🐳 Latest Moby v2023.06.02 update

Police Quest: SWAT 2

Critic Reviews 67% add missing review

Game Revolution (A-) (91%)

I cannot rave about this game enough! What is not to like about this game? Well, that is a question I thought long and hard about. If you are a gamer bent solely action games then Swat 2 may not appeal to you. Otherwise, if you're open to something new, with a little more depth than "point at snarling cyber-demon and fire BFG", then Swat 2 is a great alternative and a game worth having. If you've never been a fan of action sims, or never tried them, then you should try Swat 2. It is a game that will deliver the depth that a seasoned action sim fan is looking for. Yet, Swat 2 can also be played by someone trying the action sims for the first time. Lock and load.... hut hut hut hut hut hut

Aug 1st, 1998 · Windows · read review

All Game Guide ( ) (90%)

What could be better than playing "good-cop/bad-cop" except playing cops and terrorist in a 3D overhead setting? In Police Quest: SWAT 2, from Sierra-Online, players can play cops (we'll assume they're good cops) as well as terrorists. Rob a bank or foil a robbery, it is all in a day's work. SWAT 2 was created with the assistance of former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates and the designers have striven to create a truly realistic simulation (it is so realistic that the game may be used as part of future SWAT training!)

1998 · Windows · read review

Power Unlimited (8.7 out of 10) (87%)

Liefhebbers van het serieuze politiewerk kunnen hun hart ophalen. Shoot'em up-fanaten zullen naar mijn mening minder aan hun trekken komen. Al met al is SWAT 2 erg compleet, realistisch, leuk, spannend maar wel vreselijk moeilijk. SWAT gonna make you SWET.

Jul 1998 · Windows

Gaming Entertainment Monthly (82 out of 100) (82%)

There is a lot of different strategies that can be used in this game and they are a real asset because games that can be finished a lot of different ways are usually a lot more fun than games that have a specific way to finish them. Overall I think Sierra has done a great job producing this game and it is most certainly something you want to spend your money, it will offer you hours, maybe even days of challenges.

1998 · Windows · read review

Gameplay (Benelux) (81 out of 100) (81%)

Als je dacht even snel al die Amerikaanse politiefilms vol actie en schietpartijen op je PC terug te beleven, dan zal je een beetje bedrogen uitkomen met SWAT 2. Het verloop van de missies is wel zeer gevarieerd, waardoor je steeds opnieuw uiterst voorzichtig moet werken. Iets voor de echte strateeg dus. Hierdoor wordt SWAT 2 betrekkelijk moeilijk en is het misschien begrijpelijk dat men in Amerika overweegt dit 'spel' in de opleiding van Swat agenten te gaan gebruiken.

Apr 30th, 1998 · Windows

Reset (8 out of 10) (80%)

SWAT 2 przykuwa i praktycznie od razu wchƂania swego uĆŒytkownika, nie pozwalając na przerwanie tej w gruncie rzeczy stresującej zabawy.

Jun 1998 · Windows · read review

PC Joker (79 out of 100) (79%)

Unter dem Strich erweist sich die Technik als grĂ¶ĂŸtes Manko in der durchaus unterhaltsamen und originellen Polizeistrategie: Zwar lassen sich die verschiedenen Fenster fĂŒr Iso-Landschaft, Karte oder Icons beliebig verschieben und in der GrĂ¶ĂŸe verĂ€ndern, doch die Spielgeschwindigkeit ist ein heikles Thema. (
) Auch die Mischsteuerung aus Maus und Tastatur hat so ihre TĂŒcken. Am störendsten aber ist, daß der Design-Polizei die Vorschriften offenbar ĂŒber den Einfallsreichtum der Spieler gingen: Laufen die EinsĂ€tze nicht exakt so ab, wie im Lehrbuch beschrieben, gelten sie trotz erfolgreicher Absolvierung als gescheitert. Ist das nun besonders oder gar nicht realistisch? Wie dem auch sei: SWAT 2 ist ein großer Titel mit kleinen MĂ€ngeln. Groß, auch was den Umfang betrifft - und die QualitĂ€t der regelbaren Beschallung aus Musik, Effekten und Sprachausgabe.

Jul 1998 · Windows

Computer Gaming World (CGW) ( ) (70%)

SWAT 2 is exciting, challenging, and different front any other real-time strategy game on the market. Although its flaws are significant, SWAT 2 is the best law-enforcement sim yet.

Nov 1998 · Windows

PC Player (Denmark) (7 out of 10) (70%)

Efter de fÞrste par missioner, der efterlod mig ret uimponeret, begyndte spillet langsomt at fÊnge. Selvom jeg ikke var imponeret, var jeg alligevel spÊndt pÄ at se, hvad nÊste bane bragte, og netop den store variation i opgaver er SWAT 2's vÊsentligste styrke.

1998 · Windows

Hacker (70 out of 100) (70%)

Da ne duljim, drĆŸim da je ova igra vrlo solidno ostvarenje za ubiti vrijeme i uz neke sitnije popravke i prepravke mogla bi postati hit.

Oct 1998 · Windows

Gamezilla (69 out of 100) (69%)

Personally, I think that this game sacrifices some fun for realism. However, I have plenty of friends who think that realism IS the fun, so I can't really shoot the game down for accuracy. I have to admit, though, that once I finally figured out what was going on, the game became more enjoyable. I certainly had a better appreciation of the hard work and skill of the S.W.A.T. teams around the country.

Aug 5th, 1998 · Windows

Revista do CD-ROM (2 out of 3) (67%)

Muita ação neste game de estratĂ©gia, baseado na sĂ©rie de TV dos anos 70. VocĂȘ controla uma equipa da SWAT (policiais da elite de Los Angeles), e pode atĂ© participar de treinamentos especiais, ou ainda assumir o papel dos terroristas, tendo de derrotar o esquadrĂŁo.

Nov 1998 · Windows

PC Player (Germany) (66 out of 100) (66%)

Die Kampagnen sind schnell durchgespielt, und der Replay-Faktor ist nicht dolle: Zwar verhalten sich einige Figuren zufÀllig, aber der grundsÀtzliche Charakter der Missionen bleibt gleich. Trotz vieler guter AnsÀtze ein Programm, das sich mit solchen Schnitzern selber ein Bein stellt. Tolerante Echtzeit-Taktiker sollten aber ruhig mal einen Blick riskieren.

Aug 1998 · Windows

Bravo Screenfun (3 out of 6) (60%)

Leider ist auch die Bedienung in diesem Spiel kriminell. Was fĂŒr eine mĂŒhsame Fummelei! GegenstĂ€nde werden nicht etwa direkt zwischen den Polizisten ausgetauscht: Man muß erst alles auf den Boden legen, damit der NĂ€chste den Gegenstand aufnehmen kann. Und offenbar sind alle Beteiligten stocktaub, denn Gangster werden nur aktiv, wenn man direkt in ihre Richtung blickt. Auch die dröge, unbelebte Grafik schmerzt das Polizistenherz. Das Ganze eignet sich nur fĂŒr eingefleischte Strategie-Fans, die sich gerne durch unzĂ€hlige MenĂŒs fummeln und wenig Wert auf die PrĂ€sentation legen.

Aug 1998 · Windows

Adrenaline Vault, The (AVault) ( ) (60%)

I remember reading somewhere that the LA police department was so impressed with SWAT 2, they were planning on using it as an instructional aid. Therein lies the biggest problem with this game — it feels too much like an instructional aid. SWAT 2 is extremely realistic, and the player controlling the SWAT forces must adhere to strict police procedure in order to successfully complete the different scenarios, most of which are based on actual SWAT cases. But while the game is indeed an accurate representation of SWAT operations and procedures, it seems to fail on the most basic level of computer gaming — it’s just not that much fun. If you’ve got a genuine interest in SWAT team procedures or law enforcement in general, you may find Police Quest: SWAT 2 quite interesting. If you’re looking for a fun and exciting solo gameplay experience, I hesitate to say you’ll find it here.

Jul 31st, 1998 · Windows · read review

GameGenie ( ) (60%)

Overall, this game was a decent game. While not boasting anything very impressive in the way of graphics or sound, the strategy and scenario of the game where the things that seemed to be appealing the most. With an average mix of action and strategy, the game is not that great for a real time simulation because it acted rather slowly at times. The main point about the game though, is not really the coding, but rather what is involved. Playing as SWAT or the terrorists is just fun in itself, and there are not too many other games out there that play on the same premise. The simulation aspect is rather good, but the graphics taken it a down a notch or two. Bottom line - if you like strategy and cops and robbers, buy it, but if you hate average graphics and limited action, walk away.

1998 · Windows · read review

Attack Games (6 out of 10) (60%)

Swat 2 faller pÄ det den sjÀlv skryter om. Spelet Àr inte realistiskt. Strategidelen funkar endast sÄ lÀnge ingen börjar skjuta. SÄ fort du mÄste agera snabbt faller hela din planering i smÄbitar. Med bÀttre kontroll kunde det ha blivit ganska bra. Nu blir det mesta bara jobbigt.

Nov 1998 · Windows

GameSpot (5.7 out of 10) (57%)

SWAT 2 could have been filled with nail-biting intensity and adrenaline-pumping action; instead, it's composed of a frustrating command system and messy gameplay. The designers of SWAT 2 really missed the boat by choosing to use real time. As a turn-based game it could have been a winner. If nothing else, at least it would have lasted longer.

Aug 13th, 1998 · Windows · read review

GameStar (Germany) (52 out of 100) (52%)

Taktische Gangsterjagd und kriminelle VorstĂ¶ĂŸe – was so spannend klingt, verhunzt Sierra durch gravierende MĂ€ngel im Spieldesign. In den Terroristenmissionen verhindert ein Pulk herumeilender Polizisten sinnvolle Planung; trotzdem schaffe ich jede Mission, weil meine Leute ungehindert an den Cops vorbeilaufen können. Als GesetzeshĂŒter beende ich die EinsĂ€tze, indem ich Gangster ohne große Taktik einfach niederschieße – weshalb dann noch ErstĂŒrmungsplĂ€ne aushecken? Das alles ist doppelt schmerzlich, weil mir die unverbrauchte Thematik von SWAT 2 prinzipiell sehr gut gefallen hat. Ein rundenbasiertes Spielsystem wĂ€re den komplexen Handlungsmöglichkeiten aber viel eher gerecht geworden.

Aug 1998 · Windows

PC Action (Germany) (50.5 out of 100) (50%)

Wirklich schade um dieses Spiel! Die einzelnen Missionen bieten eigentlich recht interessante Aufgabenstellungen, die es einem ermöglichen, sich richtig in die Welt der L.A.-Cops hineinzuversetzen. Bei der praktischen Umsetzung hapert es jedoch an allen Ecken und Enden, wobei besonders die „eigenwillige“ KI, die UnĂŒbersichtlichkeit und die schwerfĂ€llige Steuerung negativ ins Gewicht fallen. Wer nicht unbedingt Polizist spielen will, sollte lieber zu Commandos greifen.

Aug 19th, 1998 · Windows

Svenska PC Gamer (50 out of 100) (50%)

Spelet borde, med sitt omstÀndiga system för orden, inte spelas i realtid. Den klumpiga uppbyggnaden passar bra i spel dÀr tiden inte Àr en viktig faktor. Spelare som Àr intresserade av SWAT och liknande styrkor, bör hellre satsa pÄ Rainbow Six.

Nov 1998 · Windows

Computer Games Magazine ( ) (50%)

The idea behind SWAT 2 is sound and does not succumb too much to the Clone & Conquer mentality pervading the market. However, the poor plot line and number of flaws soon crop up, hindering the value of this product. This game is a mediocre one; its somewhat unique nature give it a certain appeal, but most mainstream gamers may want to look elsewhere.

Sep 4th, 1998 · Windows

PC Games (Germany) (48 out of 100) (48%)

Als prinzipieller Freund von Strategie- und Actionspielen hatte ich eigentlich mehr erwartet. Aus dem Spielkonzept hĂ€tte man bei weitem mehr herausholen können. Wie man knifflige Taktik und spannende Action in Echtzeit umsetzt, haben erst kĂŒrzlich die Designer von Commandos bewiesen. Wer das Genre mag, sollte sein Geld lieber in den TaktikknĂŒller von Eidos investieren oder auf das im Herbst erscheinende Jagged Alliance 2 warten. SWAT 2 kann eigentlich nirgends ĂŒberzeugen, zu viele logische Fehler und das teilweise sehr undurchsichtige Interface sorgen fĂŒr Frustration. Dauerhaft kann dieses Spiel leider nicht motivieren.

Aug 5th, 1998 · Windows

Player Reviews

More of a game than an actual police simulation, which is not necesarilly a bad thing.

The Good
This can be a very entertaining and addicitive game if you understand the controls. This episode of the SWAT series seems to focus more on being a game, rather than being a realistic police simulation.

Amongst the interesting things is that there is a huge difference between the two groups (SWAT and the Five Eyes). If you play as a SWAT officer, you'll have more than enough money for your organisation, but you'll need the public's support if you want to continue. Furthermore, in the missions themselves, you'll have to be very careful. Only take down threatening suspects, and make sure to take care of the innocent people involved. Position your men well, and make sure that no one escapes. And of course, the sniper placement is very important as well... should you give him the order to fire, or better wait? Also, you'll be giving instructions to the CNT which can heavily influence the outcome of a mission... will you grant an escape vehicle to a suspect so that he doesn't kill a hostage?

However, if you decide to join the ranks of the Five Eyes, you'll be playing a total different game. Although you have a lot of volunteers for your mission, you probably will be managing your money well. And instead of coordinated plans that'll succeed, you'll need to be a master of hit-and-runs, else your organisation may be arrested. Send your terrorists in to do the job, and make sure that you have an escape route ready after you've completed your mission. Hostage missions can be very tense, but you'll be in control of them, thus you have something that'll protect you against SWAT. Don't go too roughly on them, else you might be in trouble.

Amongst the things that keep me returning to this game is the different ways on how a mission can play out. This is one of the few games in which there are several random factors that'll change a mission. The suspects can be placed on different locations, there may be less hostages being held. Most of the NPCs tend to act different as well. Sometimes, the suspect will either start firing when he sees your element, or immediatley surrender. In one mission, I had a suspect retreating with a hostage in tow, and closing the door. Whilst I was planning a strategy to recover the hostage, I suddenly heard a yell. Fearing for the hostage's live, I immediatley send in my element, and to my genuine surprise, the suspect was actually knocked down. The hostage had defended himself.

The story itself also kept me returning to this game, and made me complete the game. The SWAT campaign may look like a bunch of random missions, but as you collect evidence, you'll uncover an interesting conspiracy. If you've collected all the evidence, everything will be wrapped up in the epilogue. That there actually were several random missions in the campaign didn't bother me in the least. After all, even if there's a conspiracy going on, that doesn't mean that other petty criminals are busy themselves. The terrorist campaign also has an interesting story, although it didn't grip me as much as the SWAT campaign. Still, the final missions for the terrorist are pretty fun(which is very good, when you compare it with the nearly-impossible final mission for the SWAT campaign), and the ending is quite good.

Finally, this SWAT episode sees the return of Sonny Bonds, the hero in the first three Police games. Even 'tho he doesn't play a focal point in the storyline, and is just another one of the police officers, adding him brought a smile to my face, and it was great to work with him again, for one last time.

The Bad
Even 'tho there are many good points, there are several things that brought the game down, and probably things that didn't make it a classic.

First of all, there doesn't seem to be any management with the ammo. Each gun has an endless supplies, and although you can run out of flashbangs, you can't run out of gas grenades.

Second, the controls can be AWFUL if you haven't mastered it. It'll take you several hours of gameplay before you can be totally comfortable with the interface.

Also, your officers(or terrorists) can sometimes act pretty stupid. Although terrorists would automatically open a door, SWAT would not, so if an officer was trailing a suspect, who closed the door behind him, the officer simply refuses to open the door without ordering him to slice the pie. If you're in the middle of a hectic combat situation, this can be painful. Also, if your officers are fired upon, but you have them selected, they won't make a single move. Sierra explained that this was because the player wouldn't feel as if they're in control of their officers. This is just plain silly. An option to turn this off would've been nice. It's quite interesting to see unselected officers react when they're fired upon, as they immediatley run towards the nearest cover that they can find, and start firing back.

Third, getting evidence for the SWAT campaign can be a pain sometimes. When all the suspects have been defeated, and all the innocent people saved, the mission ends within several seconds. If you haven't gotten all the evidence in that mission, then you won't be able to complete the game. An option to end the mission when the player desires to would've been great.

The Bottom Line
So, would I recommend this game? Yes, I would. Although there are several mistakes that made it lose its appeal to many gamers, these can be outweighed once you get used to the interface. The campaigns for both sides are great, and different ways to play make this one of the entertaining SWAT games. However, if you're looking for a realistic simulation, I'd recommend the other two SWAT games.

by Ruben van der Leun (13) on Jan 5th, 2002 · Windows

Too far ahead of its time to be fun, even with the simplified procedures

The Good
Lots of authentic SWAT gear, negotiation side seldom seen in any media, much less games (but you have no control over that), ability to call in the big toys (helicopter and the "tank"), strict rules of engagement, decent debriefing

The Bad
Zone of View rules are unclear, dropping throw phones procedure was never explained in "training level", lack of tutorial (they give you 2 training missions, and that's it), scenario ends automatically without any time for you to gather evidence, no debriefing timeline explaining what happened at each step.

The Bottom Line
SWAT 2 is an attempt to create a game based on proper SWAT procedures, from hostage rescue to proper challenge of suspects, from defusing bombs to Stockholm syndrome, this game's got it all. It will even let you play the other side, as the terrorists who will go against LAPD SWAT teams. There's some mumbo-jumbo about the leader Basho, and some blah-blah about Fifth Order... Heh.

The game has two major sections... In the pre-scenario setup, you create and outfit your two types of SWAT elements: assault (usually of 1 leader, 1 scout, 1 rear guard, and 2 assaulters), and sniper (1 observer and 1 shooter). A variety of gear can be given, from pistols and MP5 submachineguns, to rappel gear and gas masks, from tear gas launchers to flashbangs, from EMT kits to Battering Ram, we got it all. (The terrorists gets fewer but nastier toys to play with) Once you got them setup the way you want, it's time to go to the scenario/mission.

The mission gives you a short video overview of the situation, then you start with initial deployment. LAPD units have blocked off the area, and SWAT bus has just arrived. It is up to you to cover all the exits and determine when to move in with assault elements should negotiations fail.

You get a 3/4 isometric view of the surrounding area, with a minimap in the lower-right coner. The right-side is a status window of the element and member of the unit you have selected. You can tell them to equip certain items with that window as well. You can swap the mini-map and the regular map if you wish to get a bigger view.

If the green telephone icon is flashing, Lt. Alvarez of CNT (negotiator) is trying to update the situation for you. He will keep you appraised of the situation, and ask you for decisions occasionally. You can authorize a throw-phone (i.e. shock-proof cellphone you'd toss to the suspects in hopes of establishing communication) if the situation warrants it. On the other hand, sometimes the situation just escalates with no hope of negotiation, esp. when you're dealing with a deranged person. In that case, it's time to assault. However, negotiations will take as long as it needs to resolve the situation... Unless shots are fired inside, in which case, immediate assault must take place to rescue the hostages. Otherwise, suspect's demands will often be met, like money, food, getaway car, etc. Remember, they all come out of SWAT budget!

The team can all be equipped with gas masks, and you should immediately equip that, unless you're fighting indoors in VERY confined spaces (where the tear gas can be lethal). Then it's a matter of breaching the door (with the ram if it's locked, or the door breach charge if you need a BIGGER door taken down). Then you have to decide on the strategy... Tear gas inside first, or flashbang and then rush in? The hope is to arrest the suspect(s) and free the hostages with absolutely no casualties. However, should you have to choose, save hostages first, police second, suspects third. Leave shooting as a last resort, though. Use flashbangs and tear gas to coax suspects into surrendering (or just rush in an arrest them while they are incapacitated). And if you spot any evidence, remember to snap them up. Items such as handguns, drugs, and other items may be found and will help secure convictions

The problem is you only have two "training levels" to practice your skills on, and that's simply not enough to do all the skills like throw phone and such unless you want to play training a couple dozen times. And who'd want to do that?

Another problem is the clumsy interface. You can't move while having the gun armed, as you only got a "shoot" cursor when that happens. There's a hotkey to bring up the long gun, but not to put it away. To activate the ram, I have to remember who had it, click on him, go through the inventory, click on the ram to activate that, then activate "door entry mode", and click on the door to breach, Then I need to coordinate the flashbang tosser, and the rest of the team to go in after the bang. At least one other will need to have flashbang or tear gas ready to hit suspects upon entry...

Fortunately, the time scale can be slowed way down to 1/5th or less real-time. to make the game less hectic, but the flip side is often nothing will happen for sveral minutes. And when it happens, it happens fast, so you'll have to slow down time again.

When all the suspects are neutralized or arrested, and all the hostages are freed, that's tne end of the mission, unless you need to defuse some bombs and boobytraps and such. So if you want to grab all the evidence in the compound, you better do it before you "rescue" the final hostage or take out that final suspect. Else the mission will end automatically, and you'll miss the extra stuff.

The game's graphics are decent, considering the technology available back then. The music, however gets a bit grating after al while.

The AI is perhaps too smart, as it seems to be the first game to use sort-of fuzzy logic to make decisions for all the non-player characters, and it's difficult to predict what the AI may do next.

ALL in all, SWAT2 manage to wound itself with its sheer weight of SWAT authenticity. It is neither a game nor a simulation, but some sort of weird hybrid. While it rewards players for good job, it doesn't give players enough tools to figure out what had went wrong and what can be done to rectify that problem. The performance is also not that good. Perhaps it's a bit too ahead of its time. Fortunately, SWAT3 took out all the boring parts and went to full 3D, thus reviving the series, but that's for another review.

by Kasey Chang (4601) on Apr 4th, 2005 · Windows

Plus 23 player ratings without reviews

Contributors to this Entry

Critic reviews added by Cantillon, Big John WV, vedder, Jeanne, Tim Janssen, JudgeDeadd, Patrick Bregger, Apogee IV, Plok, Scaryfun, chirinea, Wizo, Cavalary, lights out party, Xoleras, Tomas Pettersson.