Jagged Alliance 3 Review

Haemimont Games might not be as well-known as other developers; however, you might recognize some of the games they’ve released. Their story started like any other. Once upon a time, long ago in 1997, a passionate developer named Gabriel Dobrev decided to found Haemimont Games. This little studio’s main focus was and still is to create simulation, city-building, and history-based strategy games along with some RPGs on the side.

Their first release, Tzar: The Burden of the Crown, took a while but eventually came out in 2000. Tzar: The Burden of the Crown solidified their position in the strategy and city-building genres ever since, and with future releases like Tropico 3, Tropico 4, and Tropico 5, along with Surviving Mars, they just kept rising to the top with their somewhat addictive games.

Jumping ahead to now, Haemimont Games decided to continue with an old game that uses an endless number of classic action tropes while keeping the satisfying kill scenes as great as always. The game in question is the Jagged Alliance series. The famed turn-based strategy is making another round with its third sequel on 13 July 2023, yet again, improved visuals, a new mission, and enough chaos to even make the devil proud.

Jagged Alliance 3’s story is about a medium-sized country called Grand Chien, which is rich in resources but also has political schisms. Things turn even more heated when the president of Grand Chien is abducted by The Legion, a paramilitary force that prefers ruling through force and fear, and they have no issue with using unnecessary force to get what they want. With the abduction of the president, they’ve taken control of the entire countryside, and it’ll be your job to rescue the president and put an end to The Legion.

Unfortunately, this epic adventure won’t be easy, and you’ll be faced with some difficult choices that can change future outcomes. However, there will be more on this later. Before you can jump into Grand Chien and start fighting the good fight against The Legion, you’ll need guns and mercs to get the job done. In true Jagged Alliance fashion, you’ll be recruiting the tried and sometimes trusted A.I.M Database to build your team.

However, this isn’t as simple as it looks. You’ll have choices between the different ranks: recruit, veteran, elite, and legendary. These are, for the most part, just the levels of the possible mercs you’ll be recruiting, with higher ranks meaning that they’re also a higher level and come at a higher price, too.

Yes, that’s right, because nothing in life is ever free, and neither are the mercs you hire. To make things just a little bit more complicated, you can only hire them for a set duration, and then you’ll have to extend their contracts as you go if you want to keep your team in one piece.

Worry not; you don’t get thrown into the deep end without some starting cash, but it’s not a lot, so you’ll need to be careful with who you hire and how much you’re spending if you want to make the most of what little money you have. In Jagged Alliance 3, money will cover most of what you absolutely need, like training Militia, training Mercs, and the daily medical costs for your mercs.

When it comes to hiring your mercs to build a team, you’ll also need to keep in mind that some mercs have preferences, too, and will raise their prices if you have a merc they don’t like. Building a somewhat balanced team is where things start to matter because your mercs come with different classes. You’ll have options between Mechanic, Doctor, Marksman, All-Rounder, Explosive Expert, and several others.

However, if you’re just starting, it’s wise to have a decent balance between the different types but also not to grow your team to unsustainable sizes, and four is usually the recommended number. This is all fine and well, but if you’re not entirely sure, you might have to experiment a bit with mercs at first and maybe even start over. You are given recommended mercs, but they’re not exactly great, nor do they work well together. They will definitely make things more difficult on the money side when you need to extend your merc contracts.

Now that you’ve finally built your team, you’re officially ready to start your grandstand against The Legion. You’ll be greeted by the Sat View, where you’ll spend a good chunk of time running operations and sending your team to the different sections on the map.

As you’ll soon see, each piece of land is in its block or section, and each section can be explored and even taken over. However, you can’t just send them off, as your mercs are yours to command for a set duration and time, which will always be working against you. Sending them from one section to another will take time, so you’ll need to spend your time wisely.

The Sat View has several other purposes, too, and this comes in the form of Operations. Naturally, after a lot of fighting and looting, your mercs will need some medical attention, repairs, and sometimes a little R&R. This and so much more is done through Operations. This is where you tend to your mercs’ needs and fortify the towns you’ll visit.

Unfortunately, Operations take time and resources that you might not always have. For example – If you want to give your mercs some medical attention, you’ll need at least one doctor in your team and enough medical supplies to cover injuries, and even then, you’ll also need to be willing to spend some time waiting for the Operation to finish. The same can be said for everything else, like training Militia and Scouting. This is why having a balanced team is extremely important.

Once you’re finally deploying into the section, you’ll get to explore freely and maybe even pick up some loot in the form of medical supplies, money, intel, ammo, weapons, and parts. Though you’ll need to keep your eyes open and your guns ready, enemies can be around any corner, and being spotted will start a fight that you have to finish. Luckily, you’ll have the ability to sneak around if there are enemies nearby. This slows down the detection rate and can give you time to get a strategic advantage. However, you’ll also have the option to stealth kill stragglers, provided you can kill them with one attack.

Fight scenarios are a whole other beast to deal with. First off, the cover is vital to your team’s survival as it reduces the chance of your merc getting hit by enemy fire. To help your survival chances along, you can also choose to have your merc stand, crouch, and prone, each one having its changes to hit chance for your merc and enemies. If you need some extra defense, all your mercs will also have the Take Cover ability. This increases your merc’s extra protection behind the cover and can make or break a fight in most cases.

Next up is the Overwatch ability. When you need to set up a defensive perimeter while keeping the offense up, Overwatch is your best bet. Veterans of turn-based tactical games will know it. For those who don’t know, it’ll allow you to set up a forward-facing perimeter that will trigger an attack from your merc if enemies attack or move through it.

However, it will also leave you exposed to attacks, and some caution is advised when using it. The alternative is Mobile Shot, which will allow your merc to move to a different location while taking a shot or two at any enemy in sight. This does come with the downside of a rather low hit chance, though.

Now, the part everybody loves, Single Shot, also known as just attacking. This can be a little overcomplicated for some as you’ll get the option to choose which body part of your target to shoot while also giving you the option to spend extra AP to increase the hit chance. However, spending extra AP for a higher hit chance is only half the equation.

In this regard, your mercs’ weapons also have a maximum range that can affect the hit chance quite heavily. This can come off as needlessly overcomplicated, but it also makes each fight a lot more versatile with the various options you’ll have.

Sadly, as seen in every Turn-Based Tactical game, you’ll have to worry about AP (Action Points). AP can ruin your day if you’re not careful with how you use it; everything comes with an AP cost unless your merc has a perk that gives you some leeway.

Aside from keeping an eye on AP, you’ll also need to keep team morale high, as this can also affect your team’s AP, along with several other factors. Raising Morale is at least very easy, just get kills and your Morale will climb with your kill count.

Now, you’ve had a taste of battle, and you freed a town from The Legion’s control. You’ll get to talk to the locals and get some extra intel alongside a possible side-quest or two, but this isn’t quite as straightforward as you’d like it to be.

To add to the mountain of trouble you’ll need to deal with, you’ll also have game-changing choices to look forward to that can and most likely will have consequences that will come back to bite you later on. Some of these choices can be small and will increase or decrease loyalty from the towns to you, while others might not have an effect at the time but will change future events.

Jagged Alliance 3 seems to have it all wrapped up into one game; just for a little extra on top, you’ll also have access to notes. These prove invaluable when you need to weaken an outpost because the intel you find can sometimes point you in the right direction as to how you can weaken the defenses before you run the risk of starting a suicide mission. If you can find an advantage in any form, you’ll need to take it unless you’re after the extra challenge.

On the sound design front, Jagged Alliance 3 might need a bit more work on the soundtrack. While the soundtrack is nice, it feels a bit forced on you and can draw away from the game as a whole, even more so when you’re talking to the NPCs, as it will sometimes just cut out entirely. However, there is some redemption for it; the game is fully voiced between NPCs and your mercs.

The conversations and the odd bits of speech from the mercs really lighten up the overall atmosphere and will always give you a good laugh now and then. For instance, when you’re healing up Kalyna, she’ll say, “She feels there is good magic in this bandage,” just as an example. This, along with so many other random bits of dialogue, can really lighten the serious mood of the game just when you need it. 

Jagged Alliance 3 does look similar to its predecessors, but with overall improved visuals, the difference is clear with each game. Jagged Alliance 3 seems to have been completely redone, and it becomes even clear in combat scenarios when you can sometimes shoot enemy heads off entirely.

While a bit gory for some, it’s a really nice touch and adds a lot to the game’s atmosphere. The world's creation is no laughing matter either, and it is more something to admire. There’s an astonishing level of detail in the vegetation and land around your team, and it just keeps getting better as you explore.

Overall, Jagged Alliance 3 might not exactly be for people who are new to the Turn-Based Tactical genre, but it’s great for the genre’s veterans. For those who want to try it out, there might be a bit of a learning curve, and you’ll definitely need some patience for it, but it’s well worth it in the end for the story, brilliant visuals, hilarious commentary, and the fun change of pace in gameplay while getting a fair amount of brain exercise at the same time.