Jagged Alliance 2 - Wildfire | Game Brain

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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.

Play Modes

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

Reviews

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 412 reviews

story7 positive mentions

stability15 negative mentions

An absolute classic with a great plot and a wide range of characters and locations.
Offers a challenging tactical experience that rewards strategic thinking and planning.
Nostalgic gameplay that many players enjoy revisiting, with improvements over the original.

The game is overly complex and lacks proper guidance for new players, making it frustrating to start.
Frequent bugs and crashes, especially on modern systems, hinder the gameplay experience.
The difficulty level is punishing, often leading to repeated failures and a reliance on save and reload tactics.

story
38 mentions
18 % positive mentions
74 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
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 enhance the experience. While some players appreciate the depth and character development, others criticize the implementation of quests and dialogue, citing bugs and a lack of clarity that detracts from the overall narrative. Overall, the game offers a blend of tactical gameplay and storytelling, though opinions vary on its execution and coherence.
- “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.”
- “Superb story! The 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.”
- “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.”
- “I simply cannot continue playing because I can't finish the first quest due to a bug.”
gameplay
37 mentions
24 % positive mentions
68 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
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 appreciate the engaging gameplay reminiscent of classic titles, others feel it suffers from significant issues that detract 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
33 mentions
18 % positive mentions
73 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
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" or "hideous" by modern standards. However, some players appreciate the nostalgic charm and functional quality of the visuals, comparing them favorably to current indie games. Overall, while the graphics may lack polish, they do not detract significantly from the game's engaging mechanics and atmosphere.
- “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.”
- “The original graphics are dated, but they were proper graphics.”
- “Instead of pumping graphics, the developers spent their time on content, which makes for a big game exploration-wise.”
stability
15 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous reports of persistent bugs, glitches, and crashes reminiscent of issues from the original version over 20 years ago. Players have experienced frequent freezes, mouse malfunctions, and overall poor performance, leading many to recommend saving often and cautioning potential players about the game's instability. Overall, the consensus is that the game is plagued by significant technical problems that detract from the experience.
- “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
11 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players highlighting the funny dialogue and quirky character interactions, particularly among the mercenaries. The blend of cartoony humor and dark themes creates a unique atmosphere, making the gameplay both challenging and entertaining. Overall, the game's witty writing and comedic elements contribute significantly to its appeal, despite its increased difficulty.
- “Yes, great game especially when you get the 1.13 patch on it; the mercs are funny with the sayings they have.”
- “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.”
- “Interesting and creative characters and often funny (graveyard humor mostly, but still good for a chuckle). Enjoy!”
music
4 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-25 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The game's soundtrack is praised for its high quality and ability to enhance the characters and world, with some users highlighting the memorable nature of the music. However, opinions vary, as one reviewer found the sound merely satisfactory, suggesting a subjective experience with the soundtrack. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's atmosphere.
- “The game also boasts a fantastic soundtrack with high-quality voice acting that brings the game's characters and world to life.”
- “Fantastic mercenaries, voice acting, music.”
- “The music is forgettable and lacks variety.”
- “Sound is alright, but my opinion may be a bit biased since the entire soundtrack has been engraved into my memory.”
- “The soundtrack feels repetitive and doesn't enhance the gameplay experience.”
grinding
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be frustrating due to a clunky interface and tedious combat mechanics that often feel unfair. The slow pace of troop movement, engagement, and inventory management contributes to an overall tedious experience.
- “The trash interface, paired with tedious combat that cheats all the time, makes for a frustrating experience.”
- “Moving troops, engagement, inventory management, squad management, and finding NPCs are just slow on top of slow with a side of tedious.”
- “I found the grinding process mostly tedious.”
replayability
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game boasts excellent replayability due to its expansive open world, diverse mercenary options, and numerous random encounters. Players appreciate its blend of old-school and modern elements, contributing to its lasting appeal and depth.
- “This game has great replayability due to its open world, numerous mercenaries, and random encounters throughout.”
- “As good as it was when it first came out, it remains very replayable.”
- “Probably one of the best turn-based games of all time, combining a little old school and new into a game that has great depth and replayability.”
optimization
2 mentions
150 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
150 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is generally smooth, with only occasional crashes that can be avoided by spending time in maps. However, some users feel it has received undue praise despite experiencing significant performance issues.
- “This is one of my all-time favorite games, and it runs smoothly, except for one instance of crashing to desktop, which can be avoided by spending time inside maps.”
- “The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for seamless gameplay even in complex environments.”
- “I appreciate how the developers have focused on optimization, making the game run efficiently on a variety of hardware.”
- “This game unfortunately has an unfair amount of recognition for very little effort and very bad performance.”
- “The optimization is so poor that it feels like I'm playing a beta version rather than a finished product.”
- “Frequent frame drops and long loading times make the experience frustrating and unenjoyable.”
atmosphere
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Despite the outdated graphics, the game successfully creates a captivating and addictive atmosphere that keeps players engaged.
- “The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, drawing you into the game's world.”
- “Despite the outdated graphics, the atmosphere is captivating and keeps you hooked.”
- “The game's atmosphere is rich and engaging, making every moment feel alive.”
monetization
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Users express frustration with misleading advertising regarding the game's availability, particularly noting the absence of a Mac version, which has raised concerns about the transparency of its monetization practices.
- “Misleading advertising... there is no Mac version!”
- “The in-game purchases are way too expensive and feel like a cash grab.”
- “The monetization model ruins the overall experience, making it pay-to-win.”