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Jagged Alliance: Back In Action

While it pains my X-COM-worshipping bones to admit it, the days of the turn-based strategy game may well be truly over. Sure, some standouts might still remain (cases in point: the intriguing Xenonauts and Dead State), but the sign of the times is glowing in massive neon letters: speed it up. That’s not to say some games haven’t taken the “speed it up” mantra and run with it to an exciting hybrid of turn-based and real-time game-play; Flotilla and Frozen Synapse are two solid examples which have done just that – with excellent results. Still, these are new
properties; can an established, classic turn-based franchise make the leap to a modern hybrid style?

That’s the challenge facing Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, a remake of the iconic Jagged Alliance 2. The core storyline remains the same: your rag-tag group of mercenaries attempts to take back the fictional nation of Arulco from its conquering dictator, Deidranna; but the methodology has been overhauled to what developers bitComposer are calling “Plan & Go” (click the pic immediately below for a video showing this feature).

Click to view video. WARNING: This game-play video features “Mature”-rated content and may not be suitable for all audiences.

As far as hybrid strategy models go, my first impression of JA:BiA’s “Plan & Go” is one of curiousity; this almost feels like the devilishly difficult Commandos games by Pyro Studios from years past, and they certainly didn’t lack for strategic depth despite their real-time pedigree.

Similarly, while the planning component has more in common with a Bioware-esque “space-bar-pause” game than a blind-planning tactics game like Frozen Synapse, that’s not necessarily a bad thing; after all, the key item that I’m looking to retain in Back in Action the tactical flexibility and environmental variables I would expect from Jagged Alliance, which the video seems to demonstrate in spades. Line of sight cones? Reaction to sound, both by my mercs and the enemy? Grenades and appropriate reactions to them? Yes, please and thank you; plus: we also get a teasing look at the inventory screen in the game-play trailer, which has this PC gamer applauding in approval. Give me menus or give me death, consarn it!

Pack some long underwear.

I have a few concerns about what appears to be high health and excessive damage resistance for the player’s mercenaries but I have a sneaking suspicion “dev mode” may be the culprit for the purposes of putting on a good video. Likewise, some of the gun-firing animations don’t seem to sync up with the death animations of the appropriate target; I’m willing to give the video the benefit of the doubt – for all I know, this could be from a beta build and that issue may have since been patched up.

But let’s not get away from my main point: this video looks how a Jagged Alliance remake should look. Even some minor imperfections can’t stop me from feverishly anticipating a return to
Arulco.

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