scope112

Enemy line of sight is truly flawed. Also, enemy reaction (total lack of any response) to getting shot or hit by explosions is another major flaw. How can enemies just walk around like nothing happened while a massive explosion almost caused their full HP to deplete? How come enemies don't make any sound when being hit by a critical shot?

The enemy repositioning trigger is really unrealistic. In various videos I saw the enemy just taking cover positions while they could easily just shoot and kill the player's MERCs. The enemy repositioning feature feels unnatural, it feels like a forced cutscene. Also, the AI just makes illogical choices: why reposition and take cover while you can actually just instantly punish the player by shooting them?

Wow this is really bad on multiple levels. The enemies don't even flinch and keep walking. The game also feels the need to alert us that the explosive barrel explodes.... I mean come on, we see the explosion already

Another serious area for improvement is the inventory system. The inventory system is a mess if you have many items. It could really use some basic sorting options: weapons, ammo, grenades, medical, miscellaneous items

After reviewing the beta content in greater depth, I found the following points to be disappointing and requiring significant improvement: 1) Lack of Morale & Energy: The devs have simplified gameplay by giving MERCS only have a health bar. This means that your mercs can no longer be stunned. There is also no longer a morale bar that is subject to change as your MERC kills enemies, has friends/enemies on his/her team, speed of progress, and other factors that influence morale. 2) Art Style: The characters look too cartoony. The art style fits more in line with Fortnite rather than a Jagged Alliance title. 3) Lack of animated faces: Without animated faces the MERCS and NPCs just feel sterile, they have no emotion attached to them. In JA1 and JA2, you could see them speak, sleep, get hurt, be angry, etc. All these expressions made you (the player) feel attached to your MERCS and NPCs. 4) Lack of MERC interaction: the build shows limited interaction among mercs. Also, MERCs do not give much feedback to actions, such as killing enemies, picking up items, and other actions. Compared to JA2, the level of interaction seems to have declined. However, the current build did not yet include all voicelines, so I hope that this is the reason. 5) Flawed AP System: The new AP system has a maximum of 12 points instead of 25 (as in JA1 and JA2). With the new AP system, there is a lack of differentiation between firing small (lighter) guns versus big (heavier) guns. Also, it limits strategic planning, because all actions more or less consume the same amount of points. Furthermore, it seems that all MERCs have the same amount of action points, indicating that dexterity and health no longer impact your MERC's action points. This suggests that the game mechanics are simplified, which is not a step in the right direction. 6) Lack of item weight / Simplified Inventory system: Items appear to not have any weight stats, but rather just consume 1 or 2 inventory slots. With the lack of weight stats, the importance of the "Strength" attribute is decreased, making it irrelevant to hire stronger MERCs. 7) Excessive MERC grunting: When your MERCs are climbing rocks, they excessively grunt/moan. Sometimes it's so bad that you think you're listening to an adult video, rather than playing an action TBS game. 8 ) Lack of IMP Customization: The current build has very few portraits/characters to choose from for your IMP character. More options are needed so that players can choose a portrait that somewhat resembles their own features. 9) Lack of bullet ballistics: Bullets are accounted as hit/miss. Bullets no longer travel unexpected trajectories, causing unexpected events to occur. For instance, in JA2, your bullet might miss its target, but then travel 30 meters further, and hit a gas can, causing a part of a building to explode. It seems that JA3's current mechanics do not allow for such events to occur, which is really a shame. It's the level of detail in JA2 that made the game so beloved among its long-term fans. 10) Lack of Free aiming mode: Your MERCs can no longer just randomly shoot objects/the ground/NPCs. Each time you would like to aim freely, you are prompted with a "Free Aiming" confirmation box. As the player I want freedom of choice, not be restricted by the game whether I can take the shot or not. 11) Lack of wound/hit feedback: Your mercs and enemies do not give any audio/visual feedback to getting hit by a bullet. Enemies just soak up the bullets, you never hear them being in pain. Also, your mercs do not appear to give any audio/visual cues of enduring pain. 12) Lack of bleeding: In JA2, your MERCs would continue to bleed until being bandaged. In JA3, it seems that being hit just results in a decrease of HP, but not continued bleeding. These were some of the glaring points that I found. I will later check the content again to see whether I have more suggestions for the devs.

I found this preview to be the worst/least helpful of all released previews. The reviewer has no clue about the Jagged Alliance franchise, and does not understand the atmosphere/positioning of the game. His "preview" does not give you an accurate impression. But yeah, that's IGN for you.

My initial impression of the game are quite positive. The game does not feel Xcom like, it retains the combat mechanics of the original Jagged Alliance titles. The maps are well designed and grand in scale. The voiceovers are decently done. I like the new conversation system and the choices it offers. The world seems quite big with plenty of maps, and the maps are also all rather diversified. I also like the atmosphere and music, it fits the 80s-90s era, gives me the vibe of old action movies. The main concern that I currently have concerns mercenary feedback. The in-game mercenary feedback and interaction is a bit limited, but this may be due to the fact that not all voice-overs are implemented in the game yet. I hope the full release has extensive interactions between mercs and MERC feedback on actions. The relationships and voiceovers are a core feature of the game. Another concern that I have relates to the management of loot. I couldn't see yet whether there is a type of sector inventory or central point to manage loot. But that may be something that I missed. Another area for improvement is the lack of an in-game conversation window. Currently, the letters/words are just displayed on the map, making it hard to read/follow. I would prefer it if the devs put it in a box, improving readability.

In JA1 DG, I really liked the feature that you could play multiplayer versus a human player. This feature actually excites me much more than a co-op mode, because there is a competitive element involved. Also, you play against a human with unique tactics rather than a (predictable) AI. Both players assembled their squads, purchased arms from a dealer (Micky) and then went against each other head to head. When you tried to acquire the same mercs and items, you had to engage in an auction "war" to secure your acquisition. There were lots of different strategies and considerations going into composing your ideal team and resources. Do you choose a small team with killer MERCS and lesser equipment, or do you choose a larger team of less able MERCS with better equipment? During combat, you could let your mercs cissue funny and unique insults to your opponent. This was truly unique and fun. I will always recall Scully shouting: "You can't hide forever man.... Sooner or later you will need food... And water" I hope that the devs can bring this Multiplayer versus mode back. I would really enjoy playing locally / via internet in a competitive match against fellow commanders. Besides the fun factor, it will also really help with the longevity of the game.

From JA1 DG there are bunch of mercs that I would like to see making a comeback: Leech, Kelly, Boss, Spike, Hector, Vinny, Jimmy, Bud, Mike

Another concern that I have is that the game design is similar to XCOM 2. I really dislike XCOM 2, because it feels like a generic, soulless squad combat game. Jagged Alliance games have an unique soul and depth to them, which is what makes the games memorable and maintain a tight community for over 20 years.

I would welcome a console port, but I think that these types of games work better on a PC. Porting it to console will likely lead to streamlining (aka simplifying the game mechanics) to ensure it flows well on a gamepad. This simplification will likely cause the title to turn into a boring mobile phone game (like JA Rage)

If I were to pick out a mistake in JA3, then it would be the chosen art style and character design. The game and its characters look too colorful for my liking. The MERCS and enemies look like charicatures / children cartoons. The current art style fits Fortnite, not a Jagged Alliance title.

Excited to see the Dev stream and beta impressions. I hope that also English speaking streamers will cover this game.

I fundamentally disagree with you, and agree with the decision the developers made. With CtH, you wouldn't use poor mercs to shoot that "lucky" shot. For me those moments are among my most memorable, where I used Ira in JA2 to make an impossible shot, and seeing her gain 1 point in marksmanship. Good call devs.

I have looked forward to a great successor to the Jagged Alliance series for many years. Jagged Alliance 1, DG, 2, and UB are my favorite games, and they still bring great memories. I still replay them every year, which is a testament to the series' quality. Jagged Alliance 3 shows great promise with the involvement of Ian Currie and the fact that the creators appear to be fans of the original series. The shared content and screenshot show promise, especially since it does not look like a cheap or hastened production. The devs are putting love and dedication into the game. However, I do have a few key concerns that relate to game immersiveness and design, which for me and many fans of the series, can be dealbreakers: 1) Art Direction: The chosen art direction looks cartoonish and tailored to young teenagers. A dead giveaway for this is the design of enemies. I cannot take the enemies seriously with the colorful face paint and masks; it looks like a Halloween dress-up party. Also, the mercs' outfits are too colorful; they don't look like mercenaries but rather like a few retired guys enjoying their retirement in the Caribbean. 2) Mercenary Portraits: The portraits lack any real character; they look rather generic. JA1 and JA2 portraits gave you an impression of the character. Moreover, the current portraits do not show any emotional cues; their mouths don't move. This lack of detail and expression inhibits you as a player from having any real attachment to characters like we did in the original series. 3) Voice Overs: Although we have heard limited voice-overs from characters, the person doing the voice-over for the new merc LiveWire sounds terrible; it sounds like a teen. 4) XCOM 2 Copy Cat: The UI and battle mechanics give the impression that this is more an XCOM 2 copycat than a Jagged Alliance game. I did not enjoy XCOM 2 at all, because the battle system and level design are very restrictive; it limits creativity. Also, the characters in XCOM 2 are highly generic; there needs to be more atmosphere. 5) Combat Range: In the video footage and screenshot, all combat is focused on close combat. Where are the long-range shootouts? JA2 allowed you to engage up close, in long-range, go guns blasting, or use stealth/night ops. For the longevity and tactical depth of the game, the level design must encourage different approaches. It would be severely limiting only to have short-distance shootouts. I hope that the developers can consider these feedback points in their continued efforts to bring a true successor in the Jagged Alliance series to life. Thank you.