Jagged Alliance 3 Review – Unexpendables

I’ve always enjoyed the Jagged Alliance games, even the poorly received ones. Part of it with the later entries is that I was genuinely trying to find the best in them, if only because I liked the first two and because I’m such a lovely person, or it could be that I love strategy games. So, with my love of strategy games, infanticide and Jagged Alliance on the table, it was good news for me when Jagged Alliance 3 was announced, and developed by Haemimont Games – a developer that holds up well in my books, thanks to the later Tropico games, Surviving Mars and Stranded: Alien Dawn.

Now that we’ve returned to Arulco (no, we haven’t) and brought back many mainstays of the series – the mercenaries, that is, and how invested you get in what are essentially caricatures very much decides how important this is to you – it’s time to see if Haemimont Games can rescue a series that has floundered for over two decades.

I will carve in a “yes” and then mount the answer on a pedestal for all to see. Jagged Alliance 3 is incredibly engaging. It’s fun, it can be funny (if you’re into its brand of humour), the gameplay is compelling, and it’s jam-packed with things to see and do. It feels like the complete package. To put it simply, Jagged Alliance 3 is re-treading the same ground Jagged Alliance 2 did twenty-four years ago, but now we’ve got modern sensibilities and visuals to make it all the better.

As I’ve just mentioned, Jagged Alliance 3 is treading the same ground as its directly numbered predecessor did. There have been several games in the series between the two, and each has tried to change how the strategic map played out before you jumped into the tactical battles. Here, we’re back to the grid-based map, and once you’re in a location there, you can jump into the tactical combat – or in some cases, jump in and explore the area, which may result in a fight.

It’s rare to find a game so rooted in the broader Strategy genre to encourage and reward exploration as much as this does, with a range of secrets to find, a host of side-quests and objectives to complete, and more – most that will help you in your quest to liberate Grand Chien. As you move across the satellite map, you’ll capture areas and think there’s nothing to do as there is no enemy to fight. You would be wrong. Jump in, my child. Jump in and find new items or characters, quests to complete, and fight Hyenas that – according to the in-game emails – have been infected with the “Red Rabies Virus”.

It’s also worth mentioning this satellite/strategic map is enormous. You’ll also find that your enemy – and I won’t give more spoilers than to say your enemies change, and you almost have a soft reset at one point – will also take territory back from you, albeit they generally focus on taking back mines, ports and towns, capturing the in-between areas while they’re on the way. Fortunately, you have options available, such as hiring militia, meaning you don’t have to keep a group of mercs stationed nearby at all times.

On the satellite map, when selecting one of your groups, you have several operations available, depending on the location you are on the map. You may also find, for example, extra operations available if you have completed particular side objectives. One example is in Pantagruel, one of the towns where you can get a clinic running, meaning you can pay to be healed rather than use your ever-diminishing resources. It’s another reason to explore further and do what can be rewarding side quests, though there is always a balancing act at play.

The balance is that your team (generally) costs money. You can get a few characters, again through side quests, that are “hired” – they don’t cost you anything daily. The vast majority will be costing you a fair amount of money, some of that you will hopefully recoup when killing your way through Grand Chien, looting diamonds, gold and other rare gems from the enemies, but mostly you’re going to want to capture and hold the diamond mines around, giving you a steady income. Mines can run dry, too, so you can’t just sit and hold; you must progress.

In addition to managing your funds and territories, you’ll also need to manage the equipment of all your mercenaries, which you will desperately need to keep an eye on. From weapons to armour, it all degrades with use – and when it’s unfortunately peppered with bullet holes. Provided you have a merc with the relevant mechanical skills, they can repair equipment – and mod it – using parts, but again it takes time, and time is money in Mercenary Land.

It all created for a beautiful balancing act, something Jagged Alliance 3 performs masterfully; even in the regular (save-scumming) mode, you’ll find yourself pinned into a corner from decisions you may have made ten, twenty or more days ago.

Jagged Alliance 3 has also made a few changes to combat; specifically, you’ll notice the absence of percentages. Each character has several action points based on their states – each of which can be improved through play and items found in the game – and these action points control movement and the actions you can take beyond that. Characters also get “free move” points based on their equipment, skills, and perks. So, much like the overview, there’s a balance to be found here.

As you’re aiming at an enemy, you can spend more points to increase your chance of hitting, but you will never see that percentage. In a move specifically designed to differentiate from XCOM, Jagged Alliance 3 will tell you in the text that something is harder to hit, but it doesn’t tell you by how much. That is hidden to all but the gods of chance. However, I would argue the characters know because I’ve heard them comment more than a few times about how lucky a shot was. Other times I’ve sworn at the screen when somebody missed an enemy standing beside them.

From the balance of managing your mercenaries’ position, standing, kneeling or prone, ensuring they are in cover – or simply hiding out of enemy sight completely – and making sure you get the shots off you need to and aren’t going to be caught needing to reload, Haemimont has also managed to get the perfect balance in the tactical combat.

The later you get through the campaign, the more frustrated you are likely to find yourself, as enemies become better kitted up than Arnie in Commando and have the same accuracy, but you are getting closer to the main enemies – there will be some easier enemies to kill too, but can you afford to use that time? Again, these are mercenaries, and they can be expensive at that.

Most of all, with Jagged Alliance 3, it feels like a series that has its soul back. I’m not going to say this is the perfect game, and I’ve had a few bugs here and there, and I don’t see how anybody could ever miss somebody stood right next to them – though that isn’t a bug – and a few minor crashes, it autosaves enough that it didn’t cause me many issues. Visually, it’s nice and colourful, with enough detail to satisfy me. It’s genuinely a nice-looking and sounding game.

The result is something I genuinely enjoy and have played over forty hours on, something almost unheard of for me in well over a year. It’s engaging, fun, and challenging, and it can be funny (mileage may vary), but if you’re a fan of Jagged Alliance, you’ll like this. If you’re a fan of cheesy action films and can play tactical games, I can’t help but recommend it.

Copy provided by the publisher.

Jagged Alliance 3

Jagged Alliance 3 marks a long-awaited triumphant return for the franchise, with the last undeniably great release being Jagged Alliance 2 over twenty years ago. Creating an exceptional balance on both a strategic and tactical level, bringing back character attributes and progression, an entire inventory system, perks and more, forcing you to balance your broader economy and ensuring you can’t just sit back – Haemimont Games have successfully created a game that will challenge, that I have found compelling and fun, and one that has kept me hooked into a “just one more day” loop and a few very late nights at that.