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Jagged Alliance 2: Reloaded Announced

http://www.bluesnews.com/s/113311/jagged-alliance-2-reloaded-announced

bitComposer Games announces Jagged Alliance 2: Reloaded, a remake of Jagged Alliance 2 retaining its highly regarded turn-based strategy and role-playing gameplay, while updating the JA2 graphics to a more current state. They offer a set of three screenshots showing the game's old and new graphics side-by-side (they do not specify which is which, but if you can't tell the difference, you don't need a remake), and here's word on the game, which does not yet carry a release date:

Eschborn/Frankfurt, August XX, 2010: Jagged Alliance 2: Reloaded will be released next year, and this multi award-winning classic will appear as a totally revamped version. German publisher bitComposer Games is currently developing a remake of Jagged Alliance 2, which will retain the tried-and-trusted game principle, but will have a totally new game look and which will address the weak points of the original. Jagged Alliance 2: Reloaded will therefore have a contemporary 3D graphic style in an isometric view, the user interface will be totally redesigned and an extensive tutorial will ease the player into the complex game rules system. Find out more about Jagged Alliance 2: Reloaded and about other titles in the Jagged Alliance universe on the new product website: www.jaggedalliance.com

This is in addition to Jagged Alliance Online, which was announced yesterday: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=404442
 

Kuran

Banned
Awesome. Had a dream about a new Jagged Alliance game yesterday, and I swear I had no idea there was a new game announced. That is fucking weird.

In my dream it was 3d, and I had it zoomed all the way out where the sprites were tiny...
 
I don't think they have revealed how the remake will look like yet. It seems like the press release went out earlier than it was suppose to (notice August XX, 2010) and they haven't updated the site yet.
 
Germans you better not fuck up, I wished sirtech was still around =( i want a Jagged Alliance 3 not a remake. Jagged Alliance 2 is timeless you can't remake perfection.

I demand screen shots!
 
Technosteve said:
Germans you better not fuck up, I wished sirtech was still around =( i want a Jagged Alliance 3 not a remake. Jagged Alliance 2 is timeless you can't remake perfection.

I demand screen shots!

That's the third project that is being worked on and will probably be revealed soon. bitComposer Games has said that they are working on an online title (Jagged Alliance Online), a remake (Jagged Alliance 2: Reloaded), and a sequel (Jagged Alliance 3).
 

Mindlog

Member
remake of Jagged Alliance 2 retaining its highly regarded turn-based strategy and role-playing gameplay, while updating the JA2 graphics to a more current state

Why is this so hard to understand 2K Games?

When the screenshots load I'll be able to comment on that-_-

VVV Yeah, took a bit to load. I'll be buying it on release.
 
actually this art style is not bad.....


pw0.jpg


guess i'll kill some more ants, skin some cats and make sweet love to deidranna

Deidranna.png
No Elliot you fool!

Elliot_-_Healty.png
Ahhhh
 

Decado

Member
I just came so hard I think I have to go to the hospital... :D

That being said...is it a direct remake? While I'd hate to see them screw it up, the game has been constantly modded and improved, so it would be nice if they took some of those improvements and incorporated it into the game.

As long as they don't make combat real-time....

JA2 is easily my favourite game of all time. I was actually planning to replay it w/ mods this fall.

Oh...and modding support is probably the most important new feature they can include...
 

BigAT

Member
Jagged Alliance 2 remake? You got my ear!

If this is an even halfway competent remake I'll be grabbing it with gusto on day 1. JA2 might be the most underrated game ever and it is definitely one of my all time favorites.
 
i hope that they kept all the original voices, those guys at sirtech put a lot of personality in the mercenaries just through the dialog.
 

Chichikov

Member
I like the new look, and I love the original (one of the best games of all time in my book) so I'm all over this.
That being said, the original is far from perfect, I wouldn't mind if they fix some of the issues it had (mostly around the UI).

p.s.
We really due for a JA3, aren't we?
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
I'd rather see this kind of stuff then what 2K is doing with X-COM.

The developer realizes their limitations, understands that they don't have to chops to do a real sequel so they just modernize the classic.

I'm in.
 
"The developer realizes their limitations, understands that they don't have to chops to do a real sequel so they just modernize the classic."

But they are making a sequel.
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
Teknopathetic said:
"The developer realizes their limitations, understands that they don't have to chops to do a real sequel so they just modernize the classic."

But they are making a sequel.

Are they? Well I guess it can suck if they manage to not screw up the JA2 redo too badly.

2K can soften the blow of their new X-COM by doing a remake of the original as well.
 
Sad news: it seems that they ditched Turn Based combat and Line of Sight. They are going with Real Time with Pause and all enemies outside buildings are now visible all the time.

Bitcomposer forum

[...]The advantages of the “Plan & Go” system opposed to the turn-based original are:

• It is dynamic, as it allows combat in real time.
• It introduces timing as a new element: it enables the player to spot and assess enemy movements, so he can either cleverly sneak past, or lie in wait and choose the right moment to attack.
• It avoids the situation where you get mixed up in a battle while your mercenaries are some distance from the front. JA2 was very time-consuming in this respect, because players had to lag behind for several turns while they moved all their mercenaries to the front.
• Combat with large numbers of enemies happen more quickly; in JA2 it took ages for the round to finish when numerous mercenaries and enemies were involved in the battle.
• The new system also allows us to incorporate new AI functions such as cutting off and flanking enemies, that only work when actions are carried out simultaneously and not one after the other.

Your bitComposer Team
 
It's a killer for the diehards, but I quite like the way the pauseable real-time combat worked in things like UFO: Aftermath/shock/light. As long as it's still got all the nitty-gritty, then it should be okay.

Plus, a reskinned update means the angry diehards can always go back to Wildfire and whatnot without feeling like they're missing out.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Sad news: it seems that they ditched Turn Based combat and Line of Sight. They are going with Real Time with Pause and all enemies outside buildings are now visible all the time.


..............the fuck? What a wasted opportunity.

All JA2 needed was a modern UI and resolution options. Obscenely retarded.
 

Sotha Sil

Member
Hot damn, just replayed that legend of a game. Awesome news.


Azih said:
I remember the original JA2 having an incredibly good UI, for the between missions sections anyway.


Yeah, it's great.
 
The turn-based system would probably kept JA2 as a niche thing, even JA2's lead programmer said so, it makes sense for a new title, guess it's a wait and see if this is a Frozen-Synapse like change.
 

Mimir

Member
Well, there goes any interest I had in this game. The original is still extremely playable, so this isn't a huge loss.
 

Llyranor

Member
I agree that the Plan & Go system sounds pretty advantageous, as it will allow me to keep my wallet fat and plump.
 

robor

Member
How could they fuck it up so hard? You alter some of the most defining features and slap Reloaded on it and we're expected to lap it up like frothing dogs?

These guys should be ashamed of themselves.
 

BigAT

Member
Prime crotch said:
The turn-based system would probably kept JA2 as a niche thing, even JA2's lead programmer said so, it makes sense for a new title, guess it's a wait and see if this is a Frozen-Synapse like change.
I don't disagree it would have been a niche thing, but they just went and eliminated the niche as well.

It's not like isometric real-time squad-based strategy games are all the rage nowadays. This isn't going to bring it into the mass market, it's just going to annoy fans of the game.
 

szaromir

Banned
Real time system can be tactical and might work, but it's a nightmare to develop and probably won't work. Good thing I still have original JA2 as well as some rereleases (Wildfire).
 
BigAT said:
I don't disagree it would have been a niche thing, but they just went and eliminated the niche as well.

It's not like isometric real-time squad-based strategy games are all the rage nowadays. This isn't going to bring it into the mass market, it's just going to annoy fans of the game.
The game's already almost identical to JA2 in design, asking for full price for a graphical remake wouldn't fly well with most people; with this they're bringing something new into the table in hopes to fix some of the original issues and as touch some mainstream market since theyre also planning JA3 and an online game.
 

Haunted

Member
Versipellis said:
Sad news: it seems that they ditched Turn Based combat and Line of Sight. They are going with Real Time with Pause and all enemies outside buildings are now visible all the time.

Bitcomposer forum
So they're going the Commandos/Desperados route instead of actually remaking Jagged Alliance 2.

Huh.
 

Llyranor

Member
Should rename to Jagged Alliance Xtreme

RTwP isn't bad. My favorite strategic/tactical gameplay system ever is RTwP (move over, X-Com!). But this is completely unnecessary. The way the dev describes the system, JA2 sounds like a tedious and boring game. Thanks for the improvements!
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Prime crotch said:
The game's already almost identical to JA2 in design, asking for full price for a graphical remake wouldn't fly well with most people; with this they're bringing something new into the table in hopes to fix some of the original issues and as touch some mainstream market since theyre also planning JA3 and an online game.

Why would it need to be full price?
 
EviLore said:
Why would it need to be full price?
Why not? It's no less work than a complete new title and even new titles on niche genres these days come at around the 30$ price mark, or more.
A graphical only remake of an already niche title is already on shaky ground, and since they're also planning for future titles, why not try and improve.
 
Prime crotch said:
The game's already almost identical to JA2 in design, asking for full price for a graphical remake wouldn't fly well with most people; with this they're bringing something new into the table in hopes to fix some of the original issues and as touch some mainstream market since theyre also planning JA3 and an online game.
The Airborne Assault/Command Ops series shows that you can create great strategic/tactical games even without turns, so that's not the real problem here. The thing is that they are remaking a game that is the epitome of turn based games. They are remaking it, not making a new game (that would be JA3) - if they strip it of its most recognizable feature, what's the point in it? JA's TB system has some room for improvement (as shown by patch 1.13): they should go in that direction, instead of ditching it completely.
 

Sectus

Member
Well, that is pretty weird... I agree with some of their complaints, but there's other solutions they could have considered (like let multiple mercs move at the same time in turnbased mode when you're moving mercs which are far away, and in cases where the odds are in way in your favour just let the enemy surrender).

Real-time might work as I really enjoyed the real-time combat in X-Com: Apocalypse and I think that managed to still be tactical. But I've always seen JA2 as the best turnbased tactical game of all time, so it's a bit depressing to see it be remade as something else. I might still be interested if they manage make the new combat fun and tactical though.

At the very least they should be keeping all of the great dialogue and voice acting... right?
 

_Bro

Banned
Plan & Go sounds pretty good. If it's got a pause menu which I can abuse like I would in any "real-time" DnD game (Baldur's Gate 2) then I don't see too much of a problem. Having an AI that can do more is a plus if that's the outcome.
 
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