Jagged Alliance 3 is set to be released in 11 days from today (14 Jul, 2023), and I am of course excited since it seems the developer Haemimont Games wants to make a true sequel to Jagged Alliance 2. However, I do have some serious concerns with it.
My first issue is that burst fire will only do 50% of the normal damage. From what I understand, it was made like this because they couldn’t figure out a good balance for it. It was apparently too easy to just run up to enemies and unload on them. Now, that is worrisome by itself – are there no interruptions? Do the enemy NPCs don’t defend themself in any way? My main issue with this, though, is that it kinda tramples the whole simulation aspect into the dirt. There is absolutely no reason for a weapon to ever do less damage because you fire more bullets. It’s a very gamey thing, in something that wants to take the simulation approach. Or at least, we are told that it wants to do that.
The second issue I have with Jagged Alliance 3, is that apparently ammo will go into a shared pool. That means that you will not equip your men with individual ammo, and that to me makes no sense at all. Once again, the simulation aspect takes a hit. It will also have gameplay implications since weight is apparently gone too. No more heavies with a ton of ammo and a machine gun, now everyone can carry as much as possible – so why not give everyone the heaviest stuff available? I’m not sure how this plays out exactly of course, but it doesn’t seem that good to me.
My third issue is that there will be no customization of the mercs. I’m fine with that in a way since the mercenaries you will be using are characters with a set background and personality. However, the problem I have with it, is that no equipment will be shown on your characters. Helmets, vests, and the like will be invisible in favor of their distinct looks. This is a big missed opportunity, especially if you go by the modern Xcom games. Half the fun of that game was playing dress-up, making the characters/team you wanted, and looking cool while shooting the aliens.
My final issue with the game is not something I know for sure. But from watching trailers, it seems that the team you control will always be in sprint mode, even during downtime when just investigating friendly towns. I know not everyone will care about this, yet to me, this is a grand immersion killer. It’s probably my gaming autism showing itself again, but I think it looks retarded having the men run like they are being chased by Jason Voorhees at all times. I asked about it on the official Steam forums, no answer, though, which leaves a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth. Because if it was in, it would be so easy to just say “yes”. However, I don’t know how it works, so walking could actually be in the game, yet, it is still a thing that irks me.
While I still maintain some hype, these issues sure puts a hamper on the whole “real Jagged alliance” experience promised. I still think it will be an entertaining game, but perhaps it will not be all that we hoped.
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
Tom's Gaming Vault 