Jagged Alliance 2

Jagged Alliance 2
Studio	Sir Tech Canada
Publisher	TopWare Interactive
Senior Developer	Ian Currie
Erstveröffent- lichung	April 1999
platform	Windows , Linux
genre	Round strategy game
Game mode	Single player
control	Mouse & keyboard
system advantages preconditions	CPU : Pentium 133 MHz RAM : 32 MB 16-bit graphics card 2 × CD-ROM drive
medium	CD-ROM , download
Current version	1.12 official 1.13 community patch
Age rating	USK PEGI

Jagged Alliance 2 (short: JA2 ) is a turn-based strategy game with role-playing elements that was released in 1999 for Windows . It is the sequel to Jagged Alliance . It was developed by the American game manufacturer Sir-Tech in its Canadian subsidiary. As the first game in the series, it was later ported to Linux by Tribsoft .

action

The player is hired by Enrico Chivaldori, the former head of state of the fictional island state of Arulco. With a mercenary troop he is supposed to free the country from the dictatorship of Chivaldori's ex-wife, Deidranna Reitman. She had first had Chivaldori's father murdered and then tried to attach the murder to her husband. Before Chivaldori could approach certain death, he fled his homeland. He finances the formation of the first raiding party and provides initial information on how to recapture his homeland. With the support of the local rebels, the player is supposed to advance to the presidential palace in the capital Meduna and destroy Deidranna.

Gameplay

As with its predecessor, the game focus is on the tactical control of small mercenary troops , with which the player must clear various areas known as sectors of enemy soldiers in turn-based tactical battles in order to finally recapture the entire island of Arulco for his clients. Overall, the island is effectively divided into around 200 walkable sectors. In addition to conquering the individual sectors, the player can take on smaller quests that bring him additional rewards and advantages. In addition to the regular mode, there is also an optional SciFi mode, in which extraterrestrial opponents appear in the game in side missions.

Part of the game takes place on an overland map. It shows the entire area of ​​Arulco and its individual sectors as well as the locations of their own teams. From here, mercenaries can be moved across sector boundaries and marching routes can be set. The player also has access to various shops where he can hire new mercenaries or purchase equipment and have it shipped. There are 50 different mercenaries with different skills (divided into health, agility, dexterity, strength, wisdom, leadership quality, medicine, explosives, technology, accuracy), but also some peculiarities (e.g. claustrophobia , night fear, etc.) to select. As in a computer role-playing game , the characters can develop and improve their skills, be it through application or instructed training. Some mercenaries have relationships with one another that must be taken into account, for example because they refuse to cooperate. At the beginning, the player can create a mercenary based on a questionnaire according to his own specifications. In total, the player can hire a maximum of 20 mercenaries and organize them into squads of a maximum of six fighters. The characters are set to music in both the English and German language versions.

A significant factor is the time that the squads need to switch between sectors, which also plays a role in replenishment requests, income and balance sheets ("payday"), the flying in of new comrades-in-arms or the skills training of existing fighters. A time acceleration function enables the player to minimize idle periods. If a mercenary troop enters a sector controlled by enemies, the game switches to skirmish mode. The sector loads as a detailed 2D isometric map of the area. The player can control each mercenary individually. As long as there is no enemy nearby, the fighters explore the map in real time. In the event of enemy contact, the system switches to turn-based combat mode. The moves are in the order of a) the player's mercenaries, b) enemy soldiers and, if applicable, c) other factions such as B. residents, militias or wild animals carried out. Each character's options for action are determined by action points, which in turn depend on the character's skills and state of exhaustion. Possible actions are, for example, shooting, running, kneeling down, opening doors or using inventory items. There are different height levels (e.g. also roofs) and the selection of different hit zones (head, torso, legs), which influence the hit probability. When all opponents are defeated, the game switches back to real-time mode.

Within the sector, the player can e.g. B. find useful objects, weapons, ammunition or money in buildings. The skillful use of the available money resources and equipment is another focus of the game. The mercenaries demand regular payment, regular income can only be gained by conquering and holding the ore mines on the island. At the same time, the computer opponent often starts counter-attacks to recapture lost sectors. To keep the sectors, residents can be enlisted as militias to support the player in battle. It is also possible to trade with the residents. Some ask the player to help with smaller, optional side tasks as part of the dialogues.

The game is won as soon as the player has captured the presidential palace and eliminated Deidranna.

Development and publication

Jagged Alliance 2 was created under the direction of series creator Ian Currie at Sir-Tech's Canadian development studio . Compared to Jagged Alliance , the graphics have been increased from 320 × 200 to 640 × 480 pixels and 16- instead of 8-bit color depth. The mercenaries also received an individual look on the tactical map view. Originally Sir-Tech wanted to finish the game by autumn 1998, but postponed the release to the following year due to numerous bugs. Problematic functions such as aerial combat were also deleted. In Germany, TopWare Interactive launched the game on April 19, 1999.

In 2000, Sir-Tech released the standalone expansion Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business before the software company gave up game development in 2001. In the same year the Tribsoft company ported Jagged Alliance 2 to Linux . In 2002 the Canadian publisher Strategy First acquired the trademark rights to Jagged Alliance . At the same time, the company also took over a large part of the development team from Sir-Tech, including series creator Ian Currie, announced plans for the development of a third part and brought a gold edition of an improved version of Jagged Alliance 2 including the Unfinished Business add-on on the market. In addition to bug fixes, this Gold Edition also included a revision of the weapon balance, a revised user interface and the Iron Man difficulty level. First, however, Strategy First launched a standalone add-on called Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire in the US in 2004, including the game's source code. The German version was published in April 2005 by the Topware successor company Zuxxez . On December 2, 2008, Jagged Alliance 2 was re-released as a purchasable download via Good Old Games .

With the JA2 source code release, the game has become playable for other platforms. Through the JA2-Stracciatella project, SDL was implemented as the underlying library and thus platform independence was achieved. As a result, Jagged Alliance 2 became playable on other systems through fan initiatives, e.g. B. Android smartphones , AmigaOS4 , or Mac OS .

reception

Meta-ratings Database Rating GameRankings 84.66% reviews publication Rating GameSpot 8.8 / 10 GameStar 88% IGN 8.5 / 10 PC action 90% PC Games 90% PC joker 89% PC player 87% Power play 90% Gamecaptain 91%

Reviews

Jagged Alliance 2 received numerous positive ratings. It was compared, among other things, with the historical competitors of the X-COM series, but also with the Commandos at the same time : Behind enemy lines .

“Someone should say that turn-based strategy games are a thing of the past. JA2 can't shine graphically, but it proves impressively that gaming fun doesn't come from opulent showmanship, but from well thought-out gameplay. Hardly any game combines so many genres in such an entertaining way as TopWare's long-awaited title. "

- Thomas Borovskis : PC Games

“What takes a long time is finally ... awesome! All the advantages of the legendary predecessor have been retained and even expanded. The typical mix of strategy and role-playing elements is still absolutely appealing. "

- Thomas Werner : PC player

“Jagged Alliance 2 promises a gaming experience of the intense kind: With a quicky during the lunch break, nothing can be done in Arulco, but those looking for a real challenge and perfect integration into a coherent game environment will be thrilled - also and especially about how gentle the level of difficulty despite of non-linear gameplay increases. "

- Michael Trier : PC Joker

Awards

• PC Player : Gold Award
• PC Joker : Hit Award
• PC Action : Gold Award
• PC Games : Game of the Month

Retrospectives

In 2012 PC Games listed the game as one of the 50 most important games of the past 20 years, partly because of the character drawings of the mercenaries and its non-linearity.

Add-ons

Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business

→ Main article : Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business

Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business (JA2 for short: UB) came onto the market in December 2000 as an official extension to Jagged Alliance 2 developed by Sir-Tech and capable of running alone . The player can use an import function to take over his mercenaries including their adjusted values ​​from the main part. The new area of ​​application is the neighboring country of Arulco, Tracona. The Ricci Mining company based there is trying to recapture its previous mines on Arulco with the help of corrupt military personnel. They threaten to fire long-range missiles at Arulco. The player must find and destroy the launching base in time to prevent this.

The play area in Unfinished Business is much smaller, Tracona only consists of 20 sectors. The mercenaries are also no longer hired on a daily or weekly basis. They are then available for the entire game against payment of a one-off payment. A map editor was included for this purpose , which served as the basis for fan mods .

Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire

→ Main article : Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire

Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire was originally a modification of the main game Jagged Alliance 2 by community member Serge “Wildfire” Popov, which changed all weapons, landscapes, structures, opponents and their AI to achieve an even more realistic feel. It was launched in March 2004 by Strategy First as an official series product in the USA; in Germany, the game was launched in April 2005 via Zuxxez Entertainment . The source code of Jagged Alliance 2 was added to the US version . The source code formed the basis of a lively modding scene for the game, which resulted in content enhancements, technical improvements and bug fixes.

Modding

By publishing the map editor with Unfinished Business and the source code by Wildfire, an active modding community was created, which published numerous modifications and fan content.

One of the most extensive revisions and mods received in the press was created under the name Jagged Alliance 2 1.13 based on the Wildfire source code. It does not add new cards or tasks to the game, but rather focuses, similar to a patch, mainly on improving existing functions. The improvements and extensions concern, among other things, the usability of the program, the AI and the selection of weapons or ammunition, but also increase the modding friendliness, as much of the information stored in binary files has been swapped out in editable XML files. This made it possible to insert your own content, such as B. objects and weapons, and their behavior is more based on the real role models. In some points, such as the maximum number of objects or the size of the game environment, the internal game limits have been raised. Further improvements concern the graphic resolution , which can also be increased to 800 × 600 and 1024 × 768. Militias can now be controlled and commanded better and items can already be sold in the sector inventory. New weather effects (heavy rain, lightning) also influence the tactical battles.

Also JA2 stracciatella fixes similar to an unofficial patch technical errors (such as buffer overflows ), but does not change the game mechanics or balancing. Support for screen resolutions larger than 800 × 600 has also been available since March 2013 .

successor

Contrary to the announcement, Strategy First never published a third part on Jagged Alliance . The attempts to continue and revive the brand came to nothing. From a JA2 fan project called "E5", the playfully similar Brigade E5 - New Jagged Union was created in Russia in 2006 and its successor Brigade 7.62 - High Caliber in 2007 . It was only after the trademark rights were sold to the German publisher bitcomposer Games in 2010 that players appeared again for the first time under the title Jagged Alliance .

Jagged Alliance 3D

Jagged Alliance 3D was the announcement title of a planned continuation by the Russian developer GFI. The game was postponed several times, abandoned the Jagged Alliance title in 2007 in favor of the new name Jazz: Hired Guns and finally went on sale as Hired Guns: The Jagged Edge in 2008.

Jagged Alliance: Back in Action

→ Main article : Jagged Alliance: Back in Action

In 2010 bitcomposer Games acquired the trademark rights to the series and announced the continuation. After delays, the Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, developed by the German developer Coreplay , was released on February 9, 2012 . It is a remake of Jagged Alliance 2 , which transfers the plot into 3D graphics and a real-time combat system that can be paused. The ratings were mixed. In 2014 a port for Mac OS and Linux was published. A stand-alone add-on called Jagged Alliance: Crossfire was released in 2012 .

Web links

• The official German homepage of JA2. Retrieved August 19, 2009 . 
• The official English homepage of JA2. Retrieved August 19, 2009 . 
• Jagged Alliance 2 at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d} Peter Kusenberg: Jagged Alliance 2. In: PC Games. November 13, 2007, accessed July 10, 2019 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Michael Trier: Jagged Alliance 2 . In: PC Joker . tape 06/1999 , p. 60-64 ( kultboy.com ).
3. ^ J. Neil Doane: Jagged Alliance 2 for Linux. In: Linux Journal. September 1, 2001, accessed July 10, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Nick Mann: Review: Jagged Alliance 2 for Linux ( English ) In: mrsneeze . March 4, 2001. Archived from the original on July 23, 2001. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
5. ↑ Bodo Naser: Strategy First buys Jagged Alliance. In: 4Players. June 6, 2002, accessed July 10, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Jagged Alliance: Sirtech team over / plans. In: PC Games. June 13, 2002, accessed July 10, 2019 . 
7. ↑ Marcel Kleffmann: Announced: Jagged Alliance 2 Gold Pack. In: 4Players. July 27, 2002, accessed July 10, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Jörg Luibl: Jagged Alliance 2: Gold Edition is coming! In: 4Players. March 24, 2003, accessed July 10, 2019 . 
9. ^ Ibo: Interview With Christina Ginger, Strategy First's Director of Communications: The future of the Jagged Alliance Franchise. In: Strategy Planet. Archived from the original on May 18, 2008 ; accessed on July 10, 2019 . 
10. ↑ Justin Stolzenberg: Jagged Alliance 2 source code free. In: PC Games. February 25, 2004, accessed July 10, 2019 . 
11. ↑ Justin Stolzenberg: Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire in April. In: PC Games. March 9, 2005, accessed July 10, 2019 . 
12. ↑ New release: Jagged Alliance 2. In: GOG. Retrieved December 2, 2008, July 10, 2019 (American English). 
13. ↑ Jagged Alliance 2 on holarse-linuxgaming.de (May 17, 2008)
14. ↑ JA2 Stracciatella Feedback: Jagged Alliance 2 Android Stracciatella Port RC2 Release - please test ( Memento of the original from October 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the Bear's Pit Forum, October 3, 2011 
15. ↑ Henning Knopp, Christian Busse: Jagged Alliance 2: Port to AmigaOS4. In: Amiga Future. Retrieved July 10, 2019 . 
16. ↑ Yes 2. In: OS4Depot. Retrieved July 10, 2019 . 
17. ↑ OSX Stracciatella Port ( Memento of the original from January 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
18. ↑ http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/197667-jagged-alliance-2/
19. ↑ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/jagged-alliance-2-review/1900-2535569/
20. ^ ^{A b} Jagged Alliance 2 Reviews. In: PC Games Database.de. Retrieved August 19, 2009 . 
21. ↑ http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/03/jagged-alliance-2
22. ↑ ^{a b c} Thomas Werner: Jagged Alliance 2 . In: PC Player . tape 06/1999 , p. 72-78 ( pcplayer.de ).
23. ↑ http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=7217
24. ↑ http://www.gamecaptain.de/?file=showTest.php&&modrewrite=1&id=66 ( Memento from December 4, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
25. ↑ Matthias Dammes: 50 Masterworks: Today with Hitman, Jagged Alliance 2 and Master of Orion 2. In: PC Games. December 5, 2012, accessed July 11, 2019 . 
26. ↑ Andrew Burnes: Jagged Alliance 2 Source Code To Be Bundled With Wildfire ( English ) In: IGN . February 25, 2004. Archived from the original on January 8, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
27. ↑ Evan Lahti: Reinstall: Jagged Alliance 2 ( English ) In: PC Gamer US . October 13, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
28. ^ Marcel Kleffmann: Jagged Alliance 2 - Special, Strategy. In: 4Players. August 31, 2011, accessed July 11, 2019 . 
29. ↑ tron: Download JA2-Stracciatella v0.12.1 - Walnut ( English ) tron.homeunix.org. June 15, 2009. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 28, 2012: "Fix a vanilla buffer overflow when loading / saving savegames." 
30. ↑ tron: JA2-Stracciatella Q&A ( English ) ja-galaxy-forum.com. May 28, 2008. Archived from the original on October 13, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 28, 2012: “ What is the goal of JA2-Stracciatella? The goal is to make Jagged Alliance 2 available to a wide range of platforms, improve its stability, fix bugs and provide a stable platform for mod development. " 
31. ^ Gennady: JA2-Stracciatella Continued . www.ja-galaxy-forum.com. March 4, 2013. Archived from the original on May 6, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved on March 22, 2013: “ Update 2013-03-13: Added support for high video resolutions. For example, game can be started in 1024x768 mode like this: ja2.exe -res 1024x768. Any reasonable resolution should work. Some bugfixes from this forum have been integrated. [...] " 
32. ↑ Marcel Kleffmann: Brigade E5 - New Jagged Union - Test, Strategy. In: 4Players. Retrieved July 10, 2019 . 
33. ↑ Marcel Kleffmann: Brigade 7.62 - High Caliber - Test, Strategy. In: 4Players. Retrieved July 10, 2019 . 
34. ↑ Jazz: Hired Guns is now called Hired Guns: Jagged Edge. In: PC Games. August 11, 2007, accessed July 3, 2019 . 
35. ↑ Hired Guns: The Jagged Edge: Jagged Alliance 3D only 2008. In: 4Players. Retrieved July 3, 2019 . 
36. ↑ Eric Caoili: BitComposer Releasing Jagged Alliance 3 In 2011 ( English ) In: Gamasutra . UBM plc . March 9, 2010. Retrieved April 12, 2014.