SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle

Sierra Studios

Boxshot Copyright: Sierra Studios

From CNN                                                                                 Click Here to Read the Full Review

Topping off the almost always stellar gameplay are crisp graphics, ...and immersive sound.

                                                                                                                                               --D. Ian Hooper            

From The Adrenaline Vault                                                      Click Here to Read the Full Review

Sound FX: I've made a big deal over SWAT 3's ability to capture your attention. Perhaps the largest single factor in how it does this is with its sound effects. Communication between SWAT members is paramount to survival, and the voice acting they've recorded for this is top-notch. There is true emotion in the voices of your officers and in that of the enemy. You can hear the fear in a hostage's plea for help, or the adrenaline running through an enemy as he threatens to blow away an innocent civilian. Enough cannot be said about how effective the voice communications are in this game. The sound effects used for simulating gunfire and other weapons are distinct and well done. Ambient noises also add a lot to the atmosphere. Without question these are some of the best sound effects ever.

Musical Score: SWAT 3 mixes CD-quality sound into its gameplay with seamless precision. The designers have taken their time and crafted tracks that fit the mood of each level. Where discretion is needed the music fades into the background, and conversely when the action heats up the music fills your senses with added energy. All of the gameplay attributes would not have been as effective as they were without the musical score. I've not heard better in a game of this type.

                                                                                                                                               --Chris Harding

From The Wargamer                                                              Click Here to Read the Full Review

SWAT 3 has one more aspect that really makes this one of the finer titles of 1999: audio. The sound in this game is nothing short of brilliant, and easily is at the top of the PC market in terms of the use of the audio elements to completely submerge the player into the world of SWAT.

                                                                                                                                               --Chris Abele

From E-Gamez                                                                        Click Here to Read the Full Review

The audio in this game is among the best. Real commands and responses make the game outstanding. Here is an example to show how good the sound on this game really is. While I was playing I happen to be talking to a friend on the phone, and he asked me what movie I was watching. When I told him I was playing a game his response was, "Damn that sounds (*%^#ing) awesome!" Also the sounds of bullets striking into material is very good. When you shoot a window it makes a breaking sound. I even tested it on other items which were glass or metal that I did not expect to have proper sounds to things such as toasters, televisions, and pictures. This detail really adds to the game.

                                                                                                                                              --Element

From IGN PC                                                                               Click Here to Read the Full Review

The audio team did a great job with SWAT 3 overall, and everything from the voices to the sound effects to the environmental reverbs sound perfect.

                                                                                                            -- Tal Blevins

From Gib World                                                                          Click Here to Read the Full Review

Sound FX
    The sound effects in Swat 3 are simply superb and ooze atmosphere. The cross-talk between your team-mates is excellent and detailed, making you feel like you're in an episode of Cops! If you shoot an enemy in the leg they will howl in pain, or run away, their footsteps getting quieter as they make good their escape. Weapons and environmental sounds are also highly realistic, and I often found myself lining the enemies up for a massacre via glass windows, simply because the sound the bullet makes as it travels through the glass is so cool.
                                                                                                            -- Man1c M0g

Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh

Sierra Studios

Boxshot Copyright: Sierra Studios

This is without a doubt my favourite review of all time...

From Gamespot                                                                             Click Here to Read the Full Review

As it stands, only the music of the game manages to provide any mood - and Gary Spinrad's haunting score seems wasted on what amounts to a trashy, B-rate sci-fi thriller.

                                                                                                            -- Ron Dulin

Thanks, Ron. That made my year. -GS