Taking out the trash
The Jagged Alliance series is one with some pretty rabid followers, as evidenced by the frequency with which the games keep coming back. The originals are some classic examples of the turn-based strategy genre, akin to Laser Squad, but this Gold pack actually packages two more recent offerings, Back in Action and Crossfire, and unfortunately, these aren't the franchise's finest moments. Back in Action is the main attraction here, and is the official remake of Jagged Alliance 2, so most of the game will be familiar to players of that one. The story is the same, revolving around your efforts to take out a dodgy dictator by hiring various mercenaries to weaken their seat of power. The gameplay mixes management aspects and tactical combat but this update does introduce a real-time aspect where you pause the game and issue orders on the fly. The add-on pack is basically more of the same, with a smaller campaign, new maps, new mercenaries, weapons and enemies to test your skills against. This isn't a bad collection to pick up but hardcore Jagged Alliance fans are likely to be a little disappointed, so your enjoyment is likely to be based on your experience with the franchise. The main game suffers from some odd design choices and for every good idea, there's something which drags it back, making it a quite frustrating experience. It's also quite a slow game, which adds to the problems, and there are some bugs and other issues which bring things down further. It's certainly got the makings of a good game, but unless you're prepared to persevere, this is going to be hard work.
