After playing and finishing Jagged Alliance 2, i decided to write a quick review - praising JA2 (and rightfully so) for the abundance of positive aspects this Turn Based Tactics title possessed. Playing that game on the hardest difficulty with Iron Man mode enabled was not only viable and very much possible, it was also ENTERTAINING despite obviously being difficult. The original game provided a real challenge, but the freedom of choice in JA2 also gave players some much needed breathing space, allowing various strategies and approaches in order to finally defeat Deidriana. In other words, JA2 was well balanced, a property that JA2 UB does not have by a long shot. So as mentioned earlier, after finishing JA2 on Expert Diffuclty with Iron Man Mode, i wanted to do the same thing for Unfinished Business... Let me tell you, if you plan on doing this also - save yourself some time and nerves. JA2 UB just takes the original game and its assets and squeezes the hell out of them with repetitious and gruelling combat. We basically get about a dozen maps where we are severely outgunned and outmanned by camping enemy troops and every battle becomes nothing more than a chore. Get ready to save and load a few dozen times for every battle, because JA UB was not scripted to have balanced enemies - rather it has passive enemies that are waiting in shadows to kill your mercs and urinate on their still barely warm corpses. There isn't much new when it comes to the additions for this expansion pack either. We have a few funny NPC's, a new map (a very small one) and 9 new guns,3 of which for some reason (i still ponder to this day) are wacky, odd Calico 9mm pistols in a handgun, rifle and smg configuration. How do you add 9 guns with 3 of them being sucky, puny Calico's is beyond me. By the end of the game,after you kill the Barrett wielding antagonist, you will genuinely breathe out with relief that you can finally uninstall this game. JA 2 UB is a clanky expansion for a great TBS.
Reviewing games like Jagged Alliance 2 is both difficult and exciting at the same time, it is an honour and a challenge because this title is unique on so many levels, describing every aspect and every strong side in one short review is impossible! To start, this game hits the nostalgia spot almost like no other old game that I've played (and I've played many!) I first played JA2 as a 10 year old kid somewhere around 2000-2001 and instantly fell in love with this TBT, every little detail of the game just resonated with me (the Sir-Tec Laptop with the cool music, the way you could hire all kinds of unique mercenaries, the E-Mails you would receive from various senders, etc) and relatively quickly,I learned how to actually deploy the mercs onto the field. The combat elements in the game were just as well made as the OST and UI, and i was excited to see the HUGE variety of the guns that the game offered - I still remember the thrill of finding some kind of a new, unknown rifle or an odd item. But despite all these things, as a child, i didn't grasp the economical/strategic aspect of the game and have eventually abandoned it for a few years. Later, I would play and beat JA2 and UB on Normal Difficulty. But now when I have just replayed and finished the game on Expert Mode with Iron Man being selected, all can say is - JA2 is amazing this day still, the replayability value is insane and I recommend playing this game on Expert & Iron Man mode to see the game in all its beauty. JA2 has so many hidden sidequests, unique NPC's, different approaches to major challenges (You can outright exterminate the Crepitus with sheer firepower or use stealth, or even assemble a freaking mini-robot) and finishing the game in one take is essentially impossible - you will find yourself coming back to this game, almost like you re-read a favourite book once in a decade again. Despite 22 years (!) later, no-one was able to make anything close to JA2 - This is a legendary game like no other!
Before i write the review itself, i will mention one thing: If you played this game before and/or generally deem yourself to be a connoisseur of good old games, you will likely enjoy Revenant. If, however, you are a younger player or if you have no experience playing old PC games, i recommend getting something else - chances are 9 out of 10,you will be dissapointed and slightly irritated after playing Revenant. I personally bought Revenant because i never got around to finishing it during my childhood days - I decided to finally beat the game now, more than 22 years after it first came out. Now that i finished this RPG/Mortal Combat hybrid, it doesnt surprise me that I abandoned it in the first place, and here are the reasons: - There are no proper town portals, dispite the fact that the original Diablo came out years prior to this game. Sure, you have waypoints popping up every level or so, but the mechanic is clanky. - Very often levels are designed to be an annoying maze. This wouldn't be a problem if there would be a town portal mechanic. The game has strong sides to it. It has its visual charm, its own distinct feel to it. But for the most part, everything is somewhat lackluster - not bad, but not great as well. Plotline wise, you can tell instantly that the devs were inspired by Elric of Melnibone, but where Elric felt well written and badass, here the protagonist feels more like Squidward Tentacles - a grim, silent misfit without any sense of humour, and more importantly, one that has no charisma or an aura of dangerousness around him. The same goes for ALL NPC's and the general plotline and the lore as well: They are all present in the game, seemingly for the sake of just being filler material - you don't really feel their presence and could care less as to what happens next. Voice acting is funny at best, and pretty damn bad at worst. All in all, it's an OK RPG with interesting combat mechanics, but its hard to see it as anything but a Diablo clone
Nox is a perfect example on an old game that brings back only the brightest memories AND holds up impressively well even today, both visually and gameplay wise. While it isn't (and never was designed to be) as deep in terms of RPG elements and character development, it is nonetheless still a solid title that possesses many strong sides, such as an interesting plotline, a wonderful soundtrack and excellent, colorful graphics. Players will take on the role of Jack, an ordinary young man from our modern world that unknowingly has in his possession an artifact from a different dimension. When a malevolent necromancer witch summons the mentioned artifact into her own magical, fantasy world, Jack gets sucked into the world of Nox as well,and thus the adventure begins. In order to find a way to return home, Jack needs to stop the evil witch that unintentionally brought him into the foreign world of Nox. Gameplay wise, Nox is divided into three separate campaigns (for each separate class). Players can choose between a Warrior, a Conjurer and a Wizard. There is no skill tree but rather, certain spells can be learned from tomes or will be automatically assigned by gaining new levels (in case of the warrior). It feels as if Westwood deliberately made Nox as an action oriented type of an RPG with a minimal amount of any point destribution. Where this game really shines is the actual setting, with the world of Nox being really diverse in terms of level design. Players will get to clear dungeons filled with undead, explore wilderlands full of caves and forests, fight off savage Ogres and just get a chance to visit a few cities and a village (all filled with funny or just interesting NPC's with voiced dialogue lines). Combat is usually more fast paced and feels more like an isometric action game compared to similar RPG's. The game has alot of cool looking medieval items and dynamic looking spell effects. Nox is definitely worth a try for all RPG fans and old school gamers!
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans is an example of the earliest RTS that hit the market and soon became an instant success (although most of the fame passed onto Warcraft II that was released soon after and had major improvements in terms of user interface elements.) In a way, it's a bit sad that Warcraft I was overshadowed by it's sequel - because even though this RTS wasn't as polished in terms of gameplay or the abovementioned UI, Orcs & Humans was,for it's time, a really well made, high quality game. Obviously drawing inspiration from Dune II, Blizzard Entertainment managed to adapt and implement their own first RTS title in a grim, dark fantasy setting; the (now well known) world of Azeroth, once a seemingly peaceful human plane becomes suddenly beleaguered by bloodthirsty, battailous orcs that come from an another, foreign world. In a nutshell, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans can be defined simply as a fantasy analogue of the sci-fi Dune II. It lacks any major distinctions or noticable differences of units or spells amongst the two opposing factions (unlike Warcraft II, where we first begin to see major differences in tactics and armies), however, the game is still designed in a really solid manner, despite not being particularly original in it's initial concept. For a title made in 1994,(and even to this day, if you are an old-school gamer),Wacraft I possesses awesome, unique grapical style and visuals. Each of the two factions have their own seperate musical soundtracks, which are also pretty atmospheric and are a treat to listen to. All missions in the game were designed in a scrupulous, clever manner, with tasks ranging from old fashioned all out war and ending with covert, tactical dungeon raids without any bases or additional reinforcements. An another major achievemnt that Blizzard managed to actualize in Warcraft I is multiplayer. To this day, players can clash swords and compete in strategy through DosBox. I definitely rate this game 5/5 and recommend it to all!
