Customer Reviews

Jagged Alliance 2 Wildfire

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The reviewer of this game who suggested that Jagged Alliance 2 is a "poor man's Fallout" is completely and utterly wrong. Jagged Alliance 2 is a strategy game with some roleplaying elements, not a roleplaying game with guns. While I'm a big fan of Fallout, this comparison is so ludicrous I have to laugh - buying any Jagged Alliance game with the expectation of getting an experience like Fallout is as silly as buying a ticket to Boise and expecting to visit the beach.

I can't speak as to the quality of the Wildfire expansion, but the original game (which you get in the box anyway) is one of the all-time great strategy games. It's not a poor man's Fallout - if anything, it's a worthy competitor to X-COM and Civilization.

Let's put it this way - of all the games released before the turn of the century, how many are still on sale in their original form? I can think of two - Half-Life, and Jagged Alliance 2. That should say something.

I have played all of the games in both the JA series and Fallout series and find them both to be quie enjoyable. However, anyone who claims to be a "fan of the Fallout series" and sees NO similarities between the original JA 2 and the Fallout series (especially: BOS) needs to reevaluate. The fact that turn-based/squad-based tactical combat is a common staple in both games would only escape the most undiscerning eye. The fact that the storyline in JA 2 is, shall we say "less creative", only confirms the fact that the Fallout series is a better crafted game. This is to say nothing of the arkward interface of JA 2, which does take some time getting used to.

Anyway, this review should be taken as a warning to all those gamers who see the line "Two exciting games in one box!" which is written in bold letters on the back of the JA 2 - Wildfire package. There are not 2 games in this box, only 2 versions of JA 2. The game they called "Wildfire" is merely a revamping of the original JA 2 by the Canadian design team at SIRTECH and while those who have never played the orignal JA 2 may enjoy the revamped edition, those who have played JA 2 will ultimately feel cheated.

The orignal JA 2 came out in 1999 and was lauded by many critics as being a solid "Fallout" type squad-based turn-based combat game. In sum, JA 2, while a great game in its own right, is arguably the "poor-man's" Fallout. Wildfire's packaging is very deceiving to those gamers who were hoping for a an expansion or even a sequel to the orignal game. It is JA 2 on steroids, offering the gamer more weapons, more advanced a AI opponents, and improved graphics, but the plot and characters are exactly the same as the orignal. Every line of dialouge is even word for word.

I am familar with the addage "If it ain't broke don't fix it", but what baffles me most is how after 5 years, the programmers couldn't (or didn't want to) come up with a decent sequel using the orignal JA 2 engine. Perhaps someone at Sirtech saw an opportunity to capitalize on the recent cancellation of Interplay's Fallout 3? Whatever the case, I was very dissapointed.