The two most influential games of my early years, Jagged Alliance 1 and 2, had set an unachievable bar for a lot of cloners, imitators, and blatant impersonators. Alliances less jagged slithered out of their burrows for about 25 years, like to Crepitus bugs emerging from the Tixa jail in Arulco. A lot of people attempted to profit off the heritage of the Jagged Alliance, but none were able to provide even a hint of the expert merc magic that Sir-Tech had. Some developers experimented with name recognition without copyright, resulting in the creation of garbage like Brigade E5: New Jagged Union. With Jagged Alliance - Back in Action, several people attempted to resume their activities. Along with Jagged Alliance Online: Reloaded and many other terrible DLCs, we also have Jagged Alliance Flashback. 2018 saw the release of Jagged Alliance: Rage!, a terrible game with cheesy German comedy, which was the last insult. Because of the strong feelings it arouses, that final, pitiful clone—which really ought to have been named Jagged Alliance: Sigh—didn't even make me angry.

I was all cynicism before I even had a chance to see Jagged Alliance 3 at Gamescom 2022. However, the people from Bulgarian Haemimont Games made such a strong argument that I instantly agreed with them. The amazing bastards who brought Tropico back to life after all those years perfectly captured the spirit of Jagged Alliance. Satisfied that the lads had things under control, I headed home.

Material strength, firepower, sets men apart from boys

After a year, they fulfilled all of their commitments. The much-loved classics' actual sequel is Jagged Alliance 3. It includes all the expected elements, such as strong NSFW comedy, a non-linear campaign, and iconic mercs. Although the final element is by far the most difficult to duplicate and mimic, Haemimontians performed well while working within the confines of the contemporary zeitgeist. What is meant by that? It implies that in the present hypersensitive cultural atmosphere, some of the ridiculous dialogue lines and merc blabbing from Jagged Alliance 2 are just not feasible. However, they were sufficiently near.

Similar to its predecessors, the main goal of Jagged Alliance 3 is to use mercenaries to invade and liberate a small third-world nation. Grand Chien is the next in line, a fictitious francophone African country beset by several problems, after Matavira and Arulco. The Major, the head of the paramilitary group that overthrew the government and seized control of the nation, is foremost among them. The daughter of the president seeks your assistance with the help of the global company that was using Chien's diamond mines before to the coup. Thus, you're going to organize a fantastic crusade with some old friends from A.I.M. (Association of International Mercenaries). Grand Chien is home to a diverse range of individuals, some of whom have conflicting agendas and distinct ideas about what the impoverished former colony should become.

The mercs are paid in money

Budgetary considerations were always as essential as or more so than tactical limitations in Jagged Alliance 3. Mercenaries are expensive, and most of the time they will abandon you if you are unable to pay them to continue their contract. The key to obtaining consistent revenue is liberating the diamond mines. Seizing diamond shipments and, to a lesser degree, hacking computers and other gadgets on the job will earn you additional money. You may be able to afford some wiggle room, or you might need to monitor your expenses closely depending on how terrible things are. The cost of hiring the best mercenaries hasn't decreased since the original Jagged Alliance.

As before, you will be the only one to map out the route to victory. You will train militia, fix equipment, free villages, outposts, and other areas, and sometimes take time off for your mercenaries. You may anticipate a moderate to strong tug-of-war because of the dynamic nature of the combat, which means the Legion will attempt to reclaim the conquered land from you. The selected degree of difficulty determines both the financial and strategic challenges. You may even play in Ironman mode, where failure and death are unforgiveable, if you're feeling suicidal.

The majority of those men won't ever go to Mensa.

Your mercs are individuals with interests, abilities, and peculiarities. Some people get along with everyone, while others will not come on board if you employ someone they despise. When interacting with important NPCs, they will respond to your decisions in a traditional role-playing game way. If some discover that you are flush with money, they may even attempt to extort you. But the thing they all detest is losses within their own ranks. People will either increase the contractual price or outright refuse to be employed again if you continually losing them. Each merc has a special ability, and unlike previous JA series, they all have skill trees and gain experience points. "Most of those guys will never make it to Mensa, but they are good enough in a fight," to paraphrase my avatar from Jagged Alliance 2.

Aside from stunning maps with a lot of verticality, there are several improvements on the tactical front. For example, weapon classifications have much more significance. In earlier Jagged Assembly games, shotguns were no longer useful after you acquired automatic weapons that weren't subpar. This time, they function flawlessly inside, debuffing opponents with a variety of effects and shooting in a broad arc. Machine guns are ideal squad support weapons since they provide for extended overwatch from a stationary posture. That being said, sniper rifles continue to rule the battlefield. Furthermore, accuracy is much more crucial than anything else. The removal of hit percentages is the main innovation. Although some individuals detest it, it makes conflict more realistic and unpredictable.

It pays to live a clean and hard life

Two of the greatest PC military role-playing games of the previous century have a worthy heir in Jagged Alliance 3. It's unbelievable that it took over 25 years for someone to create the right sequel, but there's not much you can do about it. The Haemimont lads have once again shown themselves to be the most skilled restorers of vintage Western teams. It is even more amazing what they accomplished with Jagged Alliance than it was on Tropico. Imagine what Eastern Europeans might do if given more resources and larger creative liberties. They certainly had the skill.