Jagged Alliance 2

Book excerpt: The turn-based tactical role playing series Jagged Alliance has been sequeled, expanded, modded, optioned, multiplayered, and kickstarted, but the series' many fans usually point to Jagged Alliance 2 as the high water mark, and one of the finest turn-based video games of all time. Jagged Alliance 2 brings to the table a wicked sense of humor, simulation-driven character design, a combination of strategic overworld and tactical battles reminiscent of the X-COM series, and a surprisingly deep open-world RPG experience reminiscent of the Ultima or Elder Scrolls games. Focusing on JA2′s development history and basing his book largely on new personal interviews with the game's developers, game designer and web technology developer Darius Kazemi delves deep into the legacy of a game that still has much to teach gamers and game-makers 14 years after its release.