Jagged Alliance 3 Review – An Excellent Return of a Great Franchise

Jagged Alliance is one of the most popular turn-based action series that made its first appearance back in the 90s winning the hearts of the audience on DOS. The series has several titles entitled to it over the years but the sequel of Jagged Alliance 2 came out this very year after 2 decades and it offers the original role-playing adventure with turn-based combat.

Despite the original developers of the series, Jagged Alliance 3 brings the true adventure back to the fans. Haemimont Games did an exceptional job of keeping the true nature of the game and adding modern-day features that delve quite well with the game.

Story

This time you are hired for a job in the country of Grand Chien somewhere in Africa whose President has been kidnapped by the leader of a Paramilitary Force known as ‘The Legion’. Your job is to rescue the president from The Legion and stop them from taking over the country by hiring Mercenaries of various archetypes.

Gameplay

Jagged Alliance 3 stays true to the actual turn-based action role-playing genre and offers new mechanics for players to discover. As the game begins, players get the good old notification of hiring the mercenaries to reach The Grand Chien in assistance of rescuing the President. By progressing through the first couple of main missions, players will reach the main island completely controlled by The Legion.

The mercenaries are hired through the internet and there are various roles of the mercenaries that impact their stats and play style. Players must learn the roles of the mercenaries to use them in certain scenarios either in combat or training the personal militia. Having high stats gives several benefits to the players throughout the main story as well as side quests for the characters.

The combat aspect of the game is turn-based yet it is greatly improved with high detailing. You will get to select the body part of the enemy where you want to shoot the weapon and it will also show you the percentage of dealing critical damage. The overview mode is a great addition that pauses the time and lets you strategize how you want to proceed. Mapping out the advantage points and covers in the overview will let you have safe spots during the combat where you can move your mercenaries and win the fight easily.

The role-playing adventure aspect of the game is also well-designed as you will get to meet various characters that you can hire by having a high stat related to persuasion or you can kill them by selecting a respective option. Making choices plays a crucial role in developing a plotline for both side questlines and the main as some characters might come in handy in the end-game.

Another greatly designed aspect of the game is management. Alongside the combat and role-playing, you will come across various gear items that you can share among the mercenaries and use to help each other out in the playthrough. Each mercenary has a personal inventory alongside a shared inventory which players can utilize by storing ammo, gear, weapons, and healing items.

Sound and Visuals

The sound design of Jagged Alliance 3 is no doubt the best in the series as the voice acting of all the major characters enhances the overall role-playing experience. The crackling in the voice can be heard clearly but if there were some visuals rather than a giant portrait then it would be a more immersive experience. The visuals of the game are stunning as it portrays a vast world filled with lush green fields, forests, and beaches as well as a deadly desert.

Verdict – Score 9/10

Jagged Alliance is a brilliant turn-based role-playing adventure game that brings back the original experience with modern-day mechanics. If you are a fan of the original Jagged Alliance series or a turn-based combat enjoyer, then we highly recommend you try out the Jagged Alliance 3 as it holds every aspect related to strategizing the mercenaries and personal militia.

Jagged Alliance 3 is available on  PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

The post Jagged Alliance 3 Review – An Excellent Return of a Great Franchise appeared first on Nintendo Smash: Video Games News, Reviews & Guides.