Who will be publishing Jagged Alliance 2?
We are pleased to announce that Jagged Alliance 2 will be published by Talonsoft.

A Linux Version of Jagged Alliance 2 is now out in stores. Any technical support questions should be directed to the publisher, Titan Computer. They can be contacted by going to their site and entering the Linux section.
Direct email support is also available by sending an email to: support@TitanSoftwareDev.com

How can I order the game?
You can order Jagged Alliance 2 directly from Talonsoft or from one of the online computer software retailers.

How can I try Jagged Alliance 2?
Download and play the demo.

[ Back To Top ]

To win, you'll need to hire the right mercs, deal with their quirky personalities, and lead them to victory in combat. You'll test your strategic skills by negotiating with the local population, training specialists, and cutting off the enemy's supply lines. Act fast, because the clock is ticking.

Will Jagged Alliance 2 be a bunch of small missions, like Deadly Games, or a "take over the whole country" game, like the original Jagged Alliance?
You'll get to take over the country sector-by-sector, as in the original Jagged Alliance. See the Strategy section.

[ Back To Top ]

Does the game have the overhead view used in the original Jagged Alliance?
Jagged Alliance 2 uses an isometric perspective instead of a bird's-eye overhead view. This allows us to do things like multiple levels (cliffs, rooftops, etc.) Walls and obstacles that might block your view of a character become translucent, so you'll never lose track of your team.

Are all those neat graphic details like trees and rocks just for show, or do they serve a purpose in the game?
Each piece of terrain in the game has full 3D data on height, width, etc. This information is used for line of sight calculations and projectile collision detection. That's a fancy way of saying it's a lot more than window dressing. Climbing up on a rooftop gives you better visibility. A tall, thick tree will provide good cover, but tiny bushes won't stop a barrage of AK-74 fire.

Of course, there's plenty of fun window-dressing, too, such as the vultures who swoop down and gnaw at the corpses.

Do the character graphics look any different?
Quite a bit. In addition to new hand-crafted portraits, mercs now look much better in the field. Body size, skin tones, hair colors and clothing are shown much more accurately. Oh, and women now actually look like women!

[ Back To Top ]

What new action options are there?
Your mercenaries have many new movement options. Just imagine your team running, crawling, jumping over obstacles, and climbing walls and cliffs. Of course, they also have the old options such crouching, swimming, etc.

What new weapons have been added?
All sorts: sniper rifles, automatic weapons that fire in bursts, throwing knives, bare fists, new ammo types such as armor piercing ammo, new grenade types, and some surprises. We've also made bullets act much more realistically. For example, it will now be possible for a bullet to pass completely through one item (or merc!) and continue traveling at a reduced velocity.

[ Back To Top ]

How many sectors are there?
There are about 200 sectors in Arulco. There were 60 in the original Jagged Alliance, so Arulco is obviously a much, much bigger. With the proper strategy you won't have to conquer every single sector to win, though.

200 sectors? It's going to take forever for my mercs to walk that far!
They won't have to walk--if you can get ahold of a vehicle...

What new strategic elements have been added?
Your day no longer ends at sundown, for one thing. You can send your mercs out on night missions, or continue repairing items around the clock. You can't keep your mercs going 24/7 forever, though. They'll need to sleep eventually.

Your opponents are working around the clock, as well. You can expect counterattacks at any time--even while you're in combat.

The country's inhabitants pose another strategic challenge. You will need to convert them over to your side. Your team will be hailed as heroes if you're on a winning streak, but if your popularity will plummet if you begin to lose...

How do I make money in the game?
You'll need to take control of the mines around Arulco. The mines will provide you with a steady source of income to finance your campaign. Of course, the mines are very well defended.

[ Back To Top ]

What do you mean by traits?
Traits are special characteristics that affect how a mercenary performs both on the field and in her relationships with other mercs. For example, a mercenary may be especially good at night missions, but also have a passionate hatred of foreigners. We've added a bunch of new mercenary traits to Jagged Alliance 2. The mercs will be quirkier than ever.

Are there any other new character statistics?
Yes. We've added two new attributes, leadership and strength. There's also a new morale system.

Do mercenaries still go up in level?
Both skills and levels increase as mercenaries gain experience. Mercenaries are now able to gain levels and skills after any engagement (formerly, they only gained levels at sunset). You'll see a much tighter relationship between what your mercs do and when their stats improve.

What other role-playing elements are in the game?
You'll have more interaction with NPCs (non-player characters) than in previous Jagged Alliance games. How you talk to the locals is a key part of your success or failure.

You'll also find many subquests along the way, such as relieving a besieged city or hunting down terrorists. Last, but far from least, you'll be able to create your own custom mercenary. We think you'll find the character generation process incredibly entertaining. Best of all, you won't have to pay any salary for your custom merc.

[ Back To Top ]

Can I have more than one squad operating at once?
Yes. For example, you might have one squad of six mercs heading towards an enemy stronghold, while another attacks a local airport.

Will the old mercenaries be back?
Many of your old favorites will be returning, such as Grunty and Larry. Others have left the mercenary life for reasons either personal (retirement) or work-related (getting in the way of one too many bullets). Check out the Mercenary Roster section!

Will Ivan be back? Ivan rocks!
Yes, Ivan will return. This time he'll actually speak a little English.

Will there be new mercs?
You bet. There will be dozens of new faces. But we don't want to give away all our secrets right now. Well, OK, just one. It seems Ivan has a nephew.

How many mercenaries are in the game, total?
You can hire more than 70 people, including many locals who can be recruited to fight on your side. Of course, some of those people are better at repairing, doctoring, etc. than they are at fighting.

Can I create my own mercenary?
Indeed you can. You'll be able to recruit a merc that meets your own exact specifications. We think you'll find the the character generation process we're working on highly entertaining. Best of all, you won't have to pay any salary for your custom merc.

Can I customize my mercenary's voice?
Yes. When you generate your custom mercenary, you'll get a choice of what type of voice you'd like for your creation.

Will we meet that cheap @#!$&$%! arms dealer Micky O'Rourke again?
Yes, you will. Hold that thought for your next encounter.

In Deadly Games I would hire cheap mercs and then use dynamite to blow them up in the middle of a group of enemies. Can I still do this in Jagged Alliance 2?
Is that any way to treat your employees? Yes, you can still use this tactic, but it will cost you. When you hire a mercenary you may be required to put down a medical deposit on that merc. If the merc comes back in a body bag, you don't get your deposit back. It's kind of like the security deposit on your apartment.

[ Back To Top ]

Does Jagged Alliance 2 have a multiplayer feature?
No. We looked long and hard at including multiplayer and decided against it. Here's why: Jagged Alliance 2 was designed to have a very detailed solo mode. You take over an entire country, sector by sector. You build up an experienced team over the course of many missions. You slowly but surely build up your resources. You engage in many subquests along the way. These are the things that make for a satisfying, rich solo game.

But what's rich and deep in solo play may just be slow and cumbersome in multiplayer mode. A multiplayer version of the full take-over-the-country game would take months for the players to finish, and would try the patience of all but the most diehard fans. Including a multiplayer version of the game would also have greatly increased game's development time.

So we chose not to include multiplayer, because it didn't fit in with our vision for this particular game. Of course, future Jagged Alliance games may very well include a multiplayer feature.

Can't you add multiplayer with a patch?
It's not that simple. Trying to add multiplayer with a patch would be like trying to do open-heart surgery on a perfectly healthy person. It would be messy, it would be needlessly risky, and it might not work at all. If it did work, it would take a long, long time for the patient to recover. (That is, a long, long time to test.)

It might take many months to create and test a multiplayer patch for a game that is, in our opinion, perfectly fine without multiplayer. We'd much rather devote that time to creating new, cool Jagged Alliance games.

Last time I read this FAQ, the game was called Jagged Alliance II. Now It's called Jagged Alliance 2. What's up with that?
Your choice: a) It's all part of Sir-tech's conspiracy to mess with your mind. b) It's part of Sir-tech's crusade to rid the world of Roman numerals. (What have the Romans ever done for us?) or c) We couldn't come up with a Roman "II" that looked as cool as our splattery "2".

Hey, what's this I hear about you putting bugs in the game?
Well, we try as hard as we can to eliminate all bugs before we ship the product, but occasionally...

No, no, no. I mean bugs as in "bug-hunt". You know, bug-eyed monsters. ALIENS.
Ahh, I see. There are no aliens in Jagged Alliance 2.

Then what are the weird creatures I've seen in the screenshots?
You'll just have to play the game to find out. Realism purists will also have the option to turn off the sci-fi elements entirely, if they so desire.

What is this Jagged Alliance game you keep going on about?
The original Jagged Alliance was released in 1995. The mix of strategy, turn-based combat, and unique mercenaries made Jagged Alliance an instant hit with critics and fans alike. Its thousands of lines of recorded speech made it one of the first games to make full use of the CD-ROM medium. The game was voted "Best Strategy Game of 1995" by PC Entertainment and "Turn-based Strategy Game of the Year" by Computer Games Strategy Plus. Computer Gaming World called it "A Must Buy."

Jagged Alliance was followed by Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games in 1996. Deadly Games added multiplayer options, new mercenaries and weapons, and a scenario editor. Deadly Games was another critical and fan success, and was on the Internet Top 100 games charts for more than a year after its release. It's still on Computer Gaming World's Top 100 Games list.

[ Back To Top ]