Jagged Alliance 2

"I love this game! What can I say? It's fun, thought-provoking, stimulating, engaging, deep, memorable, nuanced. I wish I could use the Jagged Alliance 2 setup to beat on my friends, i.e., play this kind of chess against other people."

"It turns out that although the original turn-based system of movement and combat resolution worked particularly well in Jagged Alliance, Currie decided that he would take Jagged Alliance 2 to the next most logical level, even if it meant experimenting with an entirely new system. To that end, Currie set about developing a game engine that would enable players to plan and plot their moves in real-time -- both on..."

"The addition of more role-playing elements is welcome, but many of these features seem underdeveloped. When speaking with NPCs, for example, you simply choose your attitude toward them (friendly, direct, or threatening). Different people will respond to different attitudes, but it's difficult to really guess how to act with whom. Moreover, you only get one chance, so once they decide the conversation is over, the conversation is over. You never can be certain whether they held some valuable information you couldn't extract or whether they just had nothing important to say."

"Now, there is one thing I must complain about, very loudly. There is NO multiplayer! I almost cried as I thought of the possibilities of two parts of a country given to each team, with its own merc unit, and they would try to possess the other half. It brought me to tears as I thought of the many tactical wars that could have been fought between talented JA players, and yet... never will."

"Although technologically, JA2 is not state of the art, it's years ahead of its competitors in terms of game design. Sir-Tech has clearly demonstrated that hard work, attention to detail and awesome gameplay are what makes a game great. JA2 is a truly monumental achievement."