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Jagged Alliance 2
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Game Name:
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Jagged Alliance 2 |
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Console:
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Playstation 2 |
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Reviewed:
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Unknown |
Released in 1999, 6 years ago, Jagged Alliance 2 is regarded as the best of the JA games- this includes the original Jagged Alliance, JA- Deadly Games, the JA2 addon Unfinished Business and the latest 'mod' release, WildFire, also for JA2. This review will concentrate on the original JA2 and nothing else. In fact, I’m surprised it took this long to write a review for it, considering how much I praise this game.
What- Jagged Alliance 2, Canada’s RTS/TBS/RPG.
When- Around 1999/2000, both in setting and release.
Where- The nation of Arulco, which appears to be a European country, with desert and forested areas.
Who- A dictator queen with a few hundred elite soldiers and a thousand militia, versus a ragtag group of mercs and rebels.... the bad news, you are part of the latter.
Why- Open-ended gameplay, unique characters, brilliant combat.
What (is it?)- Jagged Alliance 2 is a unique game- made by Talonsoft in Canada, it utilises turn-based, light infantry squad combat, along with real-time strategic planning and movement, with RPG elements sprinkled all over. The way in which these features are used is almost perfect- while moving through a map sector with no contact with the enemy, you are in real-time, which makes setting up ambushes and searching for items much easier. However, once you spot an enemy soldier (or, if you're unlucky, they spot you), the game switches to turn-based- your soldiers have so many points to move, shoot, reload, throw, punch, slash, heal, steal...and when you're done, the enemy does the same.
This works nicely for the more complex strategies- you can have 3 rifleman engage to the enemy on a flank, while a sniper clears a path for your 2 stealth experts round the back. Meanwhile, an MG soldier mows down anyone moving from the front. Or 2 soldiers throw smoke into a room, another then moves forward and fires a 40mm concussion grenade inside, then 2 more guys run in and clean up.
When (is it set?)- 1999/2000, the same time it was released. It was during this time that the Kosovo conflict was happening…. No idea if that affected it. Really, the only thing that is shown by the year is the hardware- FN P-90s and Minimis, Bell JetRangers, HK G-41s, 53s and 21Es, and so on.
The story of Jagged Alliance 2 sort-of continues on from the earlier 2 games- following the success of AIM (Association of International Mercenaries) and Gus Tarballs in low-intensity warfare, mercenaries are in high demand for dangerous and important operations. You are approached by a former Prince from the nation of Arulco, who asks you to organise a strike team, enter Arulco, and liberate it from his former wife, now Queen, Deidranna. The good news is that AIMs services are at your disposal- the best of the best in the freelance world can be at your command. The bad news- you have only a small amount of money to begin with, your enemy is heavily armed and armoured with masses of reserves, and your contact in country is probably dead. Still, it’s not something you can walk away from…
Where (do you fight?)- The nation of Arulco is a small country located in Europe (it seems sort of Spanish/Slovak), with rich gold and silver fields, various terrain from swamp to desert to mountainous, and some unusual wildlife. 1 bit of warning- avoid walking between towns and military posts at night….
There are 7 towns- Omerta, where you start and where the rebels are located. Drassen, with an airport and mine. Chitzena, a small tourist town with a mine. San Mona, with an abandoned mine and run by a crime lord, the Kingpin. Alma, with a mine and a large military facility, including a barracks and weapons R&D. Grumm, one of the larger towns with a mine and the majority of the industrial infrastructure. Cambria, located in the centre of Arulco, with a mine and a hospital. And Balime, where most of the rich and famous live in luxury- its only useful as a forward staging point. Each of these towns, except for San Mona, can be liberated and then have militia trained to guard them. Also, doing things such as defeating enemy patrols and finishing ‘side-quests’ will increase your reputation, which increases the towns mining income and militias fighting ability.
There are also several other locations across the country- 3 SAM sites, which have to be taken over to allow over flights by you chopper, and can have militia trained to guard them. A small mechanical shop near a tip called Estoni, where you can buy petrol and other items. There are also 3 ‘secret’ locations- Tixa jail, which holds several prisoners including Shank and Dynamo, Orta R&D Centre, which is guarded by elite soldiers and has several advanced weapons, and another base commonly called the ‘LAW Cache’… when you find it, you will understand. This also doubles as an interrogation facility. Finally, there are a number of ammo dumps and caches spread around, with plenty of ammo and equipment and only a few guards.
And, finally, there is the capital city, Meduna. The largest and most built-up area of Arulco, it includes an airbase, a SAM site (which makes it impossible to land soldiers directly into Meduna), and the Queens palace, which you have to assault in order to get to her. However, getting there isn’t easy- the entire armoured division has been dug into the city, so you need LAWS and mortars to get through…
Who (is involved?)- First, your enemies. They range from simple militia and reserves with flak jackets, revolvers and maybe shotguns, to regular forces with auto-rifles and grenades, right up to the ‘Palace Guard’, elite soldiers with Spectra vests, mustard gas, light machine guns and anti-tank rockets. You will only engage better-equipped and trained infantry later in the game, when you have time to reinforce your gains, and have better weapons and armour.
There are also a large number of NPCs, of various types- some, like Tony and Devin, will sell you equipment, while others like Mickey will pay you for certain items (Mickey deals in rare animal parts… hey, everyone’s gotta have a hobby). Some like Angel will ask you do to things for you, which can result in more cash or a higher reputation in the towns. Then there are the combat NPCs- some like Dimitri and Conrad can be hired, while others like the General of Alma will talk to you for a bit, then open fire. Included in this last group is someone very special- if you’ve played the previous 2 games, you’ll recognise him immediately.
Finally, you have your own guys, who can be hired from in-country, such as Conrad, or through the 2 online agencies- A.I.M. who are available at the very start and have a huge selection of good mercs, and M.E.R.C. which becomes available a few days in, and has less capable but much cheaper mercs available. Also available online is an insurance agency, in case your soldiers are killed, and Bobby Rays Guns and Stuff… nuff said.
Why (should I buy it?)- Several reasons, although actually finding it can be a problem-
Mercs- a big plus with this game is the RPG element, with each character being unique, able to advance in skills during the game… but also able to lose points, from hits to the wrong places. You will soon find yourself picking mercs not just because of what guns they can be hired with initially, or what skills they have, but on their personality- you will find Ira annoying as all hell, and enjoy watching Trevor take a critical hit. “Better bung a bandage on this before I kark it in a pool of blood and piss.” Also, some mercs perform better around others- the local mercs you hire will normally have praise for each other, as does Scope, Magic, Ice, and Grizzly. On the other side, you have mercs who cant stand each other- the Polish Steroid cant stand the commie Ivan and Igor, while Lynx and Buzz can barely share the same planet, due to a…. well, falling out.
Weapons- Huge selection of guns and of things that go bang. The game is nicely structured so that you start with basic guns against militia (ie. with pistols and maybe shotguns), then later as you engage better armed enemies, you collect their guns which you use against even better armed enemies…. And so on. So if you play right, you may be overwhelmingly out-numbered, but only slightly out-gunned.
All weapons use a certain type of ammunition, in a certain kind of magazine. Trying to reload an SMG with 2 15 round pistol clips can be done, but it takes time to remove the bullets from the pistol clip and load up an SMG clip, which is done automatically. There are also different kinds of ammunition- standard ball for pistol rounds, armour-piercing and hollow point for both rifle and pistol rounds, and slug and buckshot for the shotguns.
The weapons are as follows- your side arms include the .38 Smith and Wesson Special and .357 Barracuda revolvers, the 9mm Berretta 92F and Glock 17, the .45ACP Colt Commander, the .357 Desert Eagle and the 7.62mm NATO Automag-III semi-auto pistols, and the 9mm Glock 18 and Berretta 93R auto-pistols. You can use any of these single-handedly, so it’s possible to have akimbo .45s. You can also go akimbo with about half of the SMGs- the 9mm MP5K, the .45 Mac-10, and the 5.7mm P-90. The other SMGs are ‘full-body’ weapons, which require 2 hands- the .45 M1 Thompson, the 7.62mm WP Type-65, the 5.56mm Colt Commando and HK 53, and the 5.45mm AKS-74u.
Later, you’ll get some hard-hitting rifles and shotguns- the shotties include the 12-Gauge M870 and SPAS-15, as well as the automatic CAWS, which uses its own special ammunition. Semi-auto rifles include the 7.62mm WP SKS and SVD (which use the same ammo), the 7.62mm NATO M-14 and M-24 (and I know its bolt-action, but to keep it simple…), and the 5.56mm Mini-14.
The full-auto weapons are plentiful, including the 5.45mm AK-74 and RPK-74 LMG, the 7.62mm WP AKM, the 4.7mm Caseless G-11 (Best. Gun. Ever) the 7.62mm NATO G3A3, FN FAL and HK21E LMG, and the 5.56mm C-7/M-16, FAMAS, Steyr AUG, G41 and Minimi LMG. The LMGs, or light machine guns, all feed from rifle magazines, although they are faster firing and more accurate than the standard assault rifles.
Of course, combat is much more than guns- you also need ammunition, body armour to protect from hits (AP rounds go straight through flak jackets, but Guardian kevlar vests can stop HP rounds completely), med kits to patch up wounds, various visual and hearing devices, and explosives. There are 3 main kinds of explosives- propelled, thrown and placed. Propelled involves 40mm grenades, fired from the M79 or Talon grenade launcher (the Talon is like a M203, attached to a rifle), 60mm mortars and M72 LAWS. The last 2 will be your primary weapon against tanks.
Thrown weapons are grenades, including fragmentation, concussion, smoke and mustard gas. There are also chem lights that light areas up. Finally, placed explosives are your demo charges- TNT, HMX, C1 and C4, which can have either timed or remote detonators. There is also RDX, which can be added to C1 to make C4, or by itself… however, you can’t fit a detonator to it, so you need to throw or fire a HE grenade onto it.
You also have various devices for close combat, including machetes, crowbars, and knuckle-dusters. These can also be used to break open doors or locked crates. Crowbars can crack them open, rifles and shotguns can destroy locks, shaped charges can also smash the lock, and lock pick kits can be used to open them silently… in the right hands.
Open-ended campaign- there is only one campaign in Arulco, and only 1 objective to complete- kill the Queen. You can do this in any fashion you choose- you can secure all the towns, build up a full force of mercs, and bulldoze through Meduna, or you can get a single stealthy merc, and try to finish the game in a single day. Most people should finish the game in about 50/60 days game time, but if you explore everywhere and finish every additional mission, you may take another month or so.
Unfortunately, there is no multiplayer option, and only the one campaign… However, if you also get Wildfire and Unfinished Business, and there are also several mods available online, you should get years from this game… I know I have.
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