Kickstarting: Jagged Alliance Flashback

I've only completed one of the Jagged Alliance games, but it just so happens to be widely considered the series' peak. Jagged Alliance 2 is an incredible strategy game, where you recruit a selection of mercenaries to overthrow a despotic leader of a tiny country. The mercenaries are all characters in their own right, with RPG-style skill progression and their own personalities. Take the wrong collection of mercs with you, and they'll bicker and fight. The right ones can make the game endlessly easier.

Also available via GOG.com

I'll no doubt cover the game in this blog, because it does make for a great game to talk about. It also has a still-active modding community, and the 1.13 patch adds a massive amount of depth to an already great game. It's charm lies in the different ways you can approach the game, from the more stealthy to the full on Schwarzenegger. But enough about the old game...



Jagged Alliance: Flashback is a prequel by Full Control to the original Jagged Alliance. It's an attempt to reset the series and create something which will appeal to those of us that enjoyed JA2. They've even got some of the JA2 modding community on board to assist (although I'm not entirely sure how much help, or if they'll get paid at all).

The classic strategy layer grid map

So far they've squeaked past their project goal, and with paypal donations have managed to creep past the first stretch goal. They've been pretty good with updates, but it's going to be a long way off before we actually see the game finished. The nearest judgement on possible quality will be once they release their other game, which is a Space Hulk (Warhammer 40,000) game. Since they are using the same engine for Flashback, it should let us know what to generally expect from them.

How will Space Hulk turn out?

Their older games don't look particularly appealing (my apologies if I've overlooked any hidden gems), and it seems like this is their shot at the big time. I wish them lots of success, not least because I'm hoping to get a good game for my money!