Jagged Alliance 3
Preview
A comeback that is anything but Jagged
by Sergio Brinkhuis
previewed on PC
Factions
As mentioned before, the game has four factions. Jagged 3 is the first in the series that will actually let you chose who you want to fight for. It is also possible to change your allegiance – but only at certain times. If you don’t choose carefully, you may be playing for the ‘wrong’ side for a while. Why the quotes around the word ‘wrong’? Interestingly, in Jagged 3, there are no real good guys. Even the resistance fighters are little more than a band of thugs and joining them serves no higher purpose than joining the oppressive government. You are in it for the money, simple as that.
The four factions will actively fight each other and the strategic map will show you where the action is. Control over territories will shift and change even without your intervention, but if you do your job properly, your added influence should shift the balance towards your employer.
Your squad will be given assignments in enemy sectors, and completing a mission successfully will cause the sector to fall into the hands of your employers. Missions can range from taking out sector leaders to blowing up a particular building. Once you have fulfilled your primary objective, your work is done. The faction you are working for will send in its troops and you can be on to your next mission. This means that, unlike before, it is not always necessary to wipe out every enemy soldier in the sector. In fact, sometimes the enemy forces will be so numerous that it would be suicide to even attempt to kill everyone. Stealth will work much better in these situations, so think twice before you go in guns blazing!
Familiar
Fans of the series will be familiar with the games’ arsenal. While the advanced (fantasy) weaponry has been banished to the sci-fi mode that may be made available (Akella and F3 are still discussing if they should include this mode), most of the real-life weapons seen in Jagged Alliance 2 will make a reappearance.
The weapons will not be the only thing feeling familiar. Severna could have been right next door from Arulco. The improved graphics do nothing to hide that Jagged Alliance 3 is inspired by its predecessors and that is just the way we like it. Combine that with the return of the series’ most colorful mercenary characters and you will feel right at home.
It should be clear by now that the developers are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to delivering a true sequel and that we do indeed have every reason to be excited. The only real departure from pattern is that there will be no resource management in the game; there are no mines to capture and no trees to tap juices from. I would have loved to see that part return too, but perhaps this is an element that could make its way back into Jagged Alliance 4?
It could be argued that the developers have focused more on capturing the spirit of the original games and placed less emphasis on innovation. But I for one will be glad to see ‘more of the same’ in Jagged 3 and I am sure there are many others who feel the same. Once faith in the game has been restored, the series can truly evolve again.
Now... where have they hidden Ivan? He should feel right at home with Akella!
