Jagged Alliance 3 Review on Xbox | is JA3 the Best Turn Based Strategy Game?
- Sprout Land
- Oct 6
- 9 min read
Updated: Oct 7
The long awaited sequel to Jagged Alliance 2 is finally on console - Available here on Xbox
Fans of the original 90's PC game have had to wait for 30 years for this installment. Has it been worth the wait?
Jagged Alliance 3 is a turn-based strategy game that allows you to take full control of a mercenary operation to retake a country and rescue the president.
The player is responsible for hiring and recruiting mercenaries and local soldiers, equipping their team, directing their strategy over the various islands across the map, and crucially fighting the enemy forces through turn-based engagements.
Players also have the opportunity to get involved with the local politics and dramas that play out through voice acted conversations with NPC's in various locations.
Jagged Alliance 3 Coop Campaign
As a welcome addition Jagged Alliance 3 features a full coop campaign mode. Refreshingly this is a fully integrated cooperative mode where the host and joining player have full access to the game mechanics and strategic decisions.
In some coop campaigns the player who joins the game as "player 2" can feel like a spare part, with limited access to options and control of the story.
This is far from the case in Jagged Alliance 3 coop where the player joining the game seems to assume full control as a partner in the mercenary operation at the top level.
This means they can talk to NPC's and make critical decisions eg should this suspect hang or will we let him go? The second player can also recruit mercenaries, order weapons and equipment from the online store in-game and direct squads about on the map.
The only real downside with the coop is the odd connection issue when the save file seems to be corrupted or not loading correctly for both players.
Is Jagged Alliance 3 the best turn based strategy game on the console?
Jagged Alliance 3 gives you the sense of being in charge of your own A-Team. You make all the decisions and choose where to go, whose story you believe during interrogations, and who you will release or execute - rather than being handed a series of random generated missions in a linear format.
Your mercenaries will be firing off one liners like a classic 80's action film, falling out with each other or losing the plot completely if you pick the wrong team.
The game can seem quite punishing at times and while the lines of dialogue will crack you up at first, after hearing the same quip 100 times you will soon want to fire that mercenary or lead them to their death.
Turn based combat features that set Jagged Alliance apart
There are a number of extra features in the turn based combat within Jagged Alliance 3 that add more depth to the gameplay and tactics.
It's more "army based" than X-Com or fantasy titles like Divinity, and you get a range of suitable options.
For example you can go into any stance, movement or action used in a military setting. This includes -
Lying prone to avoid fire or crouching behind cover
Running, climbing on roofs, or sneaking stealthily through the foliage
Leave members of the team on overwatch - ready to interrupt the enemy's turn and blast them
Select fire modes single aimed shot or full auto Rambo style spray and pray
Target body parts for various effects - slow them down with leg shots, affect accuracy hitting them in the arms or do more damage with the trickier headshots
Equip crafted attachments to your guns like thermal scopes and silencers
Attack with knives, fists, throwing grenades, setting explosive traps or whatever you can get your hands on
One a similar game such as Warhammer: Rogue Trader or Wartales you may have one base attack such as fire the weapon, or hit the guy with your hammer.
The control system is quite intuitive on the console although some have found it too complex. If you are looking for a more in-depth challenge though, where you run the campaign and overall strategy as well as the actual combat scenarios, JA3 is definitely worth a look.
Any negative aspects or issues with the game?
The control system was reportedly complex although fans of turn based strategy should find it easy. Choose attack on bottom bar - press up and down to choose a body part - click RT to increase aim etc. You get a lot of options but not too finicky controls or too much HUD getting in the way.
Let's look at some of the more obvious drawbacks that may cause frustration depending on your experience with various titles in the genre. For the most part, the main issues with JA3 are as follows -
Slight save file issues with multiplayer coop
Very punishing at times - long engagements and scarce ammo, can take 30 minutes to play out a battle where everyone ultimately dies and you reload the game
Can feel bogged down if enemy patrols are retaking towns and mines etc
Financial side of it needs careful management and very easy to blow all your cash on expensive mercs with no money left to pay their wages. Need to ensure operation has cash flow coming in through diamond mines being captured
Feels like each character has about 3 different dialogue options for each action and can start to grind on your nerves, edging more towards the annoying in some mercs more than others
Is Jagged Alliance the only realistic military campaign?
Of course there are many fairly accurate war based strategy games and shooters. But do any of them reflect the actual situation in operating a war?
In Jagged Alliance 3 there are several mechanics important to real life combat you will not find in most other games. These are-
Realistic healing and condition of troops
Weapon reliability and state of your equipment
Morale of your squad and individual characters
Making decisions that affect the civilian population
Let's look at these in more detail to see how Jagged Alliance 3 is perhaps the only strategy game that reflects a real military campaign.
Realistic medical attention and troop fatigue
In Jagged Alliance it is not as simple as boshing a medical crate and instantly healing yourself. There's no magic box you can gobble up in real life that will cure you of your bullet wounds.
You can bandage a teammate in the combat to stop them bleeding out. But to heal them fully they will need medical attention from a trained expert hopefully on your team. This could take a day or two before they are fully ready.
Similarly, you can't just infinitely march your troops across hundreds of miles with no rest. On Jagged Alliance 3 your troops will get fatigued if pushed too far and can become cranky for all sorts of reasons.
Team morale and managing characters
Jagged Alliance mercenaries are decidedly more opinionated than their counterparts from other games. If you send all your mercenaries to their deaths they won't just blindly follow orders without complaint.
They may ask for more money if not kept happy or worse, lose it and go berserk if morale drops too low. If everyone is dropping around them you can lose control of that merc while they go on a wild shooting spree or run away in a panic.
This is part of the challenge but some players may find it frustrating when their perfectly planned team hates each other, or loses their nerve at a crucial moment and costs them the whole game.
Key decisions affecting the civilian population
Even making what seems like a good choice or a noble action such as releasing a prisoner may come back to haunt you on Jagged Alliance 3. Will that enemy character appear again at a later date causing more problems? And how will the local population in the town react to hearing the news that the vicious killer has been let off, will they still continue to support your military campaign?
Weapon condition and reliability in Jagged Alliance 3
Oddly enough, Jagged Alliance is one of the few games that represents the true advantage of many guns used in other games.
For example, a revolver or AK47 - normally this would be an early stage weapon that is quickly replaced when you get a "better" gun. There's no point using it again when you have an smg or shotgun etc.
In JA3 there's an advantage to having stuff that is easy to repair, reliable and has an abundance of ammo available for it.
If you're running around with a lot of high tech equipment and you fail to keep it repaired and in good condition, your guns will jam, explosives will have deadly mishaps and your armour may be unable to do the important job of stopping bullets.
Apart from a medical expert to heal your wounds quicker, you also want a mechanic to repair your stuff. Crucially you will need to find time in between combat to tend to your team, whilst avoiding enemy patrols and invading armies.
Training local population and your own mercenaries
During any downtime your leadership experts can train the local militia to defend the towns, ports and mining operations you have taken over. You can also use mercs with high leadership skill to train the rest of your team in any attribute where they have higher skill level.
For example, if they have high marksmanship, medical or explosives skills, or even physical characteristics like high strength and agility, they can can pass these skills onto other members of the team who need them.
Special skill moves and weapon abilities
Adding depth to the gameplay and tactics are the special abilities unique to each character and weapon type.
Explosive experts might produce C4 or TNT to add to your arsenal. Certain characters have special combat moves like Blood's "flying daggers" - running into cover flinging throwing knives at enemies along the way.
Using lightweight or more mobile weapons like pistols will give you an extra move such as Run and Gun allowing you to shoot targets on the move.
The machine guns or LMG's have a particularly good mechanic where it takes 1 action point to set them up on the bipod, but will then provide continual overwatch throughout the enemy turn, blasting any enemies who move into their field of view.
Team Building
Building the perfect team is a game in itself and hugely rewarding when you finally get that mix just right. You'll have stealthy operators with silencers and takedown moves, taking the lead, dispatching guards quietly while your team gets in place.
Covering those mercs you might have snipers and machine gunners on overwatch, using custom attachments and scopes you crafted on the way.
As you get more advanced and your operation grows you could have support units and backup teams providing covering fire from mortars.
Once you've tried out a few of the available mercs, fired a couple you didnt like and most likely got several of them killed, you'll have a decent team that suits your playstyle and strategy.
Your ideal team will get along with each other, have high morale and be less prone to going berserk. They will also have the perfect blend of combat skills and support roles to keep the whole thing going.
Similar to a real life special forces unit such as the SAS, your team members have multiple duties in and out of combat.
For example, the guy who can take down bad guys with a stealth move might also be the person you use to pick locks, disarm traps, hack computers or repair your equipment when the battle is over.
Your sniper might also be your team medic or leader and they become hugely important, making the firefight even more tense.
Was it worth the wait?
It has been a long 30 year wait with no mercenary simulators to get stuck into. Thankfully Jagged Alliance 3 not only lives up to the quality of the original but even surpasses it in several key ways.
The addition of the coop campaign was exactly what was needed, the turn based combat improves on the previous titles and provides more options and tactics than similar games.
There are also several quality of life improvements like auto switching stance between cover, and the squad stash to take ammo from, so you are not constantly throwing clips around.
There are some drawbacks, but these mostly depend on taste. For example the game requires a lot of time invested, but that's what some people are looking for - a more lengthy campaign they can get stuck into and enjoy the progression from a Motley crew to a professional unit.
Jagged Alliance 3 lives up to the original games and goes beyond them. If you are looking for a good modern combat turn based strategy game on Xbox, there are few games that come close to this title.
There are not many people who entertained me 30 years ago who can still entertain me today. Haemimont Games managed to do just that however and deserve special recognition for an excellent strategy series.
Of course the game will not be for everyone, especially on the console where there is less audience for strategy games. At Sprout Land we always try to give a balanced view, pointing out any potential issues, even on our favourite games.
If you enjoyed the original JA2 or games such as X-COM, Wasteland 3 or Rogue Trader, then you will not be disappointed, or find it too complex. JA3 is our pick for the best turn based strategy game on console.
Get Jagged Alliance 3 today on Xbox, PS5 or PC and jump straight into the action.
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