YRadio

I remember saying that there were 2 games that Iive played where I've felt that a game was made for me to enjoy. I've since realised I missed this game of the list. In terms of pc games, apart from maybe dungeon keeper, I've not spent more time playing a game than Jagged Alliance 2. It has a special place in my heart and it probably sounds sad to a non nerd unlike me, but contextually I first played this game going to my best friend's house in my early teens. Due to various fans improving the game through Mods (Modifications) that make the game better and more difficult I'm still playing this game now. That's how much I love this game. So here is my review and attempt to sell how great a game it is!

So here comes the plot, the plot that kept me interested! The game takes place in a fictional country called Arulco where an evil dictator called Deidranna has framed her husband Enrico Chivaldori for murdering his father. Enrico then flees and hires you a mercenary to kill Deidranna and free his people from the authoritarian state that she has created. Now for the even cooler stuff! You start the game with money from Enrico to purchase a group of mercenaries as well as creating your own mercenary for a small amount of money. The great thing about making your mercenary is you can decide what skills your mercenary is good at, based on wisdom, strength, agility, marksmanship etc. You also get 2 random specific skills for answering questions while also picking his name and a picture. Baring in mind that this game was realised in 1999 we can let go of the fact that you can't make your own face and due to the fairly simplistic graphics it isn't that relevant to enjoy the game. Just as a little side issue, my favourite team to start with is Buns, Steroid, Barry, Grizzly that you get from AIM (Association for International Mercenaries). To explain what I mean, in the game Enrico gave you a laptop where you get given addresses on the internet to go to such as this AIM and another recruitment agency MERC that give slighter cheaper alternatives to AIM. You can also shop online in the game to buy weapons/equipment for your mercenaries and the items as well as the MERC mercenaries get better as you progress in the game. You can also recruit certain characters you come across as the story develops. When you first start the game you get taken to the rebel camp at Omerta (which reminds me of the first Terminator film) where you meet the rebel leader Miguel Cardona (you can recruit all the named members as the game progresses. They also suggest that you go to father John Walker at Drassen church to get supplies to Omerta.

You with me so far? Now we come to possibly the most enjoyable aspect of jagged alliance 2, game play! As I said you control a group of mercenaries which you can move on the map screen. This is a square grid system with each individual square called sectors and players can move his or her mercenaries from one sector to another. This is also the screen where you can access the laptop that I mentioned where you receive emails and can recruit more mercenaries (up to 15 in total). The map screen is also where you can tell your mercenaries to do tasks, such as healing soldiers and training a skill or training militia (town soldiers) to defend cities. On the map screen there is seven cities that can be taken over Drassen, Chitzena, Cambria, Grumm, Alma, Balime and Meduna (the order I would take them over in difficulty) certain cities as well have mines that if you talk to the head miner the gold they mine gets put in your account, which is the main income to hire better mercenaries and equipments. On the map screen you can also enter a sector which takes you to a tactical screen. This is where you can see your mercenaries and buildings and give them commands in that sector such as run, crouch, climb and pick up items and open chests.

This now leads me to battle section. When enemies and players are in the same sector the battle starts and the game becomes a turn based strategy game when an enemy or you spot opposite team members. Turn based, means that players move using action points, based on factors such as how much energy the player has and how much weight they are carrying. The action points are renewed at the beginning of each round, depending on the physical state of the MERC. Some unspent action points will also be carried over to the next round so If a combatant has some action points left over during the enemy's turn and spots an enemy, they stand a chance of 'interrupting' the enemy turn and performing actions. In battles you can attack enemies a number of ways such as grenades, weapons and explosives. Based on the mercenaries skill and distance from target, depends on the success of hitting their target. As a side note you can automatically resolve battles but many fans avoid it especially if you are outnumbered.

That's the basic function of the game. So why do I love this game so much? The same thing that dungeon keeper has is the sense of humour throughout and voice/audio is really well done. The characters are all unique and have different personalities and to put it into context you can complete the game several times with a different team each time. One of its greatest strengths is its replay ability, as I said earlier the player is directed by rebels to go to Drassen first, but any sector you can enter into can be explored so as long as you keep killing enemies every so often, you can go anywhere you like. The weapons and armor get better as you progress which is a nice incentive but the most gratifying aspect is that you can improve your mercenaries skill as you go through the game. The difficult level gets harder as you go on i.e you face enemies with better equipment and more enemies in terms of numbers. As each city is explored you find more side stories you can do and more development of plot that's interesting and compelling for wanting you finish the game. Ok the graphics are 2D and won't blow you away, but as I always say these type of games let you know that game play is the more important/significant thing that a beautiful looking game. Yes some games it's a benefit, as I am writing this I'm thinking of Fifa or Battlefield 3 where in particular the graphics add to the game, but if a game allows you to have fun then surely its fulfilled its purpose?

The characters are by far though the most remembered part of the game, which undeniably give you the humour that's loosely embedded in the game. For example if you take my first team pick-buns used to be a kindergarten teacher and she's now one of most talented women on the game, which can be amusing as she seems to be shocked by most things she finds. Steriod is basically a parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger and speaks like him (hence why his wisdom skill is, shall we say, rather low) who got the nickname of Steriod for failing a drugs test for steriods funnily enough. Barry is an explosive expert whose Hungarian, grizzly is like a grizzly bear adored by everyone at AIM. The most remembered catchphrase and characters has to be Deidranna who after you take a city has an argument with her servant Elliot who isn't the sharpest tool in the box shall we say. This then lead Diedranna to shout 'Elliot you idiot!' which never fails to make you laugh.

Its really hard to sum up in one sentence why I love this game. I look back and presently towards the battles where you use tactics and different type of weapon to kill the enemies that you're facing. But the storyline is interesting and you want to save the people and you want your mercenaries to get more efficient as well as you (the player ) getting better at playing the game. I suppose the best way of saying it is, it's one of the best turn based games ever made, based on the content, the longevity, the fun, the brilliance of the audio and overall game play leaves you every now and again to put the CD back in your pc and try to complete the game in an all new, completely different way. And the best way to end the review is to say, I'm off to play it again! Save Arulco!

Overall YRadio Score

86%