Jagged Alliance 3: Gamescom preview of the tactical role-playing game

Since Jagged Alliance 2 are meanwhile 23 years past. That round tactics gamethen from Sir Tech developed and by Top goods distributed, convinced at the time with well thought-out gameplay, playful freedom, role-playing elements and a good story. Since then there have been a whole series of offshoots with titles like Crossfire, Flashback and Rage, but none of them came close to the quality of the second part. Led by Heamimont Gameswhich are known for the Tropico series and Surviving Mars, among other things, everything should now be different.

It is not without reason that this time they opted for Jagged Alliance 3 chosen as a title. With the new part, you want to be a direct successor to the legendary model. We’ll see if that succeeds at the Gamescom on. At the booth of THQ Nordic lwe are looking forward to a developer presentation. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play the title ourselves.

Even before the actual presentation, we got the impression from talking to the developers present that the game is in the best possible hands. We get the feeling with real fans of the classics to speak who are fully aware of the anticipation fueled by the number 3 in the title. It is a clear goal to fill in the big footsteps of the predecessor. As is usual in the series, the makers have one as the setting for this endeavor fictional country in Africa designed. In the picturesque Grand Chien the first democratically elected president has just come to power – then people are already being kidnapped. Desperate, the President’s daughter turns to our mercenary squad to rescue her father and save the country from chaos.

Also interesting: All important news, trailers, previews on the Gamescom overview page

The decision for an African location offers several advantages for the developers. For example, they can pursue different political approaches within the story. Grand Chien is, among other things, the focus of trade with blood diamonds, which play a major role in the country’s internal conflicts. Also the influences of colonial past can be seen everywhere. Furthermore, the setting provides a great variety of landscapes. From sandy deserts about density jungle up to succulent grasslands much is offered. Depending on the environment, it may extreme weather events come that down directly affect gameplay. So worry sandstorms for more common weapon malfunctions, stronger Rain in the jungle affects movement range and vision.

Familiar names and new faces

Almost as important as the “where” is the question of “when”. The developers wanted a variety of the popular mercenaries from the first two parts in Jagged Alliance 3 (buy now €39.99 /€12.74 ) have with you again. However, they didn’t want to age all of the characters past 20 years so that the game could take place in the modern age. Therefore, the team decided to play the game in the early 2000s to settle Accordingly, elements of the technology and internet world of the time such as Blackberry phones, Yahoo and MySpace play a large role in inspiring various game elements.

Jagged Alliance 3: The Return of a Classic in Gamescom Preview (7)

Source: THQ Nordic



As known from the predecessors, the simulated laptop of the leader of the mercenary group, embodied by the player, serves as the game menu. Therefore, when the developers launch a new game during the presentation, we immediately see a familiar sight. the AIM recruitment website, where we hire our first fighters. Although this has been slightly changed compared to its predecessor, it still exudes the rustic charm of a website from the early days of the Internet.

Let’s continue on page 2!