Jagged Alliance 2

Maybe not as good as the real thing, but it's close! While I was studying, this is the game that stopped me from attending my classes. I lived and breathed this game for about 2 years non-stop and when I could no longer get it to work, I was more than a little sad. Seriously, I nearly cried. For years after, I longed to hear Trevor's voice warning me that he needed "bung a bandage" on a wound or Fox letting me know that "we did 'em all!". When Wildfire came out, I was overjoyed.... until I played it. Wildfire did nothing more than destroy a marvellous game and turn it into a travesty. The game play was 'Improved' to a monstrous level that made it all but impossible to get anything done. I tried to like it, I really did but it was just terrible. They plugged in too much realism. If I wanted to play a game where I couldn't hit anything and died mysteriously after taking a single hit, I'd have gone back to Counter Strike. All of these sad memories are behind me now though. GOG have released my soul with this glorious incarnation of JA2. This is exactly the game I remember from my days as a student. It's not complete;y without blemish, but that's not really a problem. One of the two is that the game crashes AFTER you quit the game... not what I'd really call a problem. I'm quitting anyhow, so who cares? The other issue is a little more serious and that's that my long suffering girlfriend now has to put up with me chaining myself to my computer for a couple of hours each night to play and then listen to another half hour of me raving on (sometimes incoherently) about the "wicked awesome stuff that I just pulled off!". It's sure to drive her crazy if she doesn't start playing it soon too. On the whole. It's awesome. Play it!

I installed this game on three seperate somewhat modern computers (one was actually 10 years old, which is still 10 years younger than the game itself ;) the two others were a laptop that i use for work (lower/mid range) and a gaming laptop (high end). I managed to make it work smoothly on all three, so with a little bit of googling and some 15-20 minutes of work, you should be able to make it work correctly, with no framerate drops. It was easy for me - and i'm no computer expert - so it shouldn't be hard for you, unless you're really unlucky. :::::::::::::::::::::::: and booooy, is it worth it! The game still has it! It's amazing, how you sit down to some of the old wonderfull titles with your nostalgia goggles and they pop right of your face when you see how the game doesn't stand up to today standards at all - but not JA2. The story is fun and interesting, nicely balancing it's serious and quirky tones (something that Sri-Tech were always very skilled at), the strategy is still on a decent level (especially on the higher difficulties - but be warned, they can be killer!) and it manages to be enjoyable throughout. It might get a bit tedious at times though, so be warned - don't put your Napoleon hat to all of the battles, because some of them can be easily rushed with a big and strong enough crew (and then healed quickly at Cambria). What this game does best though, are those little touches, that turn a good TBS into a magical experience. A surprise interaction between characters here, a fun NPC there, some hidden mechanics that you may not even notice the frist time you play through, maybe a completely reduntant (yet hillarious) in-game website that you can unlock via links... there's seemingly an unending supply of small yet interesting additional content, that didn't need to be in the game, but is there nonetheless. And it all makes the game impossible not to love.

this was a good game but this version does not work on Windows 11

Enjoyed this so much as a kid i had to get it again. I formed a bond with all the mercs again and loved every second. Just remember to run as administrator otherwise no save files...

if you haven't given this a go, do it. Like x-com but better... is what I would say about jagged alliance I. JA2 takes things to a whole new level of involvement. Whether you want to strategically take over a country with a band of mercenaries or create the ultimate loner merc to do blaze through the countryside a in a laze of glory, hell if you get bored why no opt for some weird alien type creatures! guns galore strange side missions, detail and involvement at every step. S I repeat, if you haven't tried this game try it now!