Caltrops - Gamerasutra - Re: JA2: Deadly Games

Forum Overview :: Gamerasutra

by Roop Dirump 06/30/2003, 4:11pm PDT

Fussbett wrote:

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:

After a long, long hiatus, I began playing Jagged Alliance II again.

I missed all the conversations, threads and discussion regarding both this game and its expansion when they came out. Is the Deadly Games expansion like Bloodmoon and Tales of the Sword Coast? In other words, does it add to the main story and give options to JA2? Or is it more like Throne of Bhaal, e.g., a self-contained pack best played after the main game is finished?

I think "Deadly Games" is just the sub-title to the original base JA2. "Unfinished Business" was the expansion, which by all accounts is storyless and boring due to the aforementioned lack of story, short playtime, and also dissatisfying battles.

Deadly Games was the expansion to the original Jagged Alliance. Unfinished Business is the expansion to JA2. Neither expansion requires the original to play. Instead of a main screen with quadrants where you'd choose when and where to attack and then train militia to defend, the expansions have a linear storyline (such as it is) and you go through maps one at a time, without ever revisiting areas. Deadly Games had multiplayer and a map editor, not sure about Unfinished Business. The problems with the expansions is that you really don't need a mechanic to repair equipment or a doctor to heal mercs, noncombat types, but these mercs are still available. Just don't take them (although the skills can be useful for picking locks or applying first aid, you just don't need the guys who are only good at doctoring/mechanical, get by with somebody OK at it). In Unfinished Business you pick which mercs you want at the beginning and never change personnel, while in the original you could hire someone just for a day, try out different characters. It added one good feature, which was a mode where you could tell how well your guys were protected behind trees or rocks. It was hard to tell otherwise. I never played Unfinished Business very far, just didn't appeal to me as much as the original. The expansion was too hard, I thought, really have to take the "best" mercs, so all the other ones were a waste.

Roop