So I just defeated the evil queen in the vanilla GOG version of Jagged Alliance 2. The start of this game is probably the most difficult first act of any strategy RPG that I have ever played, as it took me about half a dozen restarts before I found the right mix of mercenaries to hire as well as the right settlements to take over in order to start generating revenue. Also it took me awhile to find the right mix of tactics. Some mistakes I made to start with:
- Tried to hire too many cheap mercenaries to start out with and they died relatively quickly.
- Tried rushing flanking maneuvers on enemies without using stealth, so I was sniped at times that I meant to ambush an enemy.
- Tried using darkness to cover my movements and depend solely on stealth with raw recruits... unsuccessfully.
- Ran out of money a few times.
- Tried to have a mix group of mercs that could handle explosives, medical, and lockpicking needs. When all I really needed at the start were a team of folks that could shoot well.
Anyway, I had a great time with the game and am considering doing a retrospective review for the Codex. Here are some of my thoughts, positive and negative.
Positives
-----------
+ There are so many ways to die, and in morbidly entertainingly animated ways.
+ There are so many ways to kill, from stealth kills with knives, to machine guns, to sniping, to rockets, and so on.
+ The enemy tactics, weapons, and unit types are mixed, so you can never be entirely sure what to expect.
+ The game has a great sense of humor. I kinda wish the queen and her main henchman would have survived for another game.
+ There are a lot of traps, both physical traps and set-up ambushes.
+ Every type of enemy allows for out-of-the-box solutions. Dug in enemies are deadly, but you can draw out, snipe from rooftops, use grenades, sneak up and kill close up, and so on.
+ I like the sense of progression. As I advance, I get access to better weapons from fallen enemies and from the shop. My revenue increases also.
+ I didn't do too many of them, but there are an incredible number of side quests.
+ You don't have to take every territory to win, though it does make the game easier if you can. I found the forces at the last enemy airport near the capitol too tough and dug in, so I just went around it.
+ I love the plot and setting. It's a perfect fit for this kind of game.
Negatives
-------------
- This is one buggy game. I picked Sci Fi in the new game generation options and was rewarded with an underground alien slug attack. So far so awesomely good. Right before I got to the hive queen, I took my team out of the dungeon to heal up because everyone was too injured. This resulted in a bug where the hive queen and other aliens all disappeared, so I could never defeat her and officially finish the game, while at the same time she continued to attack my forces daily and closed down my mine, halting revenue from that location.
- Wirecutters are needed to get through two squares in two separate cities. That's because they are surrounded by tall barb-wired fences. The manual never discusses how to get through these fences, and they never generated in the first two-thirds of the game. Nor did the shops and on-line store ever sell me any of them, despite them being common in every hardware store in real life. So there were two other cities I never fully conquered, further reducing my revenue. For such an important item, it should have been more common. It was only after I gave up on those areas did someone mention I could use explosives to get through chain link fences.
- With aliens taking my revenue from one mine, another mine running out of ore, and the other mines revenue being reduced in productivity due to my inability to completely take each square over, I decided to push on and attack the final city despite having small forces and limited weaponry. I did save and load often in between failed attempts to take fortified positions, but I did manage to do it. I found the AI to be lacking towards the end game. I would fire off a round into the darkness, set-up ambush positions, and take out a bunch of the enemy who would wander in to investigate. I did have to depend on grenades for fortified positions. The game starts off incredibly tough when you start off with pistols and raw recruits, but gets quite easier at the end.
- Enemies with awesome equipment would often leave minor items or no equipment at all once killed by gunfire. I can understand how their equipment would be destroyed by rockets, but there should be a lot more equipment that survives when someone dies by having a round strike them in the head.
- I rarely went for the head shot, or even a normal one when an enemy had partial cover. Even when my mercs nearly maxed out their marksmanship score, the enemy troops seemed to be better shots than my own guys, and I missed when they would not. As the game progressed, I found myself relying on deception, sneaking, and grenades instead of lying prone and waiting for the enemy appeared so I could attempt the perfect shot.
Anyway, I would definitely recommend this. My main team at the end of the game was a character I made myself, Ira, Buzz, Buns, Scope and Raven. Buzz was my favorite. Although Scope and Buns were the better shots on paper, Buzz seemed to be my lucky charm and she was normally the one I sent in to lie in ambush and take out unsuspecting soldiers. I could play with the fan mod that toughens up the AI, but I'm JAed out despite enjoying the experience.
- Tried to hire too many cheap mercenaries to start out with and they died relatively quickly.
- Tried rushing flanking maneuvers on enemies without using stealth, so I was sniped at times that I meant to ambush an enemy.
- Tried using darkness to cover my movements and depend solely on stealth with raw recruits... unsuccessfully.
- Ran out of money a few times.
- Tried to have a mix group of mercs that could handle explosives, medical, and lockpicking needs. When all I really needed at the start were a team of folks that could shoot well.
Anyway, I had a great time with the game and am considering doing a retrospective review for the Codex. Here are some of my thoughts, positive and negative.
Positives
-----------
+ There are so many ways to die, and in morbidly entertainingly animated ways.
+ There are so many ways to kill, from stealth kills with knives, to machine guns, to sniping, to rockets, and so on.
+ The enemy tactics, weapons, and unit types are mixed, so you can never be entirely sure what to expect.
+ The game has a great sense of humor. I kinda wish the queen and her main henchman would have survived for another game.
+ There are a lot of traps, both physical traps and set-up ambushes.
+ Every type of enemy allows for out-of-the-box solutions. Dug in enemies are deadly, but you can draw out, snipe from rooftops, use grenades, sneak up and kill close up, and so on.
+ I like the sense of progression. As I advance, I get access to better weapons from fallen enemies and from the shop. My revenue increases also.
+ I didn't do too many of them, but there are an incredible number of side quests.
+ You don't have to take every territory to win, though it does make the game easier if you can. I found the forces at the last enemy airport near the capitol too tough and dug in, so I just went around it.
+ I love the plot and setting. It's a perfect fit for this kind of game.
Negatives
-------------
- This is one buggy game. I picked Sci Fi in the new game generation options and was rewarded with an underground alien slug attack. So far so awesomely good. Right before I got to the hive queen, I took my team out of the dungeon to heal up because everyone was too injured. This resulted in a bug where the hive queen and other aliens all disappeared, so I could never defeat her and officially finish the game, while at the same time she continued to attack my forces daily and closed down my mine, halting revenue from that location.
- Wirecutters are needed to get through two squares in two separate cities. That's because they are surrounded by tall barb-wired fences. The manual never discusses how to get through these fences, and they never generated in the first two-thirds of the game. Nor did the shops and on-line store ever sell me any of them, despite them being common in every hardware store in real life. So there were two other cities I never fully conquered, further reducing my revenue. For such an important item, it should have been more common. It was only after I gave up on those areas did someone mention I could use explosives to get through chain link fences.
- With aliens taking my revenue from one mine, another mine running out of ore, and the other mines revenue being reduced in productivity due to my inability to completely take each square over, I decided to push on and attack the final city despite having small forces and limited weaponry. I did save and load often in between failed attempts to take fortified positions, but I did manage to do it. I found the AI to be lacking towards the end game. I would fire off a round into the darkness, set-up ambush positions, and take out a bunch of the enemy who would wander in to investigate. I did have to depend on grenades for fortified positions. The game starts off incredibly tough when you start off with pistols and raw recruits, but gets quite easier at the end.
- Enemies with awesome equipment would often leave minor items or no equipment at all once killed by gunfire. I can understand how their equipment would be destroyed by rockets, but there should be a lot more equipment that survives when someone dies by having a round strike them in the head.
- I rarely went for the head shot, or even a normal one when an enemy had partial cover. Even when my mercs nearly maxed out their marksmanship score, the enemy troops seemed to be better shots than my own guys, and I missed when they would not. As the game progressed, I found myself relying on deception, sneaking, and grenades instead of lying prone and waiting for the enemy appeared so I could attempt the perfect shot.
Anyway, I would definitely recommend this. My main team at the end of the game was a character I made myself, Ira, Buzz, Buns, Scope and Raven. Buzz was my favorite. Although Scope and Buns were the better shots on paper, Buzz seemed to be my lucky charm and she was normally the one I sent in to lie in ambush and take out unsuspecting soldiers. I could play with the fan mod that toughens up the AI, but I'm JAed out despite enjoying the experience.
