Jagged Alliance 2 developer talks about remaking a classic

Back in the highs of PC gaming – when not every game released was a first person shooter and turned based strategy games were still very popular – one title particularly stood  out – Jagged Alliance 2.

JA2 was nearly a perfect in every way. Times have changed, “consolization” began and game genres that couldn’t be adapted to the game pad eventually and slowly  died out.
When I first heard the news that German developer bitComposer Games is remaking Jagged Alliance 2, I was as happy as a kid in a candy shop.

I managed to get in contact with Stephan Barnickel, Head of Product Management at bitComposer Games, and ask some questions about the remake.

-  Jagged Alliance is a classic PC franchise that dates way back to 1994, so most of the current generation of gamers probably have never heard of it. Could you please explain in a couple of words what the game is about and how it plays?

Jagged Alliance: Back in Action is a military themed tactical combat game. The player is hired to liberate the island of Arulco from its female dictator.

To achieve that goal the player hires mercenaries with his initial cash fund and tries to raise more funds by securing resources on the island. So in the game you will switch between planning your military campaign on the map and taking out the occupying forces in a tactical 3D view.

- From what I understand, the current JA in development is a remake of JA2. Why did you go the remake route and not do a full-blown third ‘sequel’?

That’s right. Jagged Alliance: Back in Action is a remake of JA2 with a few variations from the original and of course a new approach for the combat system. In our point of view JA2 was nearly a perfect game. The complexity of the game has been considered the standard for the genre and is it still. We think that with Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, we can reach the older fans as well as younger people who have heard about the game, but never actually played it.
The set up of a new version of the same game gives us the chance to get a deeper view in the functionality of the JA2, which provides us with the knowledge for a worthy successor, meaning JA3.

- Will all the old characters be back such as Shadow or Fidel?

Yes. All the soldiers that you could hire from the MERC and AIM agencies will return in BIA.

- Will the Imp (personality) test be back, or the in-game laptop interface?

Yes. We plan on implementing both.

- Is  the game still turn based?

No. As in JA2 you start the game in real-time when you enter a map. The game then will auto pause when you spot enemies around you. When the game is paused, the command interface pops up and you can take your time in planning how to react to the current situation. You can then unpause to see how your plan works out and pause again any time to adjust the orders you gave.

- What are some of the changes compared to JA2?

The biggest change is in the combat system. Other changes come from the transition from a 2D tile based engine and to a fully 3D environment. In general the environments are bigger and more detailed.

-Will the environment  be destructible?

You can plant explosives on walls in order to blast holes through walls. You will not be able to destroy everything though, so you have to go look for the weak spots in a building and plan your approach accordingly.

-Will we be able to create and repair items as is the original game? Will there be new item creation “recipes”, weapons and item types?

Yes but the focus of Back in Action is a bit different than in the original. In the original you would have to turn every rock in order to find items like springs or duct tape that you could go McGuyver with. On the other hand you secure mines that generate thousands of dollars per day. Due to time constraints we felt we had to focus either on the micro or on the macro level of the campaign. So we will offer more and more expensive war gear and increase the players’ options to raise more money on the world map in order to buy new equipment. So yes, you can repair and modify your weapons but no, you will not be able to build your own from scratch.

- Will there be any multiplayer features?

No.

- And last but not least- will the Aliens make a return?

No. We remember the big outcry when the Sci Fi mode was implemented back in the days of JA2 and decided that we also wanted to go with a more realistic and straight out military themed setting.

For more info regarding the game  visit the official site and check out the dev diary.

Jagged Alliance:Back in Action will ship on October 18th in the US for $40.

 

 

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