Jagged Alliance 2

The Good
Good graphics, the whole "personalize this and that" feature, good sfx and an attempt to keep old characters.

The Bad
This game is a complete insult to the original. It steps on all genius things from JA 1 and adds too many clichés and that nerdy feel that just keeps on and on in all "modern" games! How so? Well, for example, the voice talents and characters are so watered down they look and hear really cartoonish, when will game developers understand that a credible character and a believable voice talent make so much a difference just as a good or a bad actor does inside a movie!? Also the characters' relationship with others and personality traits don't matter much anymore as it used to in JA1, something that made the game be truly unique and added a fun strategy to deal with. Also the mobility and gameplay is completely different. JA1 made the player be in total control and gave you a great deal of free will, you could plan your strategy well and conquer your enemy step by step according to your strategy. JA 2 however, is way more linear, almost as if it would be a turn-based beat 'em up game with guns. The characters also seem weaker in the game and characters that used to be excellent mercenaries in the original game, now are soft and slow witted. Graphics in general are good, but really important thing such as the mercenaries faces are terribly cartoonish or simply unattractive.

The Bottom Line
Terrible Sequel, but can make a good game for players as a whole different game.

The Good
This game got all the details right. First and foremost, JA2 only operates in turn-based mode when an enemy is spotted or one of your soldiers is attacked. Non-combat movement happens in real time. This makes the game exponentially more enjoyable to play than many similar titles. Combat--the meat and potatoes of the game--is a blast. There are plenty of items to choose from - a veritable cornucopia of guns, ammo, armor and assorted stuff. A mechanically adept character can often combine two or more apparently useless items into something useable, like a gun barrel extender or a trip-wire booby trap. The characters are all distinctive and they let loose some great sound bites, especially during combat. If you liked the character of Minsk in the Baldur's Gate games then you'll find plenty to enjoy here. All the potentially mundane management tasks (character generation, recruiting personnel, buying equipment, tracking your finances) are actually enjoyable, thanks in no small part to a wonderful pseudo-web browser interface.

The Bad
This doesn't detract from gameplay at all, but it's worth mentioning. JA2 is supposed to be set in a tropical island nation. The NPC natives of the island don't seem to realize this; they speak with a variety of Russian, South American and African accents. The voice acting is good, but the accents don't make any sense.

The Bottom Line
Don't be fooled by the ultra-cheesy box cover - this is a fantastic game. Essentially this game is a member of the turn-based squad combat genre pioneered by X-Com UFO Defense, with a healthy dose of role playing thrown in for good measure.

The Good
Strategy, tactics, and a well thought out plan. This is what you need to play this game. X-COM was a lot of fun. The original Jagged Alliance was a blast. This game made me think in tactical terms for weeks (and still does from time to time). Jagged Alliance 2 is a rather large step up from the original in terms of scope, graphics, and all around gameplay.

The basic gist of things is that you have been hired by the ex-ruler of a country called Arulco. He is thought dead by its citizens and his ex-wife/queen of Arulco. Your job is to make contact with the rebels, and take the country back. You do this by hiring mercs and basically going to war with the country's army. This is a pretty basic plot, but there are so many side quests and extra NPC's and other things to keep your interest throughout the game.

One of the differences with this and the first game is that you can actually make yourself a merc in the game, instead of leading from some invisible command center. Depending on how you answer some questions, you will have certain abilities or quirks. Trust me, you WILL get attached to yourself. (Um... yeah. You know what I mean...) You hire your mercenaries from AIM (Association of International Mercenaries) by signing contracts (1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks) instead of just paying by the day. The mercenaries that you have access to are mostly new, with some returning from Jagged Alliance and Jagged Alliance:Deadly Games. While there are not as many as in the previous game, they all still have rather unique personalities. Some will simply not work with others, while some may go berzerk upon seeing the enemy. This was one of those things that I loved about the original. Personality. These are not mercs that you hire and use carelessly. Each one has their use in your team. When you lose one, you don't just feel it in the bank account...

As for weapons, there is a large selection that can be scrounged, stolen, looted or bought. There is even an option at the beginning of the game where you can use a larger range of weapons. There are handguns ranging from the Desert Eagle, to rifles such as the Colt Commando. Then of course there are the attachments. Bipods, scopes, silencers, even an underbarell grenade launcher!

The Bad
The AI in this game is very good. Sometimes too good. Even on the easy setting, the enemy is no pushover. The enemy will rarely fire a shot that they know will miss. Supposedly, this is due to the fact that the enemy always knows their chances of hitting, and will only fire when those chances are good. Its a fairly even trade-off to play on normal, so you can get the better guns earlier on. Like in any real-world conflict, weapon and armor quality mean a lot.

Another quirk is the line-of-sight. The manual states "you only see what your mercs see". There are some instances when you KNOW that they should see the enemy, but they don't. That and hiding behind trees/bushes is iffy. Sometimes it helps sometimes it doesn't.

My final gripe is damage rules. Some of those weapons should be dealing a lot more damage than they do. One shot to the head, maybe two should kill a man regardless of what kind of helmet they wear. Three! Four! I don't think so.

The Bottom Line
Jagged Alliance 2 is a very enjoyable game. Despite a few quirks here and there, it does provide a very good squad-tactics kind of game. Once again, I'll refer to that tactical great, X-COM. Anyone that enjoyed that game, will also enjoy this one.