Jagged Alliance: Back in Action Critic Reviews

A classic that captured the minds of countless tactical role-playing game enthusiasts back in 1999. It had superb turn-based combat, mercenaries with larger than life personalities and loads of guns and gadgets. Overthrowing queen Deidranna and freeing Arulco was a quest for the ages. Jagged Alliance - Back in Action is a remake of Jagged Alliance 2, but fails to capture the magic of its predecessor. Turn-based combat is gone and the mercenaries have lost their edge. The visuals are up to date and roaming Arulco is still a treat, but getting rid of fog of war is a huge mistake. Back in Action is not a bad game, but pales in comparison to its father.

Once I got into a mission I found it hard to stop until all my plans worked out, and even defeat often had me immediately coming back to try again. That's the mark of an addictive, fun game, which Jagged Alliance: Back In Action definitely is, but it just doesn't do quite enough to earn the really high marks.

Jagged Alliance: Back in Action is a game that you will love or hate. The "plan & go" system takes a different direction from its predecessor and many fans of the saga could be disappointed. In any case this is still a good and deep strategy game that can be enjoyed by the fans of the genre.

Jagged Alliance: Back in Action is one of those games that I enjoy despite itself. It has an almost unlimited number of flaws, and yet, I can't help booting it back up over and over. It's fun to gradually capture town after town and steadily grow your army. Unfortunately, it's hard to play in anything other than small doses because before long, it once again starts feeling like a job. Similar to how the old Sim Tower really should have been named Sim Elevators, Jagged Alliance should have been named U-Haul Alliance.

Compared to the ageless original, Back in Action is indeed not a milestone of the genre - but it's certainly a solid tactical game. Because the plan & go mode works, the selection of mercenaries and weapons is huge and I'm engaged for weeks with the liberation of Arulco.

With the well-known heritage in mind I have to say that Jagged Alliance: Back in Action can't hold a candle to its predecessors. Nonetheless the game is a nice mix of action and a bit of strategy.

Back in Action is a nice game, but some flaws in the artificial intelligence make it less engaging than it may have been. The Plan & Go system is a good try however, and we hope to see more of this in the future, but Jagged Alliance 2 is still on top.

Despite many unfortunate decisions and rusty technology, CorePlay's game is a good return of the Jagged Alliance series. Going real-time hasn't dimished the tactical aspect, and team development and better equipment provide fun equal to what the best RPGs can give you.

Jagged Alliance Back in Action is a good real time strategy game, but it's not the old Jagged. If you are able to give a clean break with the past, you could enjoy it. Else, give up.

It's still a little distressing that a game with all the potential in the world to be one of the most spectacular gaming experiences of the decade is instead... a middle-of-the-road title. It may not crash, and it may not really bore you, but it isn't polished, and doesn't fully engross you.

Going back to Arulco may not be the vacation of your dreams, but it´s still a worthy adventure. One that leaves a lot of possibilities for improvement, nonetheless, but if you´re into tactics it´s still worth your attention.

Spit on the Back in Action title or play it. This game is not better than the old-fashioned Jagged Alliance 2. Nevertheless, it's still quite an enjoyable experience.

Jagged Alliance: Back in Action is a game from the time when games were games and movies were movies. And now you can relive those lovely times again.

There are lots of little flaws with this game, and fans will no doubt be upset about the change from turn-based to real-time with pause. But the truth is that it's still a quite satisfying and tactical experience, and every time I sit down with it I end up playing for much longer than I planned.

Before I wrote this review, I spent 30 hours with Back in Action and I don't even know when this time flew by. I regret that the remake is not as complex and deep as the original game by Sir-Tech but some things are just gone and will never return.

A good squad-wargame for those patient enough to forgive the awful interface for making the strategic component a chore.

As you manage your squads and try to take down the Queen's men in Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, you can't help but feel that the game could have been a lot more. The open premise really works and allows for you to tackle nearly any obstacle in the game as you see fit. The game is fun, but it has a lot of baggage and head-scratchingly rough edges that dull the enjoyment. The title does a passable job of bringing the Jagged Alliance series back to life, but it's not as good as it could've been, and it doesn't live up to the legacy of its predecessors.

Surprisingly, the new, controversial real-time-combat isn't the expected game breaker for Back in Action. Its much too aggressive, oftentimes stupid AI is. Add to that a bulky interface and cumbersome inventory and soon the liberation of Arulco becomes more of a chore than an enjoyable trip, motivating level-ups and non-linear gameplay notwithstanding.

Although it may be a discreet strategic/tactical game Jagged Alliance: Back in Action is nearly completely different from Jagged Alliance 2. The encounters with enemies are no longer turn-based, but instead there's a real-time approach sided by a new Plan & Go system. With it you can plan the next actions of the mercenaries that we control, a feature that prompts us to reflect and study the battlefield as you'd expect from a title like that. On the other hand, because of the ridiculous AI and general inferiority when compared to Jagged Alliance 2, Back in Action is just a mediocre title and not the remake that could've been.

Jagged Alliance: Back in Action may ultimately be inferior to its legendary predecessor, but it has just enough of that spark in it to be a compelling, substantial impostor.