JAGGED ALLIANCE 3

Embrace the mess as all of your plans go up in flames

- Fraser Brown

My squad of mercs were enjoying a day at the beach, following up on intel that an explosives expert was there. Instead, they found themselves in a minefield surrounded by foes. Several goons were grouped together, which was handy for my shotgun-wielding medic. One turn in, half of the opposition were dead. Then my mechanic stepped on a mine.

Chaos took hold. One of my squad went berserk, ran out of cover and just started spraying bullets. Another panicked, tried to flee and, of course, stepped on another mine. Someone thought it would be a good idea to toss a molotov into the mix. More mines went off. Bullets pinged off rocks as shots missed their targets. There was shouting, plus screaming and threats. A miraculous headshot finally ended the carnage, and somehow my mercs walked away with only near-fatal injuries. Just another day in the office.

Jagged Alliance 3 might be a dense, flexible tactics game where planning and precision are demanded, but it absolutely loves to throw those plans into disarray. Mines, a hidden enemy, a jammed gun, some foul weather or some misfortune courtesy of the gods of RNG ensure that you won’t get too comfortable. You can play the same battle multiple times and have dramatically different experiences, even if your plan remains unchanged.