Jagged Alliance: Flashback

 PC
Metascore
52

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 10
  3. Negative: 5 out of 10
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Dec 15, 2014
    75
    Jagged Alliance Flashback resurrects the classic game, unfortunately only as a skeleton. I hope that some day the flesh, muscles and soul will be added. [Dec 2014]
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User Reviews

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User Score
4.2

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 76 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 76
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 76
  3. Negative: 45 out of 76
  1. Thrillseeker
    Oct 23, 2014
    2
    This is a game that made me create an account here, simply because i was baffled about its high user score and lack of warning for potentialThis is a game that made me create an account here, simply because i was baffled about its high user score and lack of warning for potential buyers.

    Flashback - made by people who claim they loved the originals and were so disappointed that no company made a proper sequel they decided to do it themselves. Thing is, they missed the mark by as much as you can possibly miss it. The game is truly bad, and this is coming from someone who doesn't mind playing bugged or not-so-pretty games as long as they have something going for them. This fails on virtually every level.

    Graphics. I know in a tactical game it doesn't matter all that much especially for fans of the genre. I agree with that. Problem is this game looks truly bad, think Silent Storm (which is over 10 years old, remember!) but not as pretty or as detailed. Add to that unreasonable system requirements and choppy framerate even at high end computers. The menus and ui look bland, font is poorly chosen, game view doesn't cut away walls, trees or any other obstacles so you constantly rotate the camera to see anything, which more often that not barely helps. It's just bad.

    Sound is there, that's about the only positive thing about it. Gunshots are most likely chosen from some cheap sounds library off the internet, character voices are mostly okay, especially the ones with accents. That being said some are truly horrific, for example 'Spirit' - she sounds like a broken cyborg from an old movie. Somewhat redeeming here is the music, which in some places is really nice, even if it isn't the kind you'd listen to outside of the game. It does the job and adds to the atmosphere.

    Gameplay. Oh dear me. This is the worst thing about the game. I don't mind streamlining features and simplifying combat for the sake of more fluid and faster paced action, i very much like UFO: Enemy Within. Problem is, this is much simpler technically and worse in pretty much every aspect. Enemy AI is shocking, they use maybe four tactics to... well, i don't really know what they're trying to do, because it isn't winning fights - of that i'm sure. They either run straight at your guys who are prone and mowing them down one after another, or they stay miles back outside your sight range and take 0% hitchance potshots at You, or, most sensibly, they sometimes will go prone near cover and try to duke it out. Even if they have a pistol and that cover is 20 tiles away from you which does them no good at all. There are times when one bright spark will accidentally find decent cover at an angle and is able to hit your men, but i suspect that's purely by chance that the cover was there and he just happened upon it, not that he chose it as a tactically viable position. Sometimes they run back and forth like headless chicken, out of cover, few steps here or there and then back behind the same cover without even firing. It's embarrasing and sad to watch, and the only way they can harm you is by attrition and the fact that sometimes, especially early on, you simply cannot kill them fast enough even as they run at your much better armed squad.
    Now, weapon balance. For the most part it isn't actually so bad, except... If, like me, you happen to find a M82A1 Barrett on 4th map (!!!), you'll think to yourself 'aha, now you evil soldiers are so dead you won't even know how dead you'll be when i kill you with my silly powerful rifle!', and you'll be sadly mistaken. .50 cal sniper rifle is barely more effective than an old Russian RPK light machinegun.
    There is no tactical depth, cover system is unintuitive and badly implemented - in XCOM your guys peeked out to fire and went back smoothly and sensibly. Here this doesn't happen, if You hide behind high cover You have to get out, shoot and go back wasting points and time on moving and turning towards enemy every single damn time. It's tedious, unnecessary and makes no sense. There is also no height advantage to be had, stealth is virtually non-existant unless You count going around building and shooting enemies in the back during combat itself.
    Inventory is not bad suprisingly, but stats, skills and all the information are crammed into that one screen which just goes to show the lack of depth. The game is barren, item descriptions are barely there, weapon names are of course fake and not as funny as developer thought they would be.

    There is also plenty of typos and the whole game feels clunky, cursors get stuck all the time, there is no quicksave system and the whole thing feels like an early beta.
    One positive thing i suppose is the fact that i haven't encountered any game-breaking bugs with quests being stuck etc.

    Summing up, this is one of the worst tactical games i've ever played, and more insulting when you consider it bears Jagged Alliance logo. Even worse, you pay full price for a game that feels unfinished at best. If you like tactical shooters stick to old JA2, Silent Storm, 7.62 High Calibre with Blue Sun Mod or even XCOM. I wish i had.    … Full Review »
  2. bandui
    Oct 25, 2014
    2
    Alot has already been written about the, for the most part horribly broken game mechanics and lack of essential features and I couldn't agreeAlot has already been written about the, for the most part horribly broken game mechanics and lack of essential features and I couldn't agree more with these complains. Leaving actual gameplay aside for a second, I'm especially disappointed with the lack of details and the totally unintuitive and lifeless background story. You know, with JA1 and JA2, you could literally feel the love and passion that developers put into virtually every aspect of the games, be it the immersive story, the individual mercs and NPCs or even the suspenesful background music. Sadly, ALL of this is completely absent in JA:Flashback.

    The game just feels so shallow and soulless that you can't help but feel the devs just wanted to be done with it and move on, which begs the question why they bothered to make it in the first place. To be honest, I'm really tired of sub-par game studios tarnishing the brand name of poor old Jagged Alliance. So all in all, if you thought things couldn't get any worse than JA:BIA, then sadly you were mistaken.    … Full Review »
  3. DaniDE
    Apr 6, 2015
    4
    The game feels and looks unfinished. Lots has been promised, not much made it in to release. I just don´t get why I see 8 and 9 point reviewsThe game feels and looks unfinished. Lots has been promised, not much made it in to release. I just don´t get why I see 8 and 9 point reviews here stating that the developer has promised to put things in. A game has to be judged as it is at the time of its release, and in its current form, it is simply neither good, feature-complete or fun. I wish it was different, but thats how it is.

    The graphics are ok, not stunning or anything near it, but ok. What really is a huge turn-off for me is the complete fail at user interface and polishing. (Beside the lack of features and soul). Why forcing people into a click orgy nowadays? For example, I don´t want to click stance buttons to peek out of cover and go back in cover EVERYTIME I shoot at someone. Smooth gameplay is important, and if a game annoys me with it´s controls and UI its just not fun for me. Enemy AI is A but not I. Really, they are just no challenge.

    Sigh. I could go on writing negatively on this, but really, I just want to sum it up: Put Flashback and JA2 side by side and see whats more fun. Why is it so hard to learn from Silent Storm, X-Com and the likes and see what was good and successful with gamers recently?

    Maybe things change in the near or distant future, but right now I suggest to wait if and how this game develops before buying this at the full price.    … Full Review »
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