It’s fascinating to look again on the historical past of tactical shooters and marvel, “What occurred?” This isn’t to say that the style has died out – there have been titles which supply lifelike gunplay with an emphasis on ways over blindly dashing in. Assessing the surroundings and any threats takes precedence over a lot else. Nevertheless, it’s fascinating how main publishers have successfully averted such titles.
Positive, Ghost Recon Wildlands and Breakpoint turned pleasant experiences given sufficient time, however they’re nonetheless a departure from what made Ghost Recon and Advance Warfighter so memorable. Even Rainbow Six, which has an extended and illustrious historical past, has been relegated to the aggressive shooter area with Siege. For a lot of, “tactical shooter” is seemingly synonymous with Name of Obligation. The weapons are based mostly on real-world firearms; there’s gun mounting, flashbangs, and double-time – what extra might you need?
And regardless of different studios embracing extra lifelike depictions of warzones, there’s been a definite lack of something akin to SWAT. Virtually nothing has come near SWAT 4 – simulating the push you get from breaching and clearing rooms, not sure of what lies forward. That’s, till Prepared or Not got here alongside.
Initially launched in December 2023 for PC after about two years in early entry, it’s now out there for Xbox Sequence X/S and PS5. It arrives alongside some in depth DLC and a brand new replace – Los Suenos Tales – which provides new missions, weapons, and way more. Perhaps it’s as a result of lack of one thing related within the console area, however regardless, Prepared or Not has turned out to be a delightfully addictive expertise.
You’re the commander of D Platoon, the LSPD’s tactical squad despatched to take care of “high-risk” conditions. Whereas it begins merely sufficient with gamers responding to a fuel station theft, the story dives into the town’s depravity. As I’ve famous in our evaluate of the PS5 model, piecing collectively the lore between missions can reveal some unsettling particulars. The truth that it’s all rooted in the actual world makes it all of the extra disturbing, however for higher or worse, it provides to the immersion and brutality.
That brutality is mirrored within the gameplay. Prepared or Not is about enjoying rigorously and approaching conditions calmly as a result of a lot can probably go flawed. A surrendering suspect can abruptly pop up and put a couple of rounds in you or your squadmates with a secondary weapon. Civilians can simply get caught within the crossfire and die. Even the way you finally open a door can have quite a few ramifications on the success of the mission and the well being of your squad. If a single individual dies, it could actually additional demoralize the survivors, resulting in excessive stress ranges and potential dropouts. Managing their stress and making certain everybody will get out alive can unlock highly effective perks which can be shared among the many squad. As soon as once more, selections and penalties.
Initially, the final gameplay loop turns into fairly acquainted. “Carry order to chaos,” which implies arresting or taking out any suspects and rescuing all of the civilians. You’ll have further targets and even a mushy goal, however for probably the most half, you will need to take care of hostiles and make sure the security of everybody else. Fairly simple.
Reaching that is a completely totally different matter, given the vary of conditions and approaches. Ordering compliance received’t all the time assure {that a} suspect lays down their weapon, particularly if they’ve a hostage. Restraining a civilian might result in getting flanked by different hostiles laying in wait. Equipping a silencer can enhance your gun’s profile, making it simpler for enemies to identify you. Heck, being close to a window when suspects occur to be wanting outdoors of it may end up in the deaths of hostages.
That unpredictability often means having to regulate on the fly, particularly since enemy placements change on every mission playthrough. Nevertheless, developer Void Interactive deserves credit score for providing a variety of various environments and potential disasters ready to occur. One such mission concerned clearing a constructing after which having to make our approach over to a different by way of a shoddily constructed wood walkway. A darkish attic appeared as ripe for bother as making our approach down a staircase overlooking the corridor. Standing guard as my crew made their approach down, awaiting threats and overlaying angles from up excessive, felt tense.
You might be adept at coping with armed robbers and manic junkies wielding knives, resulting in a venerable stomping by the hands of the cartel. As one mission results in one other, you’ll encounter better-armed and extra harmful suspects who’re about as eager on surviving as they’re on killing you.
It might get difficult, even if you grasp ways like freeleaning or utilizing the Mirrorgun to survey what’s round corners and locked doorways. However as soon as once more, it provides to the realism and immersion. And even when the core gameplay can really feel the identical between missions, you’re not targeted on killing as many suspects as doable but in addition on making certain the survival of civilians. That mission grade can drop from a possible A+ to a D rapidly if even one civilian dies otherwise you kill a key suspect. This encourages wanting into different ways. The beanbag shotgun for non-lethal photographs to the physique. Flashbanging occupied rooms as a substitute of merely funneling in. Peeking doorways slowly quite than kicking by way of and alerting everybody apart.
You’ll slowly study that these sorts of ways can typically result in extra success than merely winging it. However if you wish to collect 4 different gamers and make issues up as you go alongside? Go forward. A few of my most hilarious moments in co-op stemmed from watching a squadmate blow themselves up due to a door lure or a single suspect killing three with out breaking a sweat, resulting in the remaining two to finish the mission.
Nevertheless, when you’re expert sufficient, it’s doable to finish all missions utterly solo, relying solely on a silenced pistol. Prepared or Not asks you to stick to its numerous guidelines and rules, that are all based mostly on real-world ways, however mastering them feels all of the extra rewarding. That feeling of energy, as you seamlessly de-escalate conditions earlier than they will really get uncontrolled, rapidly transferring to the subsequent room and finally clearing missions whereas firing as few photographs as doable, is a unique form of gratification.
Chasing that very same excessive by replaying missions and acquiring the very best rating on the very best problem, maybe ultimately embarking on Iron Man Mode, might not be for everybody, and that’s completely effective. It’s the truth that such feats require totally mastering the basics – that are deceptively straightforward to select up – that retains one coming again. One thing might go flawed, however it hardly ever seems like a variable out of your management. And if it occurs regardless, as irritating as it may be, it’s additionally thrilling since you might have quite a few instruments to sort out it and maybe emerge victorious.
Truthfully, I didn’t count on Prepared or Not to actually enamor or captivate me, and but right here we’re. Judging by the optimistic response to the console variations – examine the rankings on each Xbox and PlayStation Shops – evidently others have responded in form. It could not herald one other golden age of SWAT-inspired titles, however on the very least, I’m eager to reply the decision and produce order to chaos as many instances because it takes.