Jagged Alliance 2

I have to admit I only bought this game when it was on sale for about $3 or $4. I wasn't expecting much at all. I am a big fan of the XCOM series and every turn based strategy game I play immediately gets compared to that. It probably isn't fair, but in this case Jagged Alliance 2 came through thoroughly and completely! This is now one of my favorite games and though I am loathe to admit it I believe given a direct comparison between JA2 and XCOM, JA2 is going to win out. It isn't often that a game takes me by surprise and blows me away, but this one did it. While it has its quirks such as being a bit buggy I found that it is something I can not only tolerate, but hardly seem to notice. It is simply that good and immersive. There is a good, but not overly complex rpg element to it which compliments the strategy elemet which is the main part of the game very nicely. The graphics really are not that bad considering how old the game is. The game can be slow at times and more than once I got frustrated, but the things it gets right just make all of those issues seem petty. If you want a classic example of turn based strategy done correctly you can't really do much better than this or at least I haven't seen or played anything much better.

If you haven't played it, get it now. God, I miss this game. I've played it so often now a new playthrough has nothing to offer, to the point I remember where the cover spots and loot items are, not to mention the "recruit for a day for the kit" tricks and character synergies/conflicts. Or how to answer each starting quiz question to get the exact custom merc I want. Someone really needs to make another one of these - but the IP seems to have had a rocky ride. Hopefully this version is compatible with the great community mods that are still out there, which adds replay value

If you try JA 2 from gog and after installing in Windows 11 it does not work. It stays in a blank screen doing nothing then do this. Open the game folder. Go to Data folder in it. Find the file "intro.slf" rename to something else like "introCOPY.lsf". Now start the game as before it should now work. I have not played the game so far so I cannot comment yet on it. I will set 4* for now and update this later. My goal with this is to let anyone know of this fix so they can enjoy what they paid for.

This is one of the few games I've stuck out because of it's high interest factor--the amount of things you can do is pretty amazing. From checking out different mercs to exploring areas to rolling your own characters--this is a game that gives you your money's worth. I added the fan-made 1.13 patch and it's pretty incredible the improvements it makes in playability and graphics BUT... unless you are hard core you may want to turn off the Drassen Counterattack in the .ini file. It was HARD, and until I learned how to turn it off (JA2_Options.ini, TRIGGER_MASSIVE_ENEMY_COUNTERATTACK_AT_DRASSEN = FALSE) I got eviscerated. That made the game at least playable for me. One other hint I might add is to be liberal with your saves at various strategic points--there's a chance you might want to revert back if things don't go your way. In short, great game, classic game, very quirky sense of humor, and a fun, tactical and strategic brawl.

Just looking at these screenshots makes me wanna cry. Those were the days... Being a teenager with no sorrows but the usual lovesickness, coming home from school, playing this wonderful game... No need to say much about it, though. If it isn't perfect today, it surely was back then. It's just so sad that I'll never be able to play it again for the very first time.