Jagged Alliance

old but gold, turn based strategy game, which can be really challenging to all kinds of players, yet still fun

This game came out in 1994 but it's still very enjoyable nowadays. The player gets to manage a team of mercenaries, each with his/her peronality quirks, who have to (re)conquer several key sectors in an island. The commands ar easy to understand, the graphics fine and the dialogues wonderful (albeit a little limited). The only flaw in this game is the somewhat repetitive gameplay: after a while it gets boring.

It took me a while to fully get into this game. The graphics look dated, the voice acting is cheesy, the game is full of stereotypes and the gameplay feels rather slow. However, after a while it started growing on me, the issues didn't go away, but I had more and more fun as I progressed through the game. Your mercenaries will improve their skills, you'll find better gear and you'll be able to hire even better mercenaries, making you feel more powerful and skilled in-game.

I never played any JA growing up. The second game, and now the third, looked like cool experiences, so I bought the first two games on cheap. I took a couple of evenings to really dig into the 40-ish page manual (minus the inventory sections) to understand the game mechanics. For a 1994 game, the tactical strategy opportunities are quite amazing! However, playing the game, I found the micro-managing when entering a new region to be incredibly slow and dull. When you're in combat, things are tense as you use cover, sneak up on enemy positions, and everything else you'd expect from a tactical game. When there's one enemy you haven't found yet on a somewhat large map, moving 8 characters around individually at a snail's pace is horrid. I know Baldur's Gate came out several years later, but they had the system nailed down with RTWP. Slow the action down when you need it, but keep it fast when you have things under control. Even having a similar system where turn-based kicks on once an enemy detects you or vice versa would have been an improvement. I suppose the enemy logic is probably dependent on patrolling at the same time you are, so it keeps things fair. It's not a particularly bad game, as the underlying systems seem solid and incredibly well thought out. However, I did find it an incredibly dull and not particularly fun game to sink my teeth into, so I had to lower my score. Looking forward to JA2 and eventually JA3.

Simply just one of the best games ever. Looks simple, but it is deeper than you might think. the characters are....well characters, and that is unusual for a game like this.