Jagged Alliance 2 - Wildfire | Game Brain

About

In Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire, you are a US government operative tasked with dismantling a powerful drug cartel in Arulco. As you assemble a team of mercenaries and navigate political intrigue, you must use strategy, negotiation, and combat tactics to succeed. The game offers a challenging mix of strategy and role-playing, with the fate of your mission and the population resting on your shoulders.

Genres & Tags

Role Playing

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 824 reviews

story14 positive mentions

stability30 negative mentions

An absolute classic with a great plot and a wide range of characters and locations.
Offers deep and satisfying gameplay with engaging storytelling and beautiful visuals.
One of the best tactical squad games of its time, providing a challenging experience for veterans.

The game is overly complex and lacks proper guidance, making it difficult for new players.
Frequent crashes and bugs significantly hinder the gameplay experience.
The difficulty level is extremely high, often leading to frustration and requiring constant saving and reloading.

story
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
74%
8%
The story of Jagged Alliance 2 and its expansions is generally viewed as engaging, with a mix of linear missions and side quests that can significantly impact gameplay. While some players appreciate the twists and character depth, others criticize the implementation of quests and dialogue, citing bugs and a lack of cinematic storytelling. Overall, the narrative is seen as a blend of classic tactical elements with RPG features, though opinions vary on its execution and depth.
- “Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire is an exceptional turn-based strategy game that builds upon the success of the original title by introducing improved gameplay mechanics, engaging storyline, and rich visuals.”
- “The storyline is engaging and full of twists and turns, creating a sense of tension and urgency that keeps players invested in the game's outcome.”
- “Storyline is great, side quests are spot on, making your own character is a blast, NPCs are great, and there is more than one way to win.”
- “I played the 'classic' version for a mission, and found it to be boring, bland, and just sad overall.”
- “The quests and the dialog boxes are so lazily implemented that you need a walkthrough next to you to know what's going on.”
- “It contains fewer story elements, including no storytelling cinematics (both intro and ending), fewer sub-quests, and fewer unique characters to encounter.”
gameplay
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
72%
4%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its depth and strategic complexity, while others criticize its dated mechanics and steep difficulty curve, particularly at the beginning. Players noted that the game requires a strong understanding of its mechanics to be enjoyable, but many found the experience frustrating due to bugs and a lack of tutorials. Overall, while some players appreciate the engaging gameplay and character depth reminiscent of classic titles, others feel that the numerous issues detract significantly from the experience.
- “Adds a lot of gameplay changes, new items, options settings, etc. for players who enjoy a high level of complexity and difficulty in their tactics games.”
- “Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire is an exceptional turn-based strategy game that builds upon the success of the original title by introducing improved gameplay mechanics, engaging storyline, and rich visuals.”
- “These additions make the gameplay more strategic and challenging while also streamlining the player experience.”
- “It's simply an exercise in frustration: dated mechanics, a beginning of the game that is way too difficult: you have no income, no store, crap weapons and aiming mechanics that are biased against you: you can't hit an enemy at point blank range, but the enemies can hit you behind cover from much farther away.”
- “Bypassing the gatrillion of bugs that plague this thing like the Black Death becomes very early a part of the gameplay.”
- “Too many bugs and changes that ruin the gameplay formula established in the original.”
graphics
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
73%
9%
The graphics of Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire are widely regarded as outdated, with many reviewers noting that they have not aged well and can appear "pixelated" by modern standards. However, some players appreciate the nostalgic charm and functional design, arguing that the game's strong atmosphere and engaging gameplay compensate for the visual shortcomings. Overall, while the graphics may not impress, they are deemed acceptable for a game of its age, especially when considering the depth of content and mechanics it offers.
- “Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire is an exceptional turn-based strategy game that builds upon the success of the original title by introducing improved gameplay mechanics, engaging storyline, and rich visuals.”
- “One of the game's most significant improvements over its predecessor is its updated graphics and animations.”
- “Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire is a classic turn-based strategy game that offers deep and satisfying gameplay, engaging storytelling, and beautiful visuals.”
- “Graphics wise, it's quite hideous; it hasn't aged very well in all honesty.”
- “This game is over 13 years old now, and the graphics could almost be called 'pixel art' today.”
- “The high-resolution graphics, as usual with the amateur mods, only make everything much, much smaller.”
stability
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and crashes reminiscent of problems from the original version over 20 years ago. Players frequently experience freezing, mouse control issues, and unexpected crashes, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience. Overall, the game's stability is deemed poor, making it difficult for fans to enjoy.
- “But for some reason, this game is having the same bugs and glitches as the original had 20+ years ago.”
- “It crashes, freezes, upload and sync problems, you name it.”
- “I played the original version back in the day and loved it, but this version is so buggy I couldn't really play it.”
humor
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players noting its blend of cartoony elements and dark, graveyard humor that adds a unique charm. The mercenaries' witty sayings and cheesy action-movie lines contribute to a lighthearted atmosphere, even amidst the game's gritty realism and challenging mechanics. Overall, the humor enhances the gameplay experience, making it both entertaining and engaging.
- “Training up your mercs to take on a ruthless dictator in town-by-town street combat is delightful and challenging, and the grim realism is offset with cartoony humor and cheesy action-movie lines.”
- “Battlewise quite like the original X-COM, but with RPG elements and tons of humor.”
- “Shout out to anyone that reads that this game is legit, funny and has great mechanics that are a bit grittier and perhaps even unnecessary by modern game design but fits brilliantly in the context of this game and the era that it comes from.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
38%
13%
The game's music has received mixed reviews, with some praising the fantastic soundtrack and high-quality voice acting that enhance the overall experience, while others find the sound merely satisfactory, suggesting a personal bias due to familiarity with the music. Overall, the soundtrack is noted for its ability to bring the game's characters and world to life.
- “The game also boasts a fantastic soundtrack with high-quality voice acting that brings the game's characters and world to life.”
- “Sound is alright, but my opinion may be a bit biased since the entire soundtrack has been engraved into my memory.”
- “Fantastic mercenaries, voice acting, music.”
- “The sound is alright, but my opinion may be a bit biased since the entire soundtrack has been engraved into my memory.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players consistently express frustration with the grinding aspect of the game, citing a poor interface and tedious combat that feels unfair. The slow pace of troop movement, engagement, and inventory management contributes to an overall tedious experience.
- “Trash interface, paired with tedious combat that cheats all the time, makes for a frustrating experience.”
- “Moving troops, engagement, inventory management, squad management, finding NPCs, just slow on top of slow with a side of tedious.”
- “A process I found mostly tedious.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game boasts excellent replayability due to its open world design, diverse mercenary options, and numerous random encounters, making it engaging for both new and returning players. Its blend of old-school and modern elements adds depth, solidifying its status as one of the best turn-based games available.
- “This game has great replayability because of its open world, lots of mercs, and random fights all over the place.”
- “As good as it was when it first came out, it is still very replayable.”
- “Probably one of the best turn-based games of all time... a little old school and new combined into a game that has great depth and replayability.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization is generally smooth for most players, with occasional crashes that can be mitigated by spending time in maps. However, some users criticize it for poor performance and feel it has received undue recognition despite these issues.
- “This is one of my all-time favorite games and runs smoothly, except for one instance of crashing to desktop. You can avoid this by spending time inside maps.”
- “This game unfortunately has an unfair amount of recognition for very little effort and very bad performance.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Despite the outdated graphics, the game is praised for its captivating atmosphere that enhances the overall experience and keeps players engaged.
- “Outdated graphics, but the atmosphere is great and highly addictive!”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express frustration with misleading advertising regarding the game's availability, specifically noting the absence of a Mac version despite claims suggesting otherwise.