Ancient ruins of a house to be admired and contemplated, but not fit to live in.
It’s about leading a group of mercenaries to overthrow the tyrannical queen of a fictional island.
What I’m saying is: it’s still worth it.
I recommendStracciatellafor the simplest vanilla experience, which is really what you should start with (and theGOG version.
It’s guerrilla warfare across an open map, any part of which can become a battlefield.
Combat happens in turns, which still push the clock forward.
But you’ll prioritise mines for income, and airports for supply drops.
Towns in general are useful as they let you train defensive militia, and provide services and side jobs.
It’s not just the battles, basically.
That’s the other big thing that so many other merc games don’t attempt in the same way.
InJagged Alliance, every merc and all their relationships with others are bespoke, and meaningfully unique.
They’re simple characters, entirely in keeping with the game’s exploitation flick tone.
That vibe keeps it from descending into po-faced military gunwank, and is key to its enduring appeal.
One character goes off the rails if he’s left in a region with a bar.
Another will flat out murder his rival if you let them mingle.
They become familiar as names, faces and attitudes.
Yeah, he’s a pro, we could use him.
Useless but cheap, and smart enough to become a useful admin mule over time.
Razor is volatile but a beast with knives, and sleeps very little.
Each will improve their skills if they use them enough, and even some D-list dregs have surprising potential.
It stings when they die, too.
And all that connects with an excellent combat system too.
JA2’s is the most advanced I’m aware of for a 2D game.
And yeah, that does mean it’s pretty gnarly.
Every character has a pool of action points, which varies according to their fitness and state.
Running takes fewer AP but it’s louder and more tiring than crouching, more visible than crawling.
Firing is about more than focusing on one enemy in turn to efficiently reduce their damage output.
Most revolutionary though is JA2’s simulation of suppression.
It’s about anticipating enemies, not going for max damage every turn.
That granularity has its cost, of course.
It’s a lot to manage, too, every turn.
That’s true in battle and on the world map.
Exceptions likePhoenix Point’s hybrid approach proved there’s potential in the middle ground.
I’m not asking for the upcomingJagged Alliance 3to be a remake.
So I’m hopeful.
