The fact that the mod builds upon SMOD allows for it to take all of the substantial improvements included in it and focus on adding tactical and realistic elements and tweaks on top of what is already present. The base mod itself adds several sexy new visual effects like depth-of-field, screen blur, and more. When it comes to other features, remember the Mighty Foot from Duke Nukem 3D, where you could kick in front of you without lowering your primary weapon? SMOD has that as well, and it pays to use it in the Tactical version. You can even enable a FEAR-like “bullet time” effect if you like your tactical gaming with a healthy dose of player-controlled time-shifting.

Where SMOD: Tactical truly shines is with how solid the weapons feel and how satisfying their performance is. No longer must you pummel your enemies with a hail of bullets to get them to drop. Instead, a few well-placed shots will bring down most – the trick, of course, is to maneuver and fight in such a way that you’re able to put those accurate rounds onto your foes without being perforated in return. In that respect, it is a significantly more tactical combat experience than Half-Life 2, and thanks to SMOD, the brutality of the combat is pure over-the-top insanity. Blood gushes out in geysers, painting huge splashes of crimson on the walls, while sparks, dust, and debris explode from each bullet impact.