Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games

I wasn't sure what to think when I found I has got this game free. At first I thought it looked like a typical bland war RTS, but it proved to be so much more. It's a turn-based strategy game, but I've never played anything like it. The game combines turn-based strategy with light RPG elements, such as being able to choose what weapons and armor you want your mercs to have, as you find equipment throughout the maps. The game feels near endless: you have a ton of mercs to recruit (70), but can only have 8 in each mission, meaning you can have a different team in each map, adding some refreshing variety. Each merc even has their own personality, and will often share their thoughts of the situation while on the battlefield. You also have a level editor, making the game last even longer. Some of the small touches, such as the mercs personalities, make the game feel overall very polished and enjoyable. Simply put, if you are a fan of turn-based strategy games, and are looking for something a bit different from the standard formula, this is a must-have.

Deadly Games is often referred as 'a stand-alone expansion pack' or 'JA 1.5'. It's hard not to agree with that. Providing you with a good selection of stand-alone missions, wider range of mercenary and a scenario editor, something is still lacking. The campaign can be considered a letdown, while being pretty pretty engaging, it lacks the strategic<->tactical aspect that people loved about JA1. Not to mention deals that Mickey provides are more of a bother than actual worth. Overall it's a fun game, especially through the multiplayer option (for the first and only time in JA franchise!), with some replay value due to the scenario editor. But you'll probably find yourself going back to JA1 rather to this one more often. This one just lacks "that thing" that made JA1 so fun.

I owe this game only because GOG being so generous and gifted me this tricky present. Why tricky? Because now I must buy a whole series of JA! But let's start from the beginning... I knew JA but never played it. A long time ago I tried to play JA2: Unfinished Business but that time I was too young for such a complex game. Now I was gifted with JA: Deadly Games and my first thought was that it's awful. But I only watched screenshots on game's site. When I gave it a try I was amazed! You might think that graphics is a horror until you see it live. Come and see how mercs are moving and how suggestive those moves are. See their beautifuly drawn and animated faces when they are commenting situation. Audiovisual setting is awesome. It's not about resolution but it's about making game live. Mercs have their own souls, they might like and dislike each other and you'll soon know it. You' ll certainly not like anyone of them die, they are persons not nameless grunts. I found that complexity of game is now a gem. When you're surrounded with casuals, a real oldschool complex game is wonderful experience. I know that's not full JA strategic experience but it's fine first step towards JA. The only thing that I don't like is lacking of manual. It's hard to understand mechanics of JA so you'll need to find and read one singlehandedly because GOG didn't provided it. JA: Deadly Games is not a good old game, it's great old game and I even can't imagine how great JA must be! Now don't judge this a horse crap because it's old and free. Give it a try, Woody!

This is it – my favorite TBS game of all time. Digital crack. Chronologically, it lands between JA & JA2. Style-wise, it’s a great compromise between the two. It looks and feels closer to JA, while not as slow and clunky as JA, but avoiding the over-fiddliness of JA2. What really makes it superior to those two (very good, mind you) editions, though, is the nature of your missions. In JA 1&2, you’re working towards a greater goal – but most of what you do is just “kill everyone in the sector, move guards in to hold the sector”. In JADG, you have individual missions linked together (in the main campaign, plus you can use the editor to link any missions you want) – and each of these missions is different. Sometimes it’s to kill everyone, sometimes it’s to just locate someone or something, sometimes it’s to reach a certain area, or to escort an NPC there, or to blow something up, or to retrieve any item. It’s got variety! And, equally important – it’s got a time limit. Sometimes these time limits make logical story sense, sometimes not, but from a strategic standpoint, they are fantastic. Missions where you could easily chip at your opponents slowly and safely become frantic and dangerous when you’ve only got 4 turns left and aren’t that close yet. If you look hard enough online (maybe using wayback?) there used to be a lot of great user-made missions to add to your replayability. You can also challenge yourself by toughening up all sorts of other settings – make your max team size really small, make your max team size big (and voluntarily always fill all 8 slots – you’ll end up used some low-competence mercs), make opponents super-tough, reduce your bankroll, set it to lousy equipment, etc.