Jagged Alliance 3 [from the perspective of a series veteran]

[@Warlockracy]

A normal, conventional, non-spoiler review. Not sure if I like or hate this format. New video very soon.

[@thescotslair]

It'll be a banger either way tbh

[@Samm815]

So yay or nay?

[@BeepSmile]

I like the 'new video soon' part of the format, as I like your videos.

[@metalgearrexlover]

Good video. You could make a second part video for spoilers

[@calvin950]

Obviously, this would be double the work but how about one video where it's a spoiler-free review, shorter in length. Then a followup that is longer and a critique, like your normal video format.

[@zrgbrg]

I love the Eastern European lore drops in your vids, the mercenary personality analysis with contemporary examples is pure gold

[@ohmygahdbilly]

Makes you wish some of those wacky worlds like Ukraine and Romania were real

[@salieri_sg9413]

​@@ohmygahdbilly Ах ти сука, це хто ще не справжній!? Ховай мамцю!

[@floneticgetsam3120]

Strelkov and Yegor as mercs killed me. I watched some of Prosvirnin's streams. Guy was certifiable and always high and drunk, mouthing off about the glorious Russian National State that has to be created to stop official anti-Russian discrimination and Russian assimilation into the heathen hordes INSIDE RUSSIA. This is a guy who thought Putin was a bootlicker for the barely surviving, downtrodden minorities because he allowed them any kind of official recognition lol.

[@floneticgetsam3120]

And you have to understand that there was a time when Yegor Prosvirnin would occasionally appear on Russian media to take part in "serious discussion".

[@mogyesz9]

@@ohmygahdbilly Stop with your wishes, this whole "romania" nightmare has already gone too long.

[@TalkernateHistory]

My favorite example of mercenary idiocy was in 1981 when Mike Hoare and his band of hired guns flew into The Seychelles disguised as rugby players, with the plan to overthrow the government. The problem was, one of the mercs accidentally got in the "Something to declare" aisle of customs. When he tried getting out of line, a customs officer confiscated his bag, and then found a gun. At that point, the mercenaries pulled out their own guns, took the airport hostage, and had to hijack a plane to fly back to South Africa. The whole operation being a complete disaster.

[@Warlockracy]

Yes, I love that story.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

Considering how experienced Mad Mike was, that makes the story yet goofier.

[@hisradiancelordnasty]

lmfao

[@mancamiatipoola]

Still a better story than Twil... ermm JA3.

[@Pikkabuu]

Why do I get the feeling that the guy who messed up was someones cousin that had to be taken along as somenes mom asked him to be included too...

[@raphsere]

JA3 is actually a really good example of one of the common pitfalls of adapting or iterating on someone else's work: being reductive. When you're given the chance to work with source material you really like, it's so easy to focus on only the parts that personally appealed to you, the ones that struck you the most, at the expense of everything else, of all the pieces that make the work a coherent whole. JA2 wasn't Hot Shots 2. It wasn't a parody of a war story; it was a war story with a comedic tone. But if that comedic tone is what stuck with you while playing, then of course your takeaway for a sequel is going to have it set in a violent cartoon world! I remember Telltale doing this while making a Game of Thrones series. They clearly watched the show and liked it, but their main takeaway seems to have been "everything is shit and the good guys keep losing". Which is why their adaptation of GoT is just the protagonists of their fanmade House suffering humiliation after humiliation as all they love and cherish crumbles around them for 6 episodes straight.

[@destroyerofworlds9860]

That's actually a really interesting take that I hadn't thought about.

[@themadgi]

Very good point. The devs also seem to want their story to be at the forefront of the players' decision making process, having them go from quest to quest to follow a narrative instead of letting players decide how they want to shape their military campaign. Sure, these quests are optional. But they don't feel like it given they're essential to gaining loyalty in the towns thus boosting the mines revenue. On a more mechanical note, not having the agency to recruit legendary mercs from the start also reeks of a lack of confidence in their game's balance and its ability to sustain non-linear opening strategies. And of course, after the first playthrough, having to go through the tutorial island is a chore. While I remember going straight to San Mona for a bit of cash then to Grumm for some much needed weapons, and then straight to Meduna, down in the bunker and BOOM ! Headshot right below the crown. I miss that level of replayability. All in all it wasn't an unpleasant experience, but you're right on the money with the word "cartoon". That's how it felt.

[@LaymensLament]

thats not a bad take. i just said the world building is less good bc less coherent.

[@TheTber123]

Is there a term for that "being reductive" thing by any chance Like one that's easily search-able to find more examples since I'm interested in that phenomenon

[@spankg888]

Overly negative, labeling a good game as a faliure, no wonder this genre of game has been in decline for a long time, bunch of negative nancies

[@vitallygolovanov8321]

JA2 veteran here. Finished JA3 and loved it so much that it took me 130+ hours because I wanted to explore EVERY SECTOR. Each sector is unique, well flashed out, and has at least some loot. Do investctime in scouting and gaining intel.

[@jothain]

I won't say I'm veteran, but completed JA2 twice ages ago. Got ja3 and I absolutely loved it.

[@kysa3535]

I'm a veteran and JA3 is a good game but not as good as JA2. On top of that you get overpowered fast and you basically only have to get a good spot and kill and wait in stealth/overwatch.

[@muhammadariffuddin8652]

i am not a veteran but i do play on Veteran on JA2 1.13 & had at least 1000hrs across all mods like VR, UC, AR. There are so much dissatisfaction to say. The moment i see the direction of artstyle, it basically sank my expectations to very low. small scale squad & mercs to choose, the inventory, how the perks works, enemy ai... i can only wish in 5 years, massive overhaul mods with new campaign that i had dream of comes true with real gritty tactical action based, so that my overwatch now interrupt running soldier so i can finnally shot his leg, & he land his face on ground😂

[@TheD736]

"the default custom Merc name is lame so here's some names of dead Wagner Mercs" God I wish I could give this video 5 stars, it deserves my highest praise

[@grafknives9544]

To be fair, you can draw Arulco map from the head because you spend probably thousands of hours over the last 24 years looking at that map and "taking out the trash".

[@DrZaius3141]

And we just generally are able to engage much more openly with a game when we're young. As adults, we have less time, less energy, more other stuff to do and other games to play. This means that even those of us who (think they) want deeper games might not be able to appreciate them if they drop. Disco Elysium is amazing and I want to love it, but I simply can't sink my teeth into it.

[@ConscriptDavid]

You know, the game hook being "the president of an francophone African nation been deposed and kidnapped in a military coup" is gonna age either really badly or really well depending on what ECOWAS is gonna do.

[@Fireclaws10]

Wdym, it’s basically the french government africa strategy

[@pheenmachine]

IT's basically the same as the original game , no? Just instead of a nondescript South American country its Africa.

[@BoneMachine1443]

It happened a bunch of times during the cold war, as African nations tried to gain independence from colonial powers. Patrice Lumumba and Thomas Sankara spring to mind. Attempting any national reforms the CIA thought were too radical was a great way to get kidnapped and assassinated by right wing militias.

[@brandonmorel2658]

@@BoneMachine1443 CIA as in the international fascists.

[@dean_l33]

​@@brandonmorel2658 They're worse. The CIA are intelligence agency

[@r-saint]

I was so impressed with JA2 plot in 1999 that I even described it to my mother, like it was a cool movie I have just seen. No other game made me do this.

[@pascaltomasovic3586]

but how many games have you played? i'm amazed by probably a dozen of games that i would talk to other people about their stories

[@tianzhou1244]

What did she say?

[@5t3v0esque]

Okay the suggested names being MIA Wagner mercs (and the names in the list themselves) made me laugh for a solid minute, which I haven't done in a while. Thanks based warlock man.

[@heretic7486]

In general, these callsigns are not the worst version of those that Wagner had. Due to the high mortality rate and the number of convicts, they had callsigns such as "corpse" or "disposable". So a dude named "hugo boss" absolutely could exist or still exists in this world right now 😂

[@Amig186]

Now you can add Prigozyn himself to that list

[@Pilvenuga]

When playing, i got the distinct feeling JA3 took a lot of inspiration from Far Cry 2 in terms of atmosphere building

[@nocturnaljoe9543]

Agreed. They also have the same level of latent wokeness.

[@Suomiland]

Fidel in both JA2 and JA3 is such an awesome merc. His overindulgence in explosives is scratching that primal instinct of mine to throw a grenade or two each round and I absolutely love him.

[@mortimer5939]

He was flagged MIA on the AIM site, once i had the cash to hire him. So this is another possibility very close to JA2. Disappointment first, but afterwards i was fine, like "Yeah, could have happened in the old game as well, so i just have to adapt."

[@twZera413]

One plus I'm sad you didn't mention is developer interaction, in the short time since the game came out they did quite a few changes based on community feedback, like nerfing machineguns and making mine depletion vary according to difficulty settings (So on normal they deplete to 50% output, hard to 25%, then to 0% on the last one). The environment is a lot more destructive than you think at first, depending on the material of floors and walls you can blow up a lot of things, and any damage you do in a given region remains there forever, so towns where you hold the line against multiple attacks start to look devastated with houses blown apart by grenades and mortars. I also don't entirely agree with your point on the game's story being all comedic, it touches plenty of serious topics, especially when it comes to the diamond mines and a certain plot twist, it's just that the current approach in storytelling seems to sprinkle in more comedy to avoid too much depression. I don't have much experience with Africa's culture, but the one imported here to South America in colonial times does have characters like the flashy priest you highlight and his church.

[@Sp4mMe]

This game got a Dune-parody trash heap ... ... but to be fair, JA2 had the hillbillies, probably the worst writing in the entire series.

[@Nachy]

There's a lot of silliness around it but yeah the story does actually touch more serious topics. The "plot twist" honestly did cement it to become my favorite game this year, and the diamond mine really gave me an emotional response that no amount of positive game benefits will outweigh the actions of a monster and made me just kill said monster.

[@MesaAufenhand]

@@Nachy I was like YOU when I saw them

[@docthorr]

The good place and the sanatorium plots are indeed not that parodic. The herman/luc arc in turn 1st island as well. I don't think the game story is that mundane.

[@Nachy]

@@MesaAufenhand Absolutely

[@MrBingogogo]

It has been about half a year since I played JA3 so I can't recall the names but I love the treasure-hunting NPC that relies on his pet chicken to find things. You'll run into him from time to time and his lines are great.

[@refinedsugar]

Thanks for all the love & effort you put into this vid! It really shows. I'm not a hardcore JA2 purist so I don't agree with everything you said, but I can appreciate where you're coming from. I also waited until all the updates - fixes, bobby rays - came out to start playing. This is the spiritual sequel fans have been waiting for after some ... low budget lackluster entries ... in my humble opinion.

[@wuwang9073]

Would have been more informative to mention that Dmytro Korchynsky is a genuine connoisseur of Italian Baroque and Early Rococo artists, among other things.

[@LonelyKnightess]

man he really is a telvani

[@wuwang9073]

Admittedly, he is probably one of those players that managed to join both Telvanni and Hlaalu via some exploit.@@LonelyKnightess

[@francesco3772]

Based extremist (redundant, I know)

[@EcclesiastesLiker-py5ts]

Well, its obvious the guy is a nutjob, he like Rococo art. What sort of sensible person looks at that hot mess and sees something of artistic merit?

[@tyskbulle]

I enjoyed Warlockracy's JA2 video - it is a game that always intrigued me But Ive always found it hard to get into older games I didn't play back when JA3 has been a positive experience, its on the verge of a great formula It doesn't bring it home all the way - but I am still having a lot of fun playing it JA3 deserves DLC's and an expansion seized DLC - this can unlock its bigger potential

[@fietehermans9903]

I like how they just called this one JA3, even though it's like the 8th game in the franchise

[@vladhelikopter]

Man, I just love those real life lore extracts that you do at the end of your videos!

[@milktestingwoman]

with the success of bg3 im expecting there to be more classic rpg formatted games in the near future. warlockracy stock is gonna rise like 200%

[@Delicouspie]

BUYBUYBUY!

[@MasterFancyPants]

It's really hilarious how many people playing bg3 are surprised and when there are more games like it. Guess they missed the 3

[@TheHalogen131]

​@@MasterFancyPantsA very similar phenomenon to when people were surprised there were 2 previous Witcher titles

[@daminit6]

@@TheHalogen131 or two(3 if you count tactics) previous Fallout titles

[@KingLich451]

@@TheHalogen131 Lol

[@lukevankleef4245]

Ah, another great Warlockracy video full of interesting details and him pronouncing 'Series' as 'Serious.' Great video as always dude.

[@geswut3144]

There is a real mercenary that worked for Wagner that actually made his callsign Bosmer. Amazing

[@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan]

Don't know about Wagner, but friends Ii have in the military tell me you don't pick your own nickname

[@Pikkabuu]

@@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan It depends on the country you are in. The nickname thing is still a thing in parts of the Eastern Europe.

[@Watanga10]

I don't think it's Wagner, but another paramilitary group that had "Frank Horrigan", "Dolg"/"Duty", and a name from Metro

[@XKS99]

Still can't stop playing this game.

[@LucasCunhaRocha]

Melee is very much viable in 1.13, you can clear entire sectors using throwing knives with Blood or Manuel while sneaking around. Also on those small corridors facilities where combat is always close quarters you can charge into melee as well. Of course using melee on open fields always end up bad, but it isn't completely useless.

[@Karter_Blackpaw]

I usually make my own personal merc be an imitation WW2 Japanese officer with a katana for close quarters and have a spy act like Agent 47 taking out entire sectors by himself with great efficiency if used correctly.

[@hal900x]

"It's better with mods".

[@NukeClock]

You havent lived until you didnt slowmo crawl through a swamp in intense rain in full camo biting down on your knife, lying in a bush until that one vital enemy keeping the line of sight for the occupying force, finally decides to take a stroll near enough for the blow.

[@Clebardman]

@@hal900x I'm the alien who plays 1.12. Throwing knives are actually somewhat viable stealth weapons for throwing experts, because there's a hidden instakill chance. Ofc you'll need to keep another merc ready with a silenced gun just in case...

[@killchicken123]

Crowbar an enemy and then steal the gun was literally the only way to guarantee a weapon drop(you wouldn't question the fact that every enemy has a gun when they shoot you in the face would you?), it's not only useful it was essential. Night sight range is well within the AP of a sprint and 3 punches.

[@sevenproxies4255]

Plot twist: The Elephant's foot IS the wish granter. The wish will come true. But you'll die within the next week from radiation exposure after encountering it.

[@JustMonikaOk]

Warlockracy labs are the only company I'd buy my merc names from. Research approved.

[@lutherburgsvik6849]

3:10 "We are going to a place called Grand Xian. A French speaking African country. The job is to rescue the nations president kidnapped by a rogue military force." Given the current situation in a certain French speaking African country it's a good job they released it when they did otherwise, understandably, political sensitivity may have got the better of them, leading to them delaying, perhaps indefinitely, the release of the game.

[@ANDREALEONE95]

The game has been made before all recent event.

[@lutherburgsvik6849]

@@ANDREALEONE95 'released'.

[@rogerc6533]

Haha reality imitates art

[@Gniew2]

I think controversy would be mild to non-existent. The indignation is reserved for things that consumers would feel are "big", like 9/11. Niger is not a big consumer of legal video games and unfortunately it's not that important to other more developed countries. I know it doesn't sound good, but when did you ever hear something about the country other than coup d'État? I don't think publisher would care to delay release.

[@twZera413]

Eh, coups and conflicts like these have been happening in Africa for decades, especially when neocolonialist companies and diamond mines are added to the mix.

[@TheTorovar]

This video is like a trip down a memory lane. Thank you, Warlockracy! And contemorary examples are absolutely hilarious!

[@RuneForumwalker]

6:50 To be fair to them, you could say the mercs themselves are parodies of action movie tropes. You are correct that the plot and story isn't as accurately described as a parody of 90's action movies. Just look at the mercs: Steroid, Fox, Fidel, Ivan, Grunty, Wolf, Nails, etc etc.

[@arquebusier1995]

He missed it badly while it was just before his eyes)

[@RuneForumwalker]

Ok to be fair he addresses this at the end of the vid comparing actual people in warzones being eccentric themselves.

[@nathanielharris1572]

“Temple OS of Fallout Modding” is a fucking terrifying sentence.

[@thedingo6577]

I prefer spoilers because I enjoy your commentary, but the production quality and editing of this video is even better than usual for whatever reason. Good video

[@niono1587]

I agree with over the top mercenaries not being "cartoonish" Mercenaries always have an interesting story to tell or an unusually normal life opposed to their work, and again, literally anyone can become a mercenary if they wanted to. It's why mercenary characters are so fun and popular to make

[@n543576]

First I would like to say thank you for making this video, I got excited when I heard there was a new JA game coming out sense the only positiveish experience I had with the game was "Back in Action" which was one of the first PC games I've ever played and I have fond memories playing it. After your review of JA 2 I was looking forward to seeing how JA3 would shape up comparing to it by your estimation. I will say that some of the more poinient and social comentary aspects of the JA2 comes mid-game of JA3 after a certain event occurs and you're fighting to disprove the assumption you're war criminals and need evidence. JA3 later kinda becomes a three way war as the game goes on which was pretty cool! I hope once you beat it you'll give it a second look, taking out the whole online black market thing is probably one of the strangest decisions for me in the game and it took multiple campaign restarts for me as well to get a handle on squad compositions as well.

[@Nachy]

That mid-game event became one of my favorite moments in a video game immediately. It gave me a genuine shocked reaction and I'm glad they did it, it's not often a game give me that kind of arc of "lose everything in the second act as the bad guys get the upper hand" and actually feel tangible too. The way you could even approach it in any order was very JA, and was exactly the kind of antagonistic force I was missing when I felt the beginning The Major didn't feel like he had much of a presence. JA3 may have some missteps and doesn't reach the same greatness JA2 did, but I still think it retained most of the spirit and it manages to be a pretty good game that stands on its own.

[@HoxMouse]

Love your videos, love Jagged Alliance, been having a great time with JA3.

[@kafkaesque6459]

Keep up the good work, boss. You know when to drop videos whenever I'm at my lowest.

[@Hess512]

Found your channel a few months back. I think i have watched literally every single one of your videos at least once, some multiple times. I just wanted to thank you for literally hours of entertainment, both from the videos you make and the games and mods i have discovered thanks to your content. Just supported you on Patreon, keep up the good work!

[@Poctyk]

Being warmly compared to Baba Yetu is a pretty good point

[@planescaped]

One of the best main theme songs to a game I've ever heard. I remember people complaining about it when the game came out, saying it was too much. Wtf is wrong with those people? I assume they must just be misanthropes.

[@TMMQuicksilver]

I like this game, and Barry Unger is my bff forever. The gangster granny in Port Cacao who sells you heavy armor, hand grenades, and fully modded RPKs is pretty great. I hope they make more, so I don't have to fight in the same country over and over for 20 years like some sci-fi existential horror story while I'm waiting for a sequel. Again. And also that you also make more Warlockracy videos!

[@1SaG]

I started back in 1995 with JA1, had a blast with DG on the company's LAN and drove 100km to pick up JA2 on release day (because my local vendor didn't have it in stock). Then I kept things going for years and years with the truly excellent 1.13 mod-collection/mega-mod and I still have it installed on this machine - though I'm not sure what it would look like on my 1440p monitor, lol. I think I might even still have a PDF of Patusco's Guide to JA2 on one my my older HDDs somewhere (had a printed version of that one back in the day, of course). In any case: I stayed away from all post 1.13 attempts to resurrect/milk dry the series but then I saw a pop-up telling me a Steam-buddy was playing a game called "Jagged Alliance 3" the other night and couldn't believe my eyes. Didn't go into too much depth with the reviews (silly me) and decided to just buy it last night. I haven't done a whole lot yet (three or four sectors on the tutorial island) but I already agree with most of your criticism: The tone is all wrong, the story and characters are mostly forgettable, the UI is overly simplistic but still manages to be confusing and clumsy somehow. Inventory management is way too basic, even compared to vanilla JA2, etc, etc. I think the most profound statement from your review concerns the tone: JA2 (and JA1 and DG for that matter) had a ton of subtle and not-so-subtle humor, but they weren't a goofy spoof-movie version of a war-/mercenary-story. If JA2 was "Scream", this feels more like Scary Movie, Hot Shots! or one of those God-awful and unfunny later spoof-movies like "Meet the Spartans". I think I'll stick with it for now and hope for some mods to come out - thankfully someone has already done a mod to reduce the frequency of silly Merc-chatter but the modding community doesn't seem to be *that* active. And some parts like the sometimes underwhelming voice-acting probably can never be fixed. The saddest bit about all this is that there seems to be real potential to this game in some areas and with some tweaking/re-focusing this could've been much better. Think JA2 1.13's inventory and UI system but with the more modern look and presentation of this game.

[@cB-sr9kd]

"This is almost impossible to communicate to those who don't know the language, but Girkin has this distinct Russian Boomer writing style characterized by the overuse of quotation marks." I think that might be easier to communicate than you'd think, I think American Boomers might have the exact same thing.

[@henriknutsson8500]

funny how much of an impact a game can have over 20 years past. Haven't seen the game in so long and still it evokes vivid memories of playing the game with a pal of mine.

[@karolgoofit7901]

It's weird that you didn't mention Congo Müller or Jan Zumbach(The Guy went from being an ace, part of most famous polish unit of ww2, reciving one of the highest polish medals to being a mercenary also for some reason his nickname was donald duck).

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

Demomcratic Rempumblic of Congno

[@karolgoofit7901]

@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine shit i didn't see that

[@niksarass]

How about the French mercenary who actually became president of an entire nation, Robert "Bob" Denard

[@Arc_hive]

Prosvirin was a big man, he crashed our hearts with his death and left huge hole in our minds

[@biggie3002]

Man bringing up Civilization makes me want you to make a vid on one, if not all of them. That theme brought back memories that’s for sure. Great vid as usual though!

[@obsessiveoverthinker5937]

man the first 3 minutes of this video feels like a warlockracy greatest hits. This video is a guaranteed banger

[@constantinstruckmeyer7769]

As someone who never played JA2 back in the day… coming from xcom, I liked JA3 quite a bit. Quite unique setting. I agree that the story is a bit light hearted and interchangeable… overall after the complete tragedies that came after JA2 I felt like it’s a solid effort 7 to 8 out of 10. Now I just wish that someone would give JA2 a graphics touch up, like Baldurs Gate 1&2. Because without nostalgia it is the thing that keeps me jumping of it.

[@realitycheck1086]

I still prefer the 'the closer you get to the base, the more difficult shit gets, rather than 'we gonna unleash a nuclear explosion via 20 new enemy groups everywhere all at once' approach.

[@lfemomo77]

Yaaaass! This was *THE ONLY* review I was waiting for.

[@Mgaak]

Yes, we remember all these one-liners because we played the game for 20+ years. The fact that you couldnt remember Grand Chien is just weird.

[@aslag94]

I love you Warlockracy, its always a great day when one of your videos graces my inbox

[@Wfalen]

When I heard Omryns voice for the first time, I was dead sure that Warlockracy was given a voice role in the game. Personally I love this game, really hope they would make some merc and item add-ons. Sure the tone is a bit all over the place, but it's still an excellent squad based tactical game. And I'm saying this as a veteran of the original three games

[@dart5340]

The aiming interface seems like the kind of thing made with an eventual console release in mind.

[@berndborte8214]

Absolutely. It's already a console-release due to being released on Steam and the SteamDeck. The controller support is now really nice since the last patch. As a former mouse-and-keyboard purist, I understand the gripe with games catering with consoles, but since owning a steam deck, I get the appeal and importance of controller support.

[@sevenproxies4255]

I liked the combat and weapon mechanics of Wasteland 3. Especially abusing mods that increased the range and spread of the top tier shotguns 😁

[@airworthyboxer9432]

I require a HOI 4 Old World Blues review now that I know you're aware of it. Love the videos.

[@jucalebre7540]

Making my friday better! Thanks Warlockracy

[@kiros2032]

Thanks for the video, it's very interesting seeing the game through someone that knows JA2 in and out. The game is pretty modable, and there are already a lot of mercenary mods. One mod also adds a smuggler operation (contact smuggler is the name of the mod) and while it's not Bobby Rays it adds a shop where the currency is diamonds, making them more valuable. You can get a late game weapon early but it's going to cost 24-30K in diamonds. Also you can buy 5.56, 7.62 (WP and NATO) and other kind of ammunition, which gives you a wider range of options. I'm surprised you didn't mention the lack of different starting gear, nor the gradual weapon progression (WW2>Soviet>NATO). Gotta say I'm enjoying the game, and the camera didn't give me any problem personally.

[@Vienna3080]

I’m glad Warlockracy mentioned Elder Kings 2, Kaisereich, and TNO, some of the greatest Fan made creations❤

[@LonelyKnightess]

I made TNO way back when and it's the weirdest thing to be a huge Warlockracy fan and have him just mention it off the cuff every few vids.

[@Vienna3080]

@@LonelyKnightess The Pink Panzer thank you for your creation it has only wasted a 1,000 hours of mine🫡🔥

[@LonelyKnightess]

@@Vienna3080 I'm glad you enjoyed it! I only got things started, you have the team to thank for having gotten it across the finish line :)

[@just_addd_water_to_your_ramen]

I loved hearing warpugs mentioning he loved your videos in his coop stream of this game with rimmy

[@q2rlz]

The really good thing about the JA3 is that authors listen to the community and still care about the game for example Bobby Ray's was added to the game in recent patches. Patch 1.4 introduced a free DLC like story for which other game companies would most likely charge money. Moreover the game is highly moddable and a lot of new mods are popping on Steam workshop.

[@wizlockfnordfinder]

31:30 "He had no fighting experience, but managed to build a mercenary persona by reading Soldier of Fortune magazines,". I find it disturbing how easy it is to trick people.

[@Wfalen]

So basically Frank Dux

[@mikexirou]

Amazing video and spoiler free review. Getting a video from a series veteran like myself who I spent 4 months of '99 summer trying to conquer Arulco, hits like home. I agree on everything you say, especially the narrative. Arulco felt like a giant easter egg and discovering things, mercs, quests were so awersome! Also due to our young of age but still, it would make you think, there were some adventure game elements to it, like that card that opens Orta or that porn tape to Βrenda or even merging items to create other items. I mean, even the description of guns were so amazingly written with a dose of black humor! -I miss the inventory system and Tony... I get 1.13 can be overwhelming but come on man... This is so dumbed down. -Fun fact, Ian Curry, the series veteran developer is the one who assisted on making JA3. -I disagree with you on one thing; the interrupt system was so much better. I discovered after so many playthroughs you could right click and press that target icon, that would mean to cover that angle (and get an interrupt). Much more tactical and real life combat simulator. This is a fun game to play, but as a series veteran, I wish it had the isometric camera/graphics of Pillars of Eternity, a true oldschool inventory system and the soul of ja2.

[@italian_noises]

Pretty sure since the game is out, I'm clear of my NDA but I was actually able to playtest this game months before its release and honestly had to be one of the most fun games I ever got the opportunity to test out with that company.

[@firun2635]

This feels like Fallout 1 vs Fallout 2. Fallout 1 took its setting seriously whilst sneaking in lots of pop culture references, whilst Fallout 2 looked at the pop culture references and made it the entire point of the game.

[@AK-ek7lf]

I appreciate the effort on the no spoilers, I was thinking of picking 3 up after watching your JA2 videoa while back. Definitely picking this up soon. See you next month

[@WildFungus]

I've been asking those questions to myself all this time and I am grateful for your weighing in on this important cultural issue.

[@DenienN]

what sort of cultural issue are we talking about here?

[@Gniew2]

@@DenienN "Is the game good?" - sociological 101.

[@youtubeschmootube9450]

As a person who has played JA2 many times in the past 25 years, I think your analysis of this game is spot on.

[@MikaelMarius]

9:49 This just always, always cracks me up. One of the absolute funniest Warlock bits ever.

[@chuckles222]

It's always a good day when Warlockracy uploads!

[@DDSix66]

This is my favorite KZbin channel, I wish you got millions of views per video cuz they deserve it

[@conner4547]

I love Kalyna and her absolute goofball mentality. However the not so subtle references to the Russo-Ukrainian war are completely out of left field and kinda dates the game a bit and I would say, out of character for Igor to try to steal ammo. He's an experienced Mercenary and a Chechen war veteran, not some green recruit from the backpages of AIM.

[@TheArklyte]

You must have really got your panties in a bind the first time you heard of Rambo...

[@skirtsnake8808]

It was many years ago, when I was amused by your content about fallout and morrowind, I'm glad you became better person and better content maker, keep it up and wish you good luck

[@Koniarka_marysia]

You remainded me of sir tech. Now i must instal wizardry 8 and spend 6h creating party.

[@blakeforbes768]

I am here once again to spend my life on watching your videos

[@Cat-up6hb]

i love how you constantly remind people of the existence of old world blues it really is very good and probably the best fallout title

[@matthewjones39]

It’s not a fallout game though, it’s just a mod

[@Cat-up6hb]

@@matthewjones39 and even tho its a mod its probably the best fallout game x)

[@Jakster840]

Warlockracy and Grimbeard are the best game talker abouters.

[@NuevoExistence]

Of course you remember quotes, names etc from JA2. We've been playing it for hundreds of hours. Nostalgia is definitely playing a role here. Like, if JA3 was your first JA game and JA4 came out 20+ years later, you'd feel the same way. I'm just glad JA3 is dope AF and hopefully gets an expansion. Great video btw! Edit: the maps are handcrafted and very diverse, so i don't quite get that complaint. And it has more RPG elements than Is let on here 😅

[@notanm6616]

>Posted 5 minutes ago Never clicked on the video so fast. Love Jagged Alliance series, and love watching your JA vids.

[@incarnateflame3462]

lmao i smile every single time this man says "serious" when trying to say "series". hote, you are a golden shrine of innocence and extremely satisfying content, Warlockracy. we must protect you from the outside world and youtubes demonetization sweeps at any cost.

[@mikegiamalva321]

innocence?

[@matthewjones39]

what are you on aboht

[@LGB357]

I've been waiting for a good sequel to JA2 forever glad you brought up Silent Storm. I loved that game (once you download the pk remove mod) I'll wait for some mods to come out and I'll buy and download it.

[@thefoolsjourney6885]

I was really hoping you'd post a review. Been waiting for this before I buy it.

[@BuzzChronicles]

love your content keep up the amazing work never thought i would;d enjoy watching someone talk about these old games i would never play

[@mortimer5939]

I enjoyed this video and agree to most points but not to all. Obviously fans of the franchise had different expectations of how a part 3 should look like, which is totally fine after such a long time. For your review i have to give compliments for completely leaving JA2 1.13 out, which was an huge overhaul made by fans. Many people take this as base for comparisons, which is unfair in my oppinion. Considering, the devs are putting huge effort into new content and optimizations, i would love another review by you, once the roadmap is finished. Bobby Rays is already back, the pause option in real time part is huge and the messy sector inventory is also adressed for some soon update.

[@BreadDestroyer]

Fair review! I liked JA3 just fine, but I don't have the same relationship with JA2 that you do. I was an Original XCom kid, and had a similar reaction to the reboot in 2012. "This is good! But it leaves me wanting somehow". Eventually I made my peace; when modern devs stare too deeply into the 90s, results are mixed. It's best to take new entries in old series for what they are on their own terms; It's a little unreasonable to expect anything new to 100% live up to childhood nostalgia.

[@EricLongshaft]

been waiting for this video, thank you for making this!

[@michimatsch5862]

Just watched the vide on JA 2 yesterday. What great timing.

[@natedavis4588]

Mandalore AND Warlockracy dropping on the same day?! Now I don't have to eat my Papa Murphy's in the dark.

[@lukec7525]

The entire Jagged Alliance series is a classic RTS masterpiece. From Strategy, roleplaying, satire, and engagement. This game delivered... 💯 Recommend.

[@kestutisvaiciunas8663]

Man, this is the best time to be warlockracy. I think you're the only one of the popular youtubers who reviewed Baldur's Gate and Jagged Alliance, and now these 2 games are creating a comeback for this type of games No better time to invest into warlockracy stocks, folk

[@Nagrachlp]

ITs also a good time to be a fan of both series. Never I would imagine that two of my favourite childhood videogameseries would get really good successors in the same year. Freespace 3 please?

[@Warlockracy]

Lol yess

[@ThisHandleIsDefinatelyTaken]

Massive nostalgia dose from the mention of that one particular rendition of Lord's Prayer.

[@plixplux]

It's 10 AM. I wake up. I turn around, and Jagged Alliance 2 was right there, lying next to me. He looked at me, he smiled and said "Time to take out the trash!" Looool... you're the best

[@Thurokiir1]

The templeOS of fallout modding. Knowing that reference, that's quite a statement.

[@comradepripin612]

Welp, I've only watched you in passing up to now, but with the Wish Granter reference, you've got a new sub

[@HoopleBogart]

I learn more about Eastern Europe from these videos than I ever did in school.

[@Bluthegamingjunkie]

You have quickly become one of my favorite channels. I am happy you're continuing with the series. Though I was too young to play boomer RPG's I watched my dad play them. I wonder if there is something like a JA tabletop RPG...

[@HRK-nx2je]

This is one of the best game review I ever watched

[@therealdannymullen]

I have literally avoid JA3 reviews, waiting for YOU, sir! ❤

[@ElMachoMucho]

Dude I think it's worth it. The game isn't bad it's just different but the gameplay is fun and quick and the Mercs are fun to play amd listen to. If I had any real complaint is I just kind of wish there was more talkin and dialogue between the mercs cuz every time they do open up I like listen to what they have to say.

[@TheHalogen131]

Hello Warlockracy! Would you consider playing through and reviewing Chronicles of Myrtana mod? You touched this topic in your Gothic video and the nerds are right, it is indeed fantastic and I think you would like it a lot. Especially, since they are apparently working on a big update, because it turns out, their April Fools video was not entirely a joke. Thanks for great content! Also 9:38 might go down in history as the most insane, but fitting idea for creating a list of names for a video game Merc. It made me laugh aloud.

[@RH-of5cr]

As a player from JA and JA 2 I can tell you this is a great sequel. Custom Merc is awesome. Merc personalities are excellent and the massive story, side quests and combat is brilliant. Fair enough if this reviewer was more sour but I loved this game and all in this series.

[@kanrakucheese]

On the dialog, I think it was written with two or three main purposes in mind: 1: Act as a springboard for merc responses (you noted these are some of the best lines in the game, and they absolutely are) 2: Flesh out Gran Chien so it has more flavor without forcing you to take an Ira equivalent as a tour guide (you get a full encyclopedia entry for Arluco in JA2, but most of it never comes up) and establish it as populated by more than just people to kill (because after RE5 everyone knows exactly what the vulture media will try with a game set in Africa) 3: Provide an avenue for skill checks and sidequests. I think the voice acting really sells a lot of the dialog, and I'm someone who is typically unimpressed with video game VA. To a native English speaker, Afrikan French is such a distinct accent it does wonders for the world feel more lived in. Contrast the Arluco natives who were all over the place in voice type (you'd sooner guess most of the resistance are a guy from the south-western US who'd pronounce the surname "Mares" like horses than a South American patriot).

[@GothaBillsAndDeath]

I love that diatribe at the end. I genuinely thought that war reenactment footage with Igor Girkin was AI generated when I first saw it from a discord, but no, it's realllll. I didn't hallucinate him wearing Caesar's Legion cosplay. Also, that short tidbit on Dmytro Korchynsky was fascinating. It reminds me of a lot of Denys Prokopenko and the whole Azov affair (and subsequent rebranding).

[@JDydgi]

Oi, Warlocky, i blame you for having made the ja2 review, you made me buy it, *and now* i'm hyped for when i can play ja3.