SWAT 3 was the third Police Quest: SWAT game. The first to drop the title of the franchise it was originally part of. It switched from being a pseudo adventure game to being an FPS. It takes a more Rainbow Six inspired approach only with a greater focus on police procedure. The player needs to report suspects, collect evidence and most of your missions deal with small scale engagements. One of the first missions for instance is a suspect barricaded inside his house. This gives the game a great sense of identity compared to most tactical FPS's.

However there is a big elephant in the room. And that's its sequel: SWAT 4. In almost every way SWAT 4 is the better game, except in one. SWAT 3 is a much faster paced FPS and at times it even feels like a run and gun one. It's even more fun to replay than Rainbow Six because of how fast the player moves. But at the same time issuing commands to your squadmates is so slow and clumsy in comparison to 4 that you inevitably need to slow down eventually. It also runs much worse than SWAT 4 and takes a lot more work to get running correctly.

Ultimately you are spoiled for choice as I can easily see why people really like 3, but I can also see why 4 is the more fondly remembered game.