It was never the best fighting game, but Body Blows certainly made an impact. However, the controls are designed for a joystick with one button. It's very hard to get the moves right with a gamepad. I was never very good at this game, but I managed to win once in a while. Now on the PC with a gamepad it's even worse. So I tried the digital Speedlink Competition joystick and that works a lot better. After that I tried an arcade stick, that works as well. Using one of these changes the whole experience.
... well, maybe not the full 25 years, the game made a hell of a first impression. From the beginning it gives the right JA2 vibes, it is as if one never left (at least for those who successfully forgot about JA Rage, Crossfire and Back In Action). Creating your team is basically the same as it was in the previous game. Some characters don't like each other, so you can't put them together without negative side effects. Others work very well together. The firefights are not ALL too realistic, enemies are still kinda dumb and either don't seem to come out of their position at all or they try to overwhelm the player rather than taking cover depending on the situation. Since I count my bullets in these games and rely mostly on sharp shooters, that suits me really well :) But it might not be for everyone. One who is not into micro management might find the different options a bit overwhelming, all the information about a enemies cover and so on. This gives you the chance to plan every move. But you can also just use burst fire and hope for the best. However, in my opinion that neglects the idea behind the gameplay. Bullets bouncing off walls are nicely implemented. The tactical map shows enemy movements and lets you plan where to move your squad or where you have to increase defenders or - if you think you can't handle it - when to retreat from a sector. Leveling the stats and perks of your mercenaries is nothing exceptional, basically works as expected. While I don't like ALL of the voice actors (some I find rather annoying), they bring a bit mor flavour to the game. Of course I didn't play too far into the campaign yet, I am still looking forward what this country still have to offer. One of the aspects that made JA2 great was the interaction with the civilians, the hillbillies for example, which also gave it a certain role playing effect. I hope to find stuff like that here too, but I'm confident. So far I can recommend this without hesitating.
