[THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

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Carpet_pissr
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Carpet_pissr »

Ah.
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

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Carpet_pissr wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:32 pmAh.
A fine way to start page two. Also, since we are on page two, make with the impressions!
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Max Peck »

coopasonic wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:48 pm
Carpet_pissr wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:32 pmAh.
A fine way to start page two. Also, since we are on page two, make with the impressions!
My only impression is that I'm happy that it was delayed until December 6th. That gives me time to finish Pathfinder Kingmaker, become bitter about Fallout 76 and bounce off AC Odyssey before it comes out.
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Carpet_pissr »

coopasonic wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:48 pm
Carpet_pissr wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:32 pmAh.
A fine way to start page two. Also, since we are on page two, make with the impressions!
I have a bad habit of not quoting something I am responding to.

"Ah" was in response to the explanation of Rip's video post.
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

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Looks like he game is out with a 10% discount. If like to hear some impressions of anyone is take the plunge on this.
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

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I took the bullet on Mutant Year Zero. Someone else can have a turn.
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Smoove_B »

I want to get it but now that I am charged sales tax, I'm not sure I will have enough in my STEAM wallet to purchase it. I'll need to run out and get more cards...which I should be doing any way in anticipation of the upcoming winter sale(s).

EDIT: Apparently selling cards pays for tax now. Purchased!
Last edited by Smoove_B on Thu Dec 06, 2018 12:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Carpet_pissr »

I'm definitely getting this.

Here's a quick write-up. At the end, note the 9.8/10 score for "feels like the original games".

https://powerup-gaming.com/2018/12/06/j ... e-chopper/
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by jztemple2 »

Carpet_pissr wrote: Thu Dec 06, 2018 12:38 pm I'm definitely getting this.

Here's a quick write-up. At the end, note the 9.8/10 score for "feels like the original games".

https://powerup-gaming.com/2018/12/06/j ... e-chopper/
Sounds promising but I'm right in the middle of Just Cause 4 so someone else will have to take the plunge :D
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

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Watching twitch stream. Is that Elliot from the first game??!!?
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Carpet_pissr »

And of course now that the Steam user reviews are coming in, I'm reading the exact opposite of what I posted above! Yeesh.

And perhaps a fatal flaw (for me personally):

"The UI and control elements are extremely streamlined. All the good options from JA2 are either gone or totally simplified."

Ugh.

More:

"So yeah, don't buy it if you expect a good successor to JA2."

"Rage is an appropriate title... I imagine this game is going to be pretty divisive.
Biggest thing, it's not very similar to the previous titles in the series. It trades depth for ease of play"

On a positive note, this sounds EXACTLY like JA of old. :D
"This game is brutal even on normal difficulty. I had to restart missions multiple times because of one wrong move that cost me my entire squad."

Currently at "Mostly Negative", 20% (!) from user reviews, but many of the negative ones look highly suspicious (and are similar/saying the exact same thing in the same way)
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[THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Scoop20906 »

Disappointing to hear. Looks like potential there but the repetitive missions/maps will probably kill this for me. From what I read instead of exploring the map with your squad instead you are given a selection of missions to choose. Basically the story is on rails and not varied and that is a big downer.
Last edited by Scoop20906 on Fri Dec 07, 2018 8:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by stimpy »

Carpet_pissr wrote: Fri Dec 07, 2018 12:22 am Biggest thing, it's not very similar to the previous titles in the series. It trades depth for ease of play"

On a positive note, this sounds EXACTLY like JA of old. :D
"This game is brutal even on normal difficulty. I had to restart missions multiple times because of one wrong move that cost me my entire squad."
Yeah........contradiction for $200, Alex......
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Paingod »

You can't take a beloved classic with a pile of tactical options and streamline it for usability without alienating everyone who loved the original.

How many times do we need to see developers do this before they get the concept of adapt and improve over strip and purge?
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Blackhawk »

Except that today's market would choke on the un-streamlined version. They can either appeal to the mainstream market, or they can appeal to the handful of people still around who played the original 20 years ago.
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by stimpy »

Maybe it's just my old age addled brain, but I don't recall JA as being overloaded with a myriad of options.
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Carpet_pissr »

stimpy wrote: Fri Dec 07, 2018 8:40 am
Carpet_pissr wrote: Fri Dec 07, 2018 12:22 am Biggest thing, it's not very similar to the previous titles in the series. It trades depth for ease of play"

On a positive note, this sounds EXACTLY like JA of old. :D
"This game is brutal even on normal difficulty. I had to restart missions multiple times because of one wrong move that cost me my entire squad."
Yeah........contradiction for $200, Alex......
Yeah, the reviews are a like that. However, I was specifically looking for reviews from people that had played and loved the originals. Definitely a trend among those reviews for not liking it very much because of over-simplification.
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Paingod »

stimpy wrote: Fri Dec 07, 2018 10:57 am Maybe it's just my old age addled brain, but I don't recall JA as being overloaded with a myriad of options.
It wasn't. It had just enough. Stripping it and streamlining it makes that worse. :hawk:
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Blackhawk »

Carpet_pissr wrote: Fri Dec 07, 2018 12:39 pm Yeah, the reviews are a like that. However, I was specifically looking for reviews from people that had played and loved the originals. Definitely a trend among those reviews for not liking it very much because of over-simplification.
That can be a hopeless pursuit. People who loved Game X and are hoping for an exact duplicate are always disappointed, and always vocal.

I always try to look at it as "Is this a good game in and of itself", and "Is this the kind of game I'd like, regardless of reviews."
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Carpet_pissr »

Blackhawk wrote: Fri Dec 07, 2018 3:02 pmThat can be a hopeless pursuit. People who loved Game X and are hoping for an exact duplicate are always disappointed, and always vocal.

I always try to look at it as "Is this a good game in and of itself", and "Is this the kind of game I'd like, regardless of reviews."
It's probably a personal thing. I actually revel in the "complexity" that many older games had/have. The tendency is to "streamline" that design out of modern followups to attract more buyers. I get it, but I don't have to like it. :D

Also, when you make a game using a title of a beloved series, AND use an iterative number behind it, I think that creates a justified expectation by fans of the previous versions.

This LOOKS to me like a pretty faithful modern version of JA, but I guess the simplification and other issues hold it back from being a great sequel (according to the reviews I've read so far). Hell, they even kept the same viewpoint/perspective. Fallout 3 didn't even do that. Yes, FO3 was a great game, but I felt they should not have used "3" since it's really more of a spiritual successor to the original games.

I guess my point is only that there are plenty of GREAT, modern follow ups to old legends, but they often change the games so much that they barely resemble what made the original legends so good.

I have no idea if that's also what happened here or not since I don't own the game, and unless reviews turn much higher, I probably won't even try it.
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by coopasonic »

Whatever you do, don't watch VTX1 play. He may be the worst streamer ever. I picked his video because it was longer... now I know why it is longer. He took forever figuring out the tutorial. I watched a little but of xwynns (popular XCOM guy) playing it and it doesn't look that bad. I was tempted to pick it up... but it was already Sunday afternoon and I wouldn't get to play that much so I went back to XCOM2.
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Carpet_pissr »

I guess I will wait for this to get bundled into an Humble Bundle.

The only non-user review of this that I could find gives it a 68 (Hooked Gamers).

Summary:

"Jagged Alliance: Rage is a fun game when judged on its own merits. It’s certainly not a proper sequel, and perhaps that would be a bit too much to expect from a game that’s selling for a mere 20 bucks. It does have a few whiffs of what made Jagged Alliance great though, and if this would have been sold as a way to whet our appetites for a full sequel coming out next year, I think it would have landed much better with the fans than it did. As it stands, Jagged Alliance: Rage is a cute distraction, a fun-for-a-while-not-quite-Jagged-Alliance that will polarize fans more than it had intended, but should not be dismissed right out of hand."
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Scoop20906 »

Proper Sequel? What proper sequel?
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Re: [THQ Nordic] Jagged Alliance: Rage!

Post by Carpet_pissr »

NOT a proper sequel.
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