Jagged Alliance series
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Jagged Alliance is a series of turn-based strategy computer games for the PC. From the first installment on, the series received critical acclaim and gained a significant cult following, although this never translated to major commercial success. The first games in the series were for DOS, but work well under all flavours of Microsoft Windows and in emulators like DOSBox. From Jagged Alliance 2 on, the games were developed using DirectX for native Windows operation.
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[edit] Description
Games of the Jagged Alliance series center on strategically controlling mercenary squads, on and off the field, who fulfill various missions such as freeing countries from oppressive dictators. A sticky phrase describes these games as "X-COM with personality." They feature a unique mix of turn-based small arms battle simulation and roleplaying.
Sharp humour via spoken character comments is a trademark of the series. The characters of the individual mercenaries range from mildly eccentric to obviously disturbed, and their spoken lines give the games a cartoon-like quality. This can be seen by some as inappropriate for a game with a subject matter linked so close to war and death, but the intent is to avoid a false sense of realism and overt references to real political events.
Each mercenary is an individual with their own traits, and fans quickly selected their favourites from the lot (such as the dour, bearskin-cap wearing Ivan Dolvich, who spoke only Russian in the original game and broken English in the sequel). Part of the strategy and genius in the game was the player's freedom to select a multi-faceted team to win the game in different ways. And not all teams would work; for example, Ivan and his nephew Igor, are hated by Steroid, the Polish bodybuilder. "Buns" hates "Fox," a medic with centerfold looks. In contrast, "Fox" loves working with "Grizzly," on whom she has something of a crush.
Many fans claim the turn-based combat system is the best that has ever been created in a 2D isometric environment. They feel that from both viewpoints of tactical depth and practical playability, especially the second part of the series, this series is the yardstick of the genre. Jagged Alliance mercenaries can choose to save up their allotted action points during their turn to attempt an interruption of the enemy turn. This provides for a simple, arcade-style system of switching the initiative and break out of the normally sequential flow of turns during battle.
[edit] The Intellectual Property
The Intellectual Property (IP) for Jagged Alliance has been bandied about a great deal. The series and IP were created by Sir-Tech with the original game and its add-on. The second game, Jagged Alliance 2, was also started by Sir-Tech but when its publishing arm went bankrupt was transferred to its development house Sir-Tech Canada, and published by TalonSoft. By the time Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business was released, Sir-Tech was out of business and the game was published by Interplay. Subsequently, Talonsoft went bankrupt. At the moment, Strategy First owns the IP and has published Jagged Alliance: Wildfire and is extending the series with Jagged Alliance 3D and Jagged Alliance 3.
The first four Jagged Alliance games were developed by Mad Labs which was Ian and Linda Currie, plus a few other skilled artists and programmers. Ian and Linda Currie were the lead designers on the Jagged Alliance series. Mad Labs was based in Canada but has disappeared (as of 2003). One other notable game Mad Labs created was Wizardry 8[1].
[edit] Titles in the series
[edit] Jagged Alliance
Released in 1994 for DOS this first game of the series tasks the player with freeing the island of Metavira. The player must recruit mercenaries as they explore, capture, and hold new territory. The natives harvest the valuable trees from which a revolutionary medicine can be extracted. The more trees the player holds, the more income they make. Income can be used to hire native guards and hire more mercenaries to take the offensive and clear more sectors of enemies.
This game featured a top-down perspective of the game field for battles, with character portraits framing the view on the left and right sides. A separate map view showed the entire country broken up into distinct conquerable sectors.
[edit] Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games
Released in 1995, Deadly Games is a DOS sequel to the original game. It features a different format, however, and is considered by some to be more of a spin-off than a sequel. This game features the same engine and top-down perspective as the original game.
In Deadly Games, the player takes a group of mercenaries through a series of missions. The missions are linked chronologically, removing the need for micro-management on a strategic map. The scenario branches somewhat depending on the player's successes and failures. There are multiple terrain types, the mercenaries are hired and fired between missions, and the first equipment trader (Mickey) of the series offers his services (occasionally he may sell the player a bunch of equipment that turns out to be junk prompting the mercs to exclaim "Mickey just gave us the deep six!").
The most innovative aspects of Deadly Games include a wide variety of special ops mission types like hostage rescues, demolition and infiltration missions. Strategic features like turn limits and a boosted AI as well as networked multiplayer capabilities make this the most complete package in the series. The integrated scenario and campaign editors allow for the creation of custom strategic scenarios, adding to the replay value. Merc weapons can be modified by adding scopes, silencers and barrel extenders. Heavier equipment such as grenade launchers (capable of lobbing smoke, tear gas, and fragmentation) and mortars are available as well, albeit pricey.
[edit] Jagged Alliance 2
This game was released in 1999 for Windows, and was later ported to Linux by Tribsoft. The mission of this second official game of the series is to free the country of Arulco from its evil dictator Queen Deidranna. Deidranna (a Romanian) married the former ruler of Arulco. Her lust for power made her kill all other pretenders (the Chivaldori family) to the Arulco leadership. The player is 'hired' by Enrico Chivaldori the last surviving member of the Chivaldori family.
Gameplay is similar to the original grand adventure style of Jagged Alliance, but features higher-resolution graphics and an isometric pseudo-3D view of the battleground. The terrain has two height levels (ground and rooftops) for player/enemy sprites and a basic physics engine for thrown objects and ballistics. It also features "destructible terrain" in that players are able to blow open walls and buildings with explosives. The game also takes place across diverse and rather imaginative locations including a multi-level prison facility, a school, a hospital, SAM sites, a vast swamp and a junkyard.
The weapons arsenal has grown considerably to include a variety of weapons based on real-life counterparts (such as automatic weapons, shotguns and rocket launchers) and also fictional weapons like an auto firing rocket rifle. There are some more roleplaying elements like specialty professions and the possibility to create a custom mercenary as well.
Mercs can talk to one another during missions (only Ivan speaks in Russian, subtitled in Cyrillic, leaving the many players baffled at what he just said).
JA2 has been extensively modded by fans of the series. Several popular mods for the game include 'Urban Chaos' and 'Deidranna Lives'.
[edit] Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business
This 2000 game is a shorter, more mission-based sequel. At the time of the release, Sir-Tech was already financially in dire straits and the product title is rumoured to reflect the quirky Sir-Tech humour about a somewhat rushed product. Nevertheless, a number of very good mods add a lot of replayability. This release added some tweaks to the combat engine, as well as a somewhat limited scenario editor.
This was the last Jagged Alliance developed by Sir-Tech Canada.
[edit] Jagged Alliance 2: Gold edition
This release added the improvements from Unfinished Business to the final release of Jagged Alliance 2. Unfinished Business is included in the package. Like the rest of the series, this version of Jagged Alliance is out of print, but as of July 2006 it is available via the Steam content delivery system. As of August 22nd, the Steam release contains gameplay bugs which render it unplayable. Avoid the Steam release until they have been fixed.
If you are buying Jagged Alliance 2 GOLD and intend to play fan made mods for the game, including Editors, trainers and the like, please read the following information:
The Jagged Alliance 2 Gold edition being distributed as of now (January 2006) by Trymedia will not work with any fan made mods. According to Trymedia, the Data files are encrypted and can only be read by the JA2.exe that is being distributed. The best option for those seeking to use mods is to find a copy of the Wildfire English version (includes JA2 GOLD), or an old boxed copy of Jagged Alliance 2 GOLD, and buy that instead.
[edit] Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire
Originally a user mod, Wildfire was released in 2004 as another official add-on by the new publisher. It features a campaign that is decidedly more challenging than other user mods, or indeed than the standard game. The game's sourcecode was also published in the package, albeit under a slightly restrictive license.
A renewed commercial release of Wildfire v6 through European publisher Zuxxez in the spring of 2005 saw the Jagged Alliance series staying on shop shelves more than five years after the debut of its second iteration.
One of the more current and popular modifications based on the original source code, is the "Version 1.13 Engine Mod". Some features of the new modding engine include improved enemy-AI, a much larger selection of new weapons and items, and large amount of externalized data that can be modified by the players to add new items, adjust the difficulty, and much more. Several versions have been released and it is still under development in 2006.
[edit] Jagged Alliance 3D and 3
Strategy First and Game Factory Interactive announced in June 2004 that Russian developer MiST Land South would develop the next two games in the Jagged Alliance series: Jagged Alliance 3D (JA3D) and Jagged Alliance 3 (JA3).
Jagged Alliance 3D was envisioned as "JA2 in 3D", or basically the same game as Jagged Alliance 2 but using a 3D engine. Jagged Alliance 3 would be the "true sequel" to JA2, a full-fledged game in the same spirit as JA2, and using the engine developed for JA3D. JA3D would come out quickly, within a year or two of the release of the generally successful Wildfire mod, and be followed by Jagged Alliance 3. SFI choose GFI because GFI had already released Cops 2170, a tactical-strategy game published by SFI in North America. The two companies already had a relationship, and it was felt the JA3D project could be mutually beneficial.
From statements made by both Strategy First and Game Factory Interactive, it is apparent that GFI assumed the costs for the development, with SFI providing the intellectual property and the overall vision for the project. This arrangement proved to be very cumbersome, and prone to misunderstandings and confusion. SFI, naturally enough, had very ambitious goals for JA3D while GFI sought to control development costs and time. [2]
The initial plan was for GFI to use a modified Cops 2170 engine to quickly produce JA3D. However, GFI already had a second strategy game in production, ALFA: Anti-terror, and they made the decision to use this engine for both games. GFI planned to set the game in Africa, which was fine with SFI. However, GFI ran into trouble with the strategic layer for Jagged Alliance. They proposed a mission-based structure for JA3D instead. There would be no free-flowing strategic layer, as in Jagged Alliance and Jagged Alliance 2 where the player made strategic movement decisions, and initiated attacks on a map. Instead, the game would be structured like Jagged Alliance : Deadly Games, with a series of missions, which were essentially combat-only levels. SFI was resistant to the idea, but agreed to it, feeling this would shorten the development time. Besides, JA3D was always intended as a bridge between JA2 and JA3, so it was acceptable that it was not a "full game".
In 2004, initial screenshots of the new engine were released, showing a somewhat primitive 3D engine with familiar Jagged Alliance characters, such as Shadow.
In May 2005, the MiST Land South developers announced they would be discarding the turn-based combat system in favor of real-time combat. The turn-based combat had been a hallmark of Jagged Alliance from the very beginning, and it was a major reason why most fans stayed with the game. This announcement was a surprise to Strategy First, and was very quickly vetoed by Richard Therrien, VP product development of SFI.
At this point, MiST Land South apparently decided to split the development into two projects. The real-time engine would be used in a title known as African Alliance, featuring mercenaries in Africa. This game would be developed in addition to Jagged Alliance 3D (JA3D) and Jagged Alliance 3. This decision was met with skepticism from an increasingly mistrustful fan base, who began to fear that the game would either never be released, or would not live up to their expectations for the series. The announcement of African Alliance was a surprise to SFI as well, who was not informed of the decision by their partner.
In September 2005, SFI withdrew the rights for Jagged Alliance 3 from GFI, leaving them with the JA3D license only.[3]
A pre-beta version of JA3D was shown at the 2006 E3 convention, and received a generally favorable reception. [4] The gameplay appeared to be very similar to Jagged Alliance 2, with updated and improved graphics, as well as a 3D combat engine.
On July 20, 2006, Game Factory Interactive announced that MiST Land South was being dissolved, as of August 1, 2006[5].
In August 2006, SFI withdrew the rights to JA3D as well. GFI claims that the game simply did not fit within SFI's plans. SFI, on the other hand, states that JA3D was in an incomplete state and not ready for the scheduled release date. It was obvious that SFI, having faced years of development without any progress, had finally given up on the project.
This left GFI with no rights to use any of the intellectual property of JA3D, including characters and story line. GFI now plans to rework the characters and story to remove Jagged Alliance-specific details, and will publish the game under a different name. In a September 3, 2006 post on its discussion boards, GFI claims that SFI owes it money, but this is denied by SFI without further elaboration. Ironically, one of the changes GFI plans to make to JA3D is the introduction of a strategic layer.
Strategy First now intends to produce Jagged Alliance 3 internally, and Thiessen promises a much more open experience than any other Jagged Alliance game. There are expected to be five separate factions to fight in JA3, instead of a single enemy. Characters will have their own agendas and allegiances. In addition, the game startup will randomize various settings of the game to make it less predictable. A character who was allied with the player in one game could be their enemy in the next. Player actions will also influence how the characters of the world react to them.
As of yet, no publication date has been announced for Jagged Alliance 3.
[edit] Jagged Alliance DS (tentative title)
In June 2005, Pocket PC Studios and Strategy First have announced a conversion of Jagged Alliance 2 Gold for the Nintendo DS.
[edit] Digital distribution
On July 6, 2006 Jagged Alliance 2 was made available to buy via the Steam distribution service. It is also due for distribution over the Triton delivery service, but has not yet arrived there. Also Jagged Alliance 2 Wildfire is being distributed electronically via StrategyFirst's website.
[edit] References
- ^ 2003 RPG Vault Linda and Ian Currie Interview regarding Wizardry 8 and Jagged Alliance
- ^ "Jagged Alliance 3D Interview" from Absolute Games 1.5
- ^ "Strategy First Terminates Their Agreement With Game Factory Interactive For The Development Of Jagged Alliance Games" press release
- ^ "E3 2006 Jagged Alliance 3D Hands-On Preview" from StrategyCore
- ^ "MiST land – South ceases functioning" press release
