SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate

*"The Stetchkov Syndicate" redirects here. For the criminals organization, see "Stetchkov Syndicate (faction)".*
**SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate** is the 2006 expansion to Irrational Games' SWAT 4. It added seven new missions, lightsticks, five new pieces of equipment, voice-over IP, melee, and a plethora of other features. For the sake of convenience, it is also referred to as SWAT 4: TSS in short.

## Missions and Career

The new career mode is composed of 7 new missions, and it deals with Stetchkov Syndicate's attempt to take over the city's criminal underworld and the SWAT's response to stop their effort.

After successfully unlocking the next mission in career mode, a new weapon or piece of equipment is subsequently unlocked to the Player to use. The layout and archetypes of the expansion may also be used in the Quick Mission Maker for customization, casual mission making etc.

Below is a table of the list of equipment unlocked after successfully availing the next mission in the campaign.

*Note: The statistics stated below are with respect to the Elite Force mod. To find out the order of weapons unlocked in the unmodded version, simply hover over the dotted line that lies below the respective weapon name laid beside the mission name for which you wish to know.*

## Weapons and Equipment

A wide range of new weapons and equipment was introduced into the game. These newer weapons however could only be used if they were unlocked by the Player in the singleplayer campaign. In the SWAT: Elite Force, the weapon unlock system was completely changed and revamped to suit the massive change in the campaign mode and to welcome the newly introduced weapons from the SAS mod as well, resulting in dual equipment unlocks from a single mission itself.

The list of new weapons and equipment introduced into the game is mentioned below in the form of a table

## Additional Features

The Stetchkov Syndicate had also introduced numerous other miscellaneous features apart from just weapons and tactical equipment. They are briefly listed below.

### General

* The expansion pack allowed the player to perform melee attacks by pressing the 'B' (default) key to bring about compliance from non-cooperating subjects. However, if performed excessively the victim may become incapacitated inviting penalties at the end of the mission.
* Lightsticks, a form of tactical equipment, could be dropped at any location by either an Officer or the Player himself for the purpose of marking progress, lighting the area etc. (Read Lightstick for more information)
* When surrendered suspects are left unattended, they may pick up their firearm and either flee or may also aggressively attack the team if present nearby. This feature made the game more realistic and also made it equally important to swiftly restrain subjects who have complied immediately.
* On holding CTRL (default) key while issuing commands to the team, the issued commands are kept on 'hold' and is performed by the team only when the leader calls to 'initiate'. Hence, making it easier to synchronize the movements and operations of the two separate teams in order to gain a significant tactical advantage.

### Multiplayer

* Smash & Grab competitive mode is added. The suspects must collect the briefcase and take it to the exit before the timer runs out. The officers must stop the suspects from reaching the exit with the briefcase. If a suspect is arrested, 30 seconds are deduced from the game clock; if a suspect is killed or arrested carrying the briefcase, the case stays where it is dropped. Officers cannot pick up the briefcase.
* The co-op capacity was doubled from five to ten and the team was divided respectively into Red and Blue, each led by an individual leader. The Red team would always begin the map from the alternative entrance, if any, and the Blue team from the front or default entrance.
* An elaborate voting system was also introduced for general player base control over a server. Earlier, in the absence of an administrator, it was often difficult to *co-op*with "trolls", AFK players etc. With the introduction of the voting system, players could now collectively vote to kick such players, vote for a specific map and so on.
* Verbal communication was deemed necessary to enjoy co-op and to subsequently make it easier to communicate between players, therefore voice-over IP was introduced and all the players required was a functioning microphone.

## SWAT: Elite Force

SWAT: Elite Force is a mod developed based on TSS. The mod focuses on giving the game's players a more lively experience. It brings about a more realistic nature, restores cut content and aims to fix what was left either incomplete or unsatisfactory.

## Critical Reception

The expansion pack of SWAT 4 was received well and gained many positive reviews; earning 80% on Metacritic, 9.2 on ModDB and 80% on GameFAQ's.

## References

1. ↑ Released under the Sierra Entertainment brand name.

## See Also

* SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate on Police Quest Omnipedia
* SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate on Mod DB
* SWAT 4 Gold Edition on GOG.com