A valiant try
Stetchkov Syndicate continues this tradition. The graphics are largely unchanged, with the exception of, it seems, more physics interaction. But the character models are also unchanged, which is a shame. The new maps are well designed and expansive, but the designers seem to have gone out of their way to remove doors where a wedge might be useful.
The new weapons are an odd selection, too. A welcome new two-shot Taser (which looks like a dustbuster); a Desert Eagle (which is of no practical use); a sniper rifle (with no maps lending themselves to sniping); a grenade launcher (which would have been great as a secondary weapon, but is useless as a primary); a Minimi/M249 (which you never get to use in SP). And a P90, which is a gun I've loved for a long time. I visited FN Herstal's factory in Liege and wrote a document for the Swedish Air Force recommending it. And here it is in SWAT 4 - but it's ruined. Quite apart from the burst mode it shouldn't have, it's firing characteristics are nothing like the real gun.
Still, it's good fun to use, and the game's still enjoyable; however, there are still a couple of major problems that let it down.
Firstly, yet another of those blasted hunt-the-bomb missions. And it doesn't help that your teammates never mention that they've found a bomb.
Secondly, the fact that there are only seven missions, some of which are too insipid to even warrant the name. SWAT 3 had the Convention Centre, the LAX tower, the TV studio, the Brentwood home invasion, the City Hall with the suitcase nuke; SWAT 4 had the hospital mission, the Fairfax residence, the research centre... All well designed missions that had a passably compelling storyline and well structured engagements, but Stetchkov just doesn't have any missions that really stand out. They're all... competent, but dull.
There are good points too, of course. Apparently compliant enemies will stand up and pick up their gun again if you turn your back on them before cuffing them. The new guns are satisfying, and the many spots where you are separated from a villain in such a way as to permit shooting but not moving to cuff are a welcome challenge.
All in all, it's worth playing. This expansion's problems are more a case of missed opportunities than real problems - particularly the fact that they let the same old ugly, cartoonish SWAT models remain irks me.
Still, it's a good pack. It just could have been so much better.