Jagged Alliance 3 Reviews
Jagged Alliance 3 is a rousing return to form for the series, offering a solid tactical offering that finds a welcome home on PS5. Rough around the edges, with a tone that might turn some off, it offers plenty of replayability, with each turn as tense as the last.
Other UI irritations abound, serving only to further complicate an experience at odds with itself for how much information it wants to communicate at a given moment. On the whole, Jagged Alliance 3 lays some strong groundwork for the franchise’s resurgence, but it often feels like a series of individual victories that fail to work in concert for something greater.
Solid strategy and customization make Jagged Alliance 3 a good time for tactical RPG fans, if you can stomach the irreverent tone.
Jagged Alliance 3 is a bold attempt at blending the best of multiple genres. Despite success in several areas, its overbearing systems often sideline the enjoyment of an otherwise well-made game.
There’s a kind of scrappy, desperate feeling to a firefight in Jagged Alliance 3. Hits to the arms reduce accuracy, and damage to the legs impedes movement. Cover can be destroyed. Losing line-of-sight allows your merc to re-enter Sneak Mode and return to surprise the enemy. Saving a couple of AP to drop into a prone position at the end of a turn can be the difference between seeing the next turn or bleeding out. Yet, despite all this tactical granularity, the successful play is often a matter of running around the cover the enemy is hiding behind and shooting them in the back. Assuming you don’t miss, of course.
Jagged Alliance 3 still feels like a PC game on console, but works admirably under its strict control limitations.
Despite rough edges and a steep learning curve, the tactical series returns in force with Jagged Alliance 3.
UI niggles and a wincingly unfunny tone can't sink a strong hybrid of old and new design ideas.