1200 resolution limit, along with new features such as an FOV slider and mouse smoothing. These might seem like small things, but once they’re there, you can’t imagine playing the game without them.
When you start a Single Player game, there is now the option to play through all of the levels of SWAT 4 and Sketchkov Syndicate together, which is nice for repeated playthoughs if you don’t want to have to switch between the two. If you’re really concerned about the story of the expansion being broken up by the levels from the base game, you can still choose to play them separately.
There are also some new levels that come included with the Elite Force mod. There’s only a few of them, but they fit in perfectly with the rest of the levels. You can also choose to include these levels in your Career or play them separately.
If you’ve played SWAT 4 and it’s expansion so much that the HARD difficulty is a breeze, there are some Premadeath options. Permadeath is exactly what you think it is, in that if you die, you have to start the career all over again, and if your AI permanently die, and they’re out for the rest of the game, meaning if you want to get through the game as easy as possible, you have to make sure your teammates are safe too.
While the difficult from the base game still manages to peak through every now and again, but thankfully it’s been significantly reduced to the mod re-balancing the game by moving around the maps in a new order, easing you into the game and it’s mechanics a lot better.
The AI also got a re-balance. In situations during the base game that I know I would have definitely failed in the base game and have to spend up to an hour on a level, I managed to pass with very few tries, if any, in Elite Force, even if it was by the skin of my teeth.
Throughout any of the missions, the mod now tells you when you complete individual objectives as you complete them, meaning that you no longer have to constantly check what your mission objectives are every couple of minutes by going into the objectives menu. It makes the whole experience feel smoother.
Your fellow SWAT members can still be taken out fairly quickly some times, but nowhere near as much as in the base game. SWAT members didn’t really start getting incapacitated on my play through until at least the 10th mission. Although, SWAT members still seem to get hung up on corners every now and again. I guess that’s a bug that’s baked into the AI.
You can now also order your fellow officers to do some of the stuff that only you could before, such as use grenades, lightsticks, C2, the optiwand, the pepper spray, and even use the door wedge on both closed and open doors. It really does take some of the tedium out of playing with the AI squad mates. The mod even introduces Speech Recognition. I haven’t tested it out myself, but it seems to work from what I’ve heard. This really helps for those who more immersion, and it certainly cuts down on going through menus.
There are also several new weapons, including a SCAR-H, Aks-74u, MP5K PDW, Glock 18 Glock 19, and even the option to carry no weapon at all. I guess that’s for if you know the game so well that you feel up for a challenge and a no-weapon run. Also, there are 2 new armor pieces. The Heavy Kevlar Armor and Heavy Ceramic Armor.
When you’re tired of playing the game by yourself, there is a myriad of new features for the multiplayer, including various new commands and key binds. You can even play though the single player in CO-OP.
This mod even restores content that didn’t make it into the final game due to time constraints during the development, but were left on the disc, along with more than 100 bug fixes throughout the game.
If you’re a fan of SWAT 4, then Elite Force is a must play. It’s amazing what a few tweaks can do to make a game better. If you want to know what every change is, the mod does come with a text file listing every single little detail. It does nothing but improve the game in a lot of ways along with adding a lot of new content for you to play around with. Elite Force is now my preferred way of playing SWAT 4, and I can’t see myself ever playing the game without it.
While SWAT 4 and it’s expansion pack Sketchkov Syndicate had a fantastic premise and a lot of great features that were executed pretty well, it also had a notorious difficulty spike and often annoying unpredictability that made a lot of the later levels a tedious slog to get through. That’s where SWAT: Elite Force comes in, not only adding even more great features to the game, but ironing out some of the problems that I had with the game.
From the get go, the changes are immediate. While the graphics remain the same, the mod still manages to add a few new bells and whistles, such as resolutions that go up to 8K, meaning that you no longer have to deal with the 1600×1200 resolution limit, along with new features such as an FOV slider and mouse smoothing. These might seem like small things, but once they’re there, you can’t imagine playing the game without them.
When you start a Single Player game, there is now the option to play through all of the levels of SWAT 4 and Sketchkov Syndicate together, which is nice for repeated playthoughs if you don’t want to have to switch between the two. If you’re really concerned about the story of the expansion being broken up by the levels from the base game, you can still choose to play them separately.
There are also some new levels that come included with the Elite Force mod. There’s only a few of them, but they fit in perfectly with the rest of the levels. You can also choose to include these levels in your Career or play them separately.
If you’ve played SWAT 4 and it’s expansion so much that the HARD difficulty is a breeze, there are some Premadeath options. Permadeath is exactly what you think it is, in that if you die, you have to start the career all over again, and if your AI permanently die, and they’re out for the rest of the game, meaning if you want to get through the game as easy as possible, you have to make sure your teammates are safe too.
While the difficult from the base game still manages to peak through every now and again, but thankfully it’s been significantly reduced to the mod re-balancing the game by moving around the maps in a new order, easing you into the game and it’s mechanics a lot better.
The AI also got a re-balance. In situations during the base game that I know I would have definitely failed in the base game and have to spend up to an hour on a level, I managed to pass with very few tries, if any, in Elite Force, even if it was by the skin of my teeth.
Throughout any of the missions, the mod now tells you when you complete individual objectives as you complete them, meaning that you no longer have to constantly check what your mission objectives are every couple of minutes by going into the objectives menu. It makes the whole experience feel smoother.
Your fellow SWAT members can still be taken out fairly quickly some times, but nowhere near as much as in the base game. SWAT members didn’t really start getting incapacitated on my play through until at least the 10th mission. Although, SWAT members still seem to get hung up on corners every now and again. I guess that’s a bug that’s baked into the AI.
You can now also order your fellow officers to do some of the stuff that only you could before, such as use grenades, lightsticks, C2, the optiwand, the pepper spray, and even use the door wedge on both closed and open doors. It really does take some of the tedium out of playing with the AI squad mates. The mod even introduces Speech Recognition. I haven’t tested it out myself, but it seems to work from what I’ve heard. This really helps for those who more immersion, and it certainly cuts down on going through menus.
There are also several new weapons, including a SCAR-H, Aks-74u, MP5K PDW, Glock 18 Glock 19, and even the option to carry no weapon at all. I guess that’s for if you know the game so well that you feel up for a challenge and a no-weapon run. Also, there are 2 new armor pieces. The Heavy Kevlar Armor and Heavy Ceramic Armor.
When you’re tired of playing the game by yourself, there is a myriad of new features for the multiplayer, including various new commands and key binds. You can even play though the single player in CO-OP.
This mod even restores content that didn’t make it into the final game due to time constraints during the development, but were left on the disc, along with more than 100 bug fixes throughout the game.
If you’re a fan of SWAT 4, then Elite Force is a must play. It’s amazing what a few tweaks can do to make a game better. If you want to know what every change is, the mod does come with a text file listing every single little detail. It does nothing but improve the game in a lot of ways along with adding a lot of new content for you to play around with. Elite Force is now my preferred way of playing SWAT 4, and I can’t see myself ever playing the game without it.