SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle is a 1999 tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Sierra Northwest and published by Sierra Entertainment exclusively for Microsoft Windows. It is the seventh installment of the Police Quest series and the third installment in the SWAT subseries. SWAT 3 follows the Los Angeles Police Department Metropolitan Division SWAT team as they combat a wave of violent crime and terrorism in Los Angeles in the lead-up to a nuclear disarmament treaty signing. Unlike many other first-person shooter games, SWAT 3 places an emphasis on realistic police methods and tactics, including close-quarters battle tactics, proper use of force, and ideally arresting enemies rather than simply shooting them. SWAT 3 was met by positive critical acclaim, with praise toward its graphics and AI sophistication. A sequel, SWAT 4, was released in 2005, developed and published by Irrational Games and Sierra owner Vivendi Universal. Gameplay In SWAT 3, players control a police tactical unit as they are deployed to handle situations such as arrest warrants, hostage-takings, bomb threats, and shootouts. SWAT 3 is a tactical shooter, where characters can be killed easily and in few hits; therefore, tactics and planning are emphasized over mere brute force. SWAT 3 is played as a team consisting of five to ten computer-controlled or player-controlled officers over a 16-mission campaign. Enemies, referred to as "suspects", range from individuals and small groups to trained and heavily-armed terrorists, with the game maintaining a learning curve for players as the complexity of suspects intensifies. Unlike military shooters, such as the comparable Rainbow Six series, SWAT 3 emphasizes that the player is part of a police unit tasked with arresting suspects instead of killing them. Much of the game centers around following the rules of engagement, use of force policies, and proper police procedure. Violations of such policies—such as failing to recover evidence or dropped weapons, not securing hostages or surrendering suspects, attacking civilians or other officers, or using excessive force—results in penalties ranging from losing points to mission failure. The weapons and equipment available to the player are tailored to fit the police setting of the game. Lethal firearms—handguns, rifles, submachine guns, and shotguns—are based on real weapons issued to the LAPD SWAT, such as their custom Springfield Armory M1911A1 that appears as the standard-issue sidearm in-game. Lethal weapons come with different varieties of ammunition, primarily less-lethal alternate weapons, such as the M4 carbine