SWAT 3: Elite Edition is a first-person tactical police simulation. Live the life of an LAPD SWAT officer as you rescue hostages and dole out the justice in this action-packed tactical game. SWAT 3: CQB's twenty missions are set in Los Angeles in the year 2005. Various recognizable locations, such as LAX and the Convention Center, as well as LA's storm drains and entertainment centers, are some of the settings for the various missions.

Missions are populated with a wide assortment of AI driven bad guys, ranging from fanatic fundamentalists and extremists, to international terrorists and disgruntled Joe-citizens. All have wrecked havoc on the City of Angels and her citizens by committing a deadly crime, giving CQB's pro-active SWAT team the authority to shoot at will. Of course, SWAT is a civil law enforcement agency and not a military unit, so laws still apply to them.