Jagged Alliance 3

One of the all time greatest games ever made. Seriously no BS. I've had so much genuine fun with this game it's ridiculous. If you're familiar with turn based strategy games then you'll get the basic premise of this game but it's sooo much more. I'll explain below.

The game has a very steep learning curve that I wasn't aware of but once I explain it, it'll make perfect sense and will be easier for you to start going in. So basically I started a new game without looking any tips up online or anything and just started to play and figure things out. It was fun but pretty difficult of a game, and this is after buying legendary mercs to be on my team. So long story short after playing for 15 hours or so and never gaining a profit but actually in debt by almost $300,000 I was frustrated with the run I was doing and started a new game.

This time I did my research and picked the best mercs to choose for starting a new game and they are as follows:

1. Ivan - Considered one of the top S-tier mercenaries. His unique talent allows him to melt 4 enemies in a single turn with a shortened UV dot assault rifle.

2. Barry - Another S-tier merc, known as "Blow 'em to God" for his powerful explosive abilities. Basically he creates POWERFUL explosives that detonate in a large cone area that he can also throw pretty far. You can take out 3+ enemies with that alone. He can also disarm anything that is explosive which is necessary to have since there are many traps in this game to disarm.

3. Livewire - Provides a maphack ability that trivializes the game and saves a lot of time. Considered one of the top value mercenaries.

4. Thor - Gives the entire squad caffeine pills/herbal medicine every 2 days to remove fatigue modifiers, which is very useful for tough boss fights.

5. Ice - Can empty 5 unaimed shots at a boss with armor piercing rounds, making him a cheaper and more effective option than Kalyna.

6. Len - While not a solo carry, he provides the valuable "old dog" perk to increase squad XP gain, and his unique is good for taking down heavily armored enemies.

So starting a new game with those characters gives you a serious advantage. Don't be fooled by their relatively low marksmanship rating as that can be improved. Also the game emphasizes zooming in for better accuracy and/or choosing different body parts to target. In my experience not zooming at all and always targeting torso (unless you absolutely have to) pretty much always guarantees at least 1 hit. Whereas if you zoom in you get less chances to shoot during that character's turn. So worth the trade off in my book.

Also the game doesn't really explain about which guns to get and use or even how to modify the weapons to make them better and have better accuracy.

The guns to get right away are the: RPK (Best weapon in the game - most powerful, can eliminate most enemies in one shot).

G-36 one of the better weapons to equip your team with (at least 2 squad members) for its ability to fire at least 3 separate times in a single move while still allowing you to fire after that. It's not as high damage as the RPK but good enough.

Those 2 weapons are the most effective for your team. I'd say 3-4 team members with the RPK (when you can because it's hard to find, usually need to buy it) and 2-3 with the G36.

(Tip: don't save any weapons if your team is stocked. Scrap them for parts which you can use to upgrade your equipped weapons - give them to "Livewire")

Then another thing the game doesn't explain well enough is the monetary situation. After going into major debt during my first attempt at the game, I didn't want that to happen again. So focus on the first 3 diamond mines closest to your starting location during a new game and claim those. Then (the most crucial part that isn't explained that well) you need to train militia forces to essentially look after and protect the mine once you leave it. Otherwise the enemy will keep sending forces to reclaim it which is very frustrating. After doing this and upgrading the starting cast of characters I am now flush with over $350,000 in funds and can do and spend it on anything while taking my time clearing the map.

That's what I found to be different about this game over something like XCOM 2 or something. You need to take your time with this game as there isn't a deadline or rush. And when you don't have to worry about the finances or other issues in the game it's a lot more fun.

Also after getting all the best gear and the aforementioned weapons above, I can clear entire maps with 14 enemies and not have the other team make a single hit on my team. So it's definitely a lot of fun. I'm just surprised I didn't know about this game or series. I happened to see it on sale, watched a review and figured I'd check it out. Had no idea it'd be a game that will be in my top 5 greatest games of all time. It's seriously that good. Well worth it.

Hey developers! How about some DLC for the game. Eager to play the next one! Cheers!

After a few failed spin-offs over the years I can say that we finally got the Jagged Alliance game that we have been waiting since the magnificent second installment.

Don't get me wrong. Long lasting faithful fans like me can still find some issues in JA3 but they are trivial issues at best. And I might also say that the many failed spin-offs like the one called "Jagged alliance Rage" helped for us fans to lower our expectations a bit so we could welcome JA3 even more.

So what makes Jagged Alliance 3 an excellent sequel? Almost everything about it. The feeling and the atmosphere from the older games is back: 1. The mercenaries we know are back with their unique personalities. And it is obvious that a lot of work went to find the correct voices that will get the players guessing if it is the same actors from the good old days.

2. The music that changes according to the situation is also back. And this time it is also giving us cool African culture vibes 3. Almost every sector is a unique playground to enjoy turn based combat.

4. The trusted story recipe is also back, where a third world country needs your help to be saved from an evil army regime.

5. The different factions of friends and foes.

6. Choices you make that can truly change the course of the story.

6. And ofcourse a few 90's twists in the story arc.

To sum up I also have to name the 3 things I did not like. They are small things but will be missed.

A. No vehicles to move around. JA2 had them and the community was waiting for more freedom with vehicles in the new game. Like tanks that could not only shoot but also move this time. Instead we got no vehicles at all.

2. Not many unique recruitable npcs. Excluding Larry who is actually a long time favourite, we only get to convince only 4 new mers from the world of Grand Chien to join. Jagged alliance 2 had fifteen! Maybe we get a recruitable hyenna on a future small update. Needs no additional voice acting. Also no antagonizing M. E. R. C. company.

3. Smallest issue but felt like a step backwards: When mercs speak in earlier instalments, their mouths move and even their expressions were visible changed according to their mood. In Jagged alliance 3 only get still portraits. Some who are still smiling even when speaking about something awful that is taking place. Should have got full animations instead and that feels lazy.

All in all Jagged Alliance is a game that was clearly made by developers who were also hearty fans of the series, and is a must play, for all players who enjoy a good turn based game.

The Jagged Alliance series was known for its addictive turn-based combat and punchy sense of humor, as the mercenaries hired by the player, each with different skills and personality, interacted and clashed with each other.

Jagged Alliance 3 is a suprisingly fine sequel; combat encounters are interesting, with hand-crafted maps and a good use of verticality.

The characters trade snappy banter like in the good old days as they fight their way through a fictional state threatened by a powerful enemy organization, the "Legion".

You get to assemble your squad and pick the characters you prefer, both in terms of in-game personality and of skills/specializations (sniper, doctor, explosive expert...), with many choices and combinations.

There are a few issues. The most wrong-headed choice is how enemies get to reposition themselves after your first attack, as it nerfs ambushes in an unwelcome way - basically, you fire the first shot then everyone gets a free turn to scuttle under cover. I get why the devs did it - they did not want five-six enemies dead before combat even started if the player made the right moves - but this feels deeply unsatisfying.

I also despise the way shops work in the game: there is no menu, you just click on different piles of ware to buy stuff. It's ugly, clunky and I cannot see in this day and age any reason not to have a proper store interface.

Finally, the mercenaries' contracts expire way too soon (a maximum of 14 days): once you have a medium-sized group you'll be clicking "renew contract" buttons nearly every in-game day. It's about as fun as real-life middle-management. Let me renew for six months paying a small fortune (if I want it and I can afford it) instead of enduring this boring routine.

Overall, though, a pleasant suprise. The combat in particular scratches my turn-based itch.

8/10.