
But while you may acclimate to the slightly unhelpful UI, the combat barks and general writing can be more difficult to ignore. Those looking for a solid tactical RPG to dig their teeth into will find it with Jagged Alliance 3. It was only a small morsel of story, but it did the job of investing me in this tiny village on the tutorial island. You understood the father’s desire to shelter his only son, why the son himself was drawn to a brutal strongman like the Major, and why the rest of the villagers are maybe less keen to welcome back someone who raided their home and killed their friend. Another early story about a man’s son joining the Legion surprised me with actually decent motivation for all involved. One mercenary remarks about how mopey her husband gets when she’s away, and suggests you hire him too. It’s kind of a shame, because there are touches that actually work quite well for how small they are. Especially once you unlock the passive income from diamond mines. It puts some time pressure on the map layer as you balance preparation for the next fight with earning enough to keep your best mercs on the payroll, but it was never too oppressive. As well as repairing weapons, treating injuries, and training local militias to defend themselves, you also have to manage your mercenaries’ contracts. Managing downtime is also extremely important. My only gripe is that, without a pause button to issue orders, I found it difficult to set up takedowns or other more fiddly techniques before being spotted. Stealthily taking down dangerous targets that stray from the group, setting up flanking maneuvers and overwatch traps, or sometimes talking half the enemy force into leaving are all possibilities. There’s a multitude of ways to influence the battle even before it shifts to turn-based mode. While the battles are the meat of Jagged Alliance 3, the exploration segments are by no means insubstantial.
