This Expansion Pack add more to what I still consider the best modern tactical shooter ever made, SWAT 4.

User Rating: 8 | SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate PC
The Stetchkov Syndicate is an expansion pack for what I still consider the best modern tactical shooter ever made. It adds many features that were missing in the original SWAT 4 game and all the additions are a pleasant welcome.

I'll quickly cover the new features and why they're so amazing and also why this game is yet the best of the genre, even for the present year standards. Its engine show some age, but this should not be one obstacle to enjoy it.

Means that, for using the same sort of engine from FEAR, make the game look older than it really is. Lack of better textures and models is the first sign, where physics is the worst in most of cases. But yet works very well in most of situations and, because of the strong arcade element from SWAT 4, we barely feel it.

Featuring seven new missions, Stetchkov Syndicate presents a new range of details, textures, models and places, also more difficult than before and many unexpected levels that we could find in real life.

This patch change little in the original gameplay core of SWAT 4, like the way we control our five man squad divided in Blue and Red, or even in the way we must take care with our actions to not loose points for unthinkable actions, like hit a civil or kill one suspect that was fleeing. Mirror under door, give all kind of orders to the element, avoid unnecessary deaths, and report any situation to TOC, restrain any suspect or civil, bring order to chaos and all what we experienced in the original game is still present here.

For each mission unlocked, new equipment becomes available for use, what opens a new range of actions and ways to play each mission and also in the way we deal each situation. For example, now we have the disposal of one accurate riffle, meaning the addition of an sniper, which changes a lot the way how we must proceed in the level. We also had a grenade launcher, very useful in many situations, but that can leave the player very vulnerable between the reloads or while change for the secondary weapon, demanding more caution in our actions and where we're shooting the grenade.

I'll not cover all the equipments addition, only cover about the so waited melee attacks. Melee can do all the difference in all sort of tough situations and we can freely use it and abuse it. Instead of waste precious bullets or charges in a civil or in any suspect, just hit it with your fists and it should solve most of the problems that the original game presented but didn't give any viable solution, making a lot of legs and arms be shoot and even making us lose points for "unauthorized use of lethal force". Melee is what really lacked in the original game and I was really happy to see it nicely done here.

Issue orders are another nice touch. Now we can make both teams work in synchrony with each other and with ourselves. Means that we can tell to one team (or both) to hold orders until we give it, creating new situations that was impossible to perform or do in the original.

For some reason, in this point, I hoped to see the AI better polished than in the original SWAT 4. Almost all the problems are still present here and new ones appeared, mainly when we try to use the new feature "issue order". Is easy to see our Element stuck with some order or even forgot what was the given order, like it just forget and stay idle for no reason. At least, our squad members can properly use secondary weapons, but they are worse in the use of tactical grenades. Will be common see the entry team miss or make a fail tossing a flash bang, usually exploding in our face or even that damn sting grenade.

Stetchkov Syndicate also sound great like the original. Explosions, screams, voices, footsteps and many other little effects sound great like before, with some couple additions to match the new missions. The voices all sound better, with many new voice lines for also be in synch with the new levels and challenges. The soundtrack is smoother than before, making all fit in the action.

Seems that Multiplayer also got a lot of improvements but, maybe because of its age, I could not find players to join in a descent match in any descent server for my country. I used to enjoy for some couple of hours the original SWAT 4 multiplayer and, thinking about all those nice additions, it could be still very enjoyable.

Final words: The Stetchkov Syndicate is one great expansion for one great game that, for me, is the best in its genre. Also, find expansions with this quality is really difficult to see, mainly when things are made through DLC's nowadays. Anyway, if you want to play this expansion you must acquire first the original SWAT 4, but usually any who will be interested in this game will already experienced all the greatness of the fourth game and will want more. So, if you're liked the original game, just rush to this expansion and experience more of this great game.