Jagged Alliance 2

Yes the graphics are dated, yes it crashes to desktop every few hours, yes the formulas are dodgy. Has there been been a similar game I've enjoyed as thoroughly in the past ~10 years? Surprisingly enough, the answer is no. (Fallout Tactics does deserve an honorable mention though.) Why? The world is sandbox-y enough for replayability, yet straightforward enough to enact a true plan. The MANY characters are unforgettably hilarious and have unique interactions with each other, all very well voiced acted. RPG style character and inventory building create clever logistic opportunites... hit the objective now or wait for your sniper get out of the hospital in 48 hours (with your mail order ak-47 in 72 hours) but face enemy reinforcements? PS There's a very active mod community out there that has fixed many of the ills and limitations of JA2 out there. You owe it to yourself to check them out.

Okay, obvious bits. It's a turn based strategy game - if you've played x-com or any of it's children (not the runty offspring like interceptor but instead TFTD or Apocalypse), Laser Squad, or even MissonForce : Cyberstorm, you'll have a fairly good and instant feel for what you're looking at. However, this has two distinctly major features that many (including and some will probably shoot me for saying this, the first x-com) of these games lack, first and most notably, it has *character*. I don't mean as in the many mercenaries you can hire, but more the fact that these mercenaries actually have had enough time invested in their backgrounds and persona (see Buzz for a prime example) to actually make them a bit more than just nameless cannon fodder. You will almost certainly come to care enough about your favourite mercs that you will not want them to die over the rather hefty campaign. It's not just the attention to detail that the mercenaries got either, the guns all come with various "Fallout" style commentary attached, the items are more meaningful than just "Gun of killzap +2" , and the armour actually has quite a noticeable effect between the levels available. All of your equipment is subject to wear and tear so field maintenance and first aid also become priorities, remember, you're out in the middle of nowhereland, you do not get free medpacks and respawn points. The campaign itself is both open ended enough that you can choose quite a few "paths to victory" (even though they all culminate in the same final sequence, namely the queen taking a bullet to the head), but the options to get there are left more or less in the hands of the player (nagging employer aside). The open ended nature encourages multiple playthroughs to test different combat strategies, different mercenary setups, and different orders to take the cities, you will get your money's worth here. One major word of warning - this game does require you to think a little more than the usual red alert style RTS's that currently dominate the market, and not paying attention to cover, line of sight, and ensuring that your mercs watch their back will net you a very fast and painful lesson. Even the so called "novice" difficulty is not exactly beginner friendly, so for new players, this will prove somewhat of a steep learning curve. The reward for the climb is in my opinion, one of the best Turn Based Strategies available, only just behind the likes of the sublime X-Com: Terror From the Deep and easily ahead of much more modern offerings. If you have the patience and time to learn and get into an old gem, make it this one. /Eryn

Jagged Alliance 2 is one of those "good old games" that you never really are able to get away from. It keeps drawing you back to it, even if you get frustrated with your mercenaries constantly missing and getting shot while behind full cover... but I get ahead of myself. JA2 is turn-based strategy from the golden era of the genre. I can't speak with great experience on this point: I never played X-Com (though I know it is the grandfather of all turn-based squad games), I haven't picked up any other parts of the Jagged Alliance series... the extent of my experience is pretty much Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics: Advance. I come from a background of RPG and RTS games (Age of Empires 2, Baldur's Gate, and Starcraft defined my youth), but JA2 was pure delight. Once you acclimate to the somewhat pixely interface (it's really not that bad, especially if you play older games frequently), you'll find that it's quite efficiently designed. It looks overwhelming at first simply because there are PILES of things you can control. JA2 doesn't do anything for you: if micromanagement is a pet peeve of yours, you may want to look elsewhere. But, having spent hours on end sifting through suits of armor, a variety of magical swords, spells scrolls, and potion bottles, I was more than ready to do the same in a modern context. And there is plenty of STUFF- you can expect to manage weapons (guns, knives, crowbars, rocket launchers, grenades, etc.), armor (helmets, armored vests, armored pants), eyewear (sunglasses, night-vision goggles, gas masks), ammunition (a variety of calibers and clip sizes), medical supplies (first aid kits, surgery supplies, adrenaline shots), explosives (TNT, RMX, grenades, mines, mortars), mechanical supplies (tool kits, lockpicking sets, metal detectors, x-ray machines), and all the rest of the STUFF you encounter around Arulco, from platinum watches to gum wrappers to priceless national relics. JA2 gives you the opportunity to create "your" character (though it isn't technically a representation of you in the game world, as the game can go on if your character is killed), but where it truly shines is in the roster of mercenaries you can recruit from the Association of International Mercenaries (A.I.M.) and A More Economical Recruiting Company (M.E.R.C.) (not sure about the C on there...). AIM offers 40 (count 'em!) unique mercenaries to choose from, all with a unique personality, voicelines, and skills. There are the obvious characteristics: HP, marksmanship, salary, etc., but many mercenaries also have quirks. Vicki, for example, is terribly claustrophobic and her usually deadly effectiveness in combat will ebb quickly in enclosed spaces. Other mercenaries have "personal problems" with each other and can cause conflict if placed on the same time. Some of these are overt, others have to be discovered (or looked up). The combat system is about as simple and intuitive as you'd want it to be. Any less complex and you'd feel gypped out of features. Each merc gets a number of Action Points every turn, which is influenced both by the merc's baseline level (some equation of agility, strength, and skill, I believe) as well as conditions. A well-rested merc who has been watching his enemies from afar in a prone position with an eye on his/her scope will have more APs than one who hasn't slept in two days and just ran halfway across a village dodging automatic weapons fire. It's a surprisingly elegant and nuanced system that is too complex for a review, but take it from a gamer who knows next to nothing about the hard code and "rules" of games like this: it makes sense, folks! Though the game has a linear goal (Kill the dictator!), you're free to pursue it in whatever order you want after arriving in Arulco. The game forces you to seek out the leader of the Arulcan Rebels, and strongly suggests you begin in Drassen, the nearest city (which conveniently also has an airport), but beyond that you are essentially on your own. You don't technically HAVE to capture all of the cities to win-- killing Deidranna is an automatic win trigger-- but you're sort of missing out on the experience otherwise. There are speedruns on youtube if you're really into that sort of thing. To wrap up, I really dig this game. I am not what you would call a "power gamer," I've beaten probably less than 25% of the games that I own, and my gamer friends are often frustrated by my lack of competitive edge for things like Halo, CoD, and so on. But even though JA2 is hard-- and trust me, it is HARD-- you'll keep coming back. Because the next headshot could be the one that makes that enemy commando's head explode in a shower of brains and blood as your merc laughs maniacally... assuming you have gore turned on, anyway. One last note: most of the community will suggest you get the v1.13 mod. I can't speak to it because I've not tried it, but I adore the game without it. One day I'll mod up and perhaps edit this review to reflect that, but if things like "user-created content" excite but scare you, rest assured you don't need it to have a blast with JA2.

This game is totally amazing it has a lot to do and it feels like it will never end! The game is tactical on about four levels, first you have your choice of mercs and equipment, then you have to make the right tactical choices one the overhead map, then on the battlefield itself and after the battle you have to take care of your mercs and make sure they develop in the direction you want. To get new equipment you either take them from the enemy or order them and get them flown in to an air port of your control. To make money, you take control of mines. The mines and airport is easy to see on the map and also give tyou options to train your mercs or even train a militia so you don always have to have mercs in that area. Its very cool that a lot of small things that you don't expect, actually happen JA2. My merc actually feel over a roadblock while he was trying to jump over it and fainted! He was out for about five rounds! I couldn't believe my eyes! It was all very cool. There is of course billions of other options and possibilities but that would take forever to describe. The bad thing is that JA2 is VERY hard and this makes the gave very unforgiving. Even at the easiest level I have trouble in the beginning of the game. Much of this is because you almost need to know the whole game before you play it, you need to know what the mercs can do, where the buttons are, etc. A lack of and in game tutorial does not help either. So, the learning curve is hard? Does it matter? Well, yes and no. It dosn't matter if you actually take your time and get to know the game, but if you you don't have that time or patience...well then it could really be a problem. I also strongly recommend to install the 1.13 mod for JA2, it gives the game a totally new dimension and makes a great game, even better. So if you have the time and patience to to learn this incredibly deep game, this game is totally for you.