Interview: Ken Thatcher on SWAT’s move from PC to PSP

If you were able to play Sierra Entertainment‘s SWAT series on the PC, you can’t deny the fact that it recreates a lot of great action our armored boys in blue go through whenever they go on a raid. In an interview conducted by IGN with the game series’ consultant, ex-SWAT member Ken Thatcher talks about some the changes in the new SWAT game, SWAT: Target Liberty for the PSP.

One of the most obvious changes, of course, is the handheld version of the game will be a third-person shooter rather than the standard FPS that SWAT 4 follows. Ken Thatcher fills in the same role he had in creating the previous SWAT games, where he tries to make the operator’s movement as authentic as possible.

In terms of the realism the weapons have in the game, Thatcher says that they were trying to get a good balance from the game’s arsenal with real life weapons so it wouldn’t look like every bad guy could be taken down with just one shot. He also discussed the fact that bullet penetration for SWAT: Target Liberty won’t be focused on as much as the PC version. So if you think you can snipe terrorists behind wooden walls like before, then think again.

Because of the high amount of realism the game takes from real-life SWAT experiences and operations, there were some concerns expressed whether or not criminals will learn SWAT tactics from the information used in the game. Thatcher explained that this wasn’t that big a deal, saying:

We are always concerned about how video games influences our fans but in this case SWAT: Target Liberty is very much inspired and incorporates the everyday roles of what SWAT officers are trained to do. The game in no way provides enough detailed tactics to train an untrained person. However, we do try to give some insight into the real life training process through the bonus videos included with the game.

SWAT: Target Liberty will be hitting stores this October 16 exclusively for the PSP.

If you were able to play Sierra Entertainment‘s SWAT series on the PC, you can’t deny the fact that it recreates a lot of great action our armored boys in blue go through whenever they go on a raid. In an interview conducted by IGN with the game series’ consultant, ex-SWAT member Ken Thatcher talks about some the changes in the new SWAT game, SWAT: Target Liberty for the PSP.

One of the most obvious changes, of course, is the handheld version of the game will be a third-person shooter rather than the standard FPS that SWAT 4 follows. Ken Thatcher fills in the same role he had in creating the previous SWAT games, where he tries to make the operator’s movement as authentic as possible.

In terms of the realism the weapons have in the game, Thatcher says that they were trying to get a good balance from the game’s arsenal with real life weapons so it wouldn’t look like every bad guy could be taken down with just one shot. He also discussed the fact that bullet penetration for SWAT: Target Liberty won’t be focused on as much as the PC version. So if you think you can snipe terrorists behind wooden walls like before, then think again.

Because of the high amount of realism the game takes from real-life SWAT experiences and operations, there were some concerns expressed whether or not criminals will learn SWAT tactics from the information used in the game. Thatcher explained that this wasn’t that big a deal, saying:

We are always concerned about how video games influences our fans but in this case SWAT: Target Liberty is very much inspired and incorporates the everyday roles of what SWAT officers are trained to do. The game in no way provides enough detailed tactics to train an untrained person. However, we do try to give some insight into the real life training process through the bonus videos included with the game.

SWAT: Target Liberty will be hitting stores this October 16 exclusively for the PSP.