GS: There are at least three other topics we'd like to ask about: guns, guns, and guns. What new weapons are in the expansion? Is there any other new equipment or gear, as well? And will any of these new toys be playable in the existing SWAT 4 missions?

PP: We like our guns, too, and take them very seriously. In fact, we received a lot of praise for our realistic weapons and our accurate ballistics in SWAT 4, and Irrational Games continues its excellent work in the expansion pack.

There are about a dozen new weapons and tactical items. This time some of them are team specific. For starters, SWAT gets the Colt accurized rifle for sniping and a 40x46mm grenade launcher for taking out suspects with less-lethal rounds at a distance, while the suspects get the likes of a 5.56mm light machine gun. We have taken time to carefully balance multiplayer so that you can play well-matched rounds with each side having different equipment, but we did put in an option that allows all of the weapons to be available to either team.

Included in the tactical gear are night-vision goggles, an ammo pouch that can be equipped to hold additional ammunition, lightsticks for marking cleared rooms, and a no-armor option in multiplayer that allows for faster character movement but obviously makes the player more vulnerable.

New to the expansion pack is weapon and equipment progression. In other words, you don't get all of these weapons and gadgets at once. Now, you have to put a little time in and earn them. Each new mission comes with a new weapon or gadget that is best suited for the trouble ahead. Once you have that weapon it is yours to keep. You can equip it and take it into any of the new missions or even go back and replay the previous levels from the expansion pack or the original game.