Sitting down with a preview build for Kalypso Media and Coreplay's new homage to the beloved Jagged Alliance series, Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, shows how far the series has come since it first appeared as a DOS product in 1994 as well as how much has stayed the same.

The core gameplay is largely unchanged, with a few exceptions we'll get to later: hire mercs, move mercs around an isometric two-dimensional map, use your mercs to snuff out the forces of Evil Dictator X while at the same time upgrading your loot such as weaponry, body armor, and other tricks of the trade.

The first installment may have come out in '94 but the series really found its stride in 1999's Jagged Alliance 2. Some of the best games of all time were being developed at this time, using basically this same gameplay system: Fallout and Fallout 2, X-Com, and JA2 were all incredibly influential and well regarded games that stayed on the drives of many a 486 (gratuitous timestamp; my apologies).

Back in Action aims a 7.62 mm slug squarely at the story first brought forth in JA2; this is not a sequel, it is a dramatic retelling. The island of Arulco, once ruled by a benevolent monarchy, is now under the iron-jacketed garter of evil Queen Deidranna Rietman, who sucks the small island free of its vast mineral wealth every day while its citizens languish in abject poverty. Enter you and your squad(s) of mercs, paid for by former King Enrico Chivaldori, who seeks to use you to push the Romanian she-wolf, Reitman, from the throne of Arulco for good.

Hardcore JA2 fans will notice a few changes right off the bat. First, the developers decided against a true turn-based system in favor of a pausable real-time engine Coreplay calls call the "Plan & Go" system. Plan & Go allows you to move units around the tactical map in real time and then hit the pace bar to give complex or timed orders for the squad as needed. In the preferences, there are a ton of variables you can check that will automatically pause the game and put you into orders mode, from seeing a new enemy to being spotted yourself to a host of others. Without getting too much into the argument about fidelity to JA2 and changes for changes' sake, it's easy to just see that the system works. Players won't have to worry about moving their guys around to the other side of the map turn by laborious turn because they think there is a better position to assault the enemy there; they can just double-time them from Point A to Point B and get them into position quickly, then deal with the nitty gritty in Plan & Go once the bullets start flying.

This leads into the second big change: there is no Fog of War. Whereas players had to creep across the map, wondering where the baddies were in JA2, in Back in Action player's have (I can only assume this is the reason) eyes in sky in the form of a drone or satellite assets that somehow even plots enemy locations when they are underground you know where each baddie is, and can plan your attacks accordingly based on their locations on the minimap. This one may be a bit tougher for JA fans to swallow, and yes, it's true this is just a preview build and that changes may be made for release. But this is an even more substantial veering away from the original blueprint that made JA2 such a great game. Does that mean that Back in Action fails as a game, or isn't fun to play? Absolutely not; read on for more about the goodies that come inside this gameplay package. Just be forewarned that in the cases of the two items above, you just aren't in Kansas anymore.

Okay, enough comparisons -- let's assume you are coming into this game fresh. How does it work? The first mission is to take the smaller of Arulco's two airports; this becomes a base of operations. Players can buy new gear and have it delivered there, or bring new mercs in country via the airstrip to either join the initial squad or form new ones as money allows. Conversations with friendlies after missions have been completed often lead to one or two more new missions, and as these are completed, the player will begin to reclaim chunks or Arulco from the queen, which in turn adds funds to their coffers and takes it from hers. More funds mean more mercs; players will need more than one squad to not only take territory but to hold it from attack squads the queen sends to reclaim lost ground. The good news?  Players can equip locals to form the first line of defense as members of the militia. Each map section will generate a number of potential militia members that can be arm with the castoffs from the corpses strewn about Arulco in the wake of the player's soldiers of fortune.

General gameplay will seem quite familiar: Dress out mercs as needed and outfit him or her with the best weapons you can find, scrounge, lift off of corpses or buy on the internet. Constantly juggle the paradox of good weapon/small amounts of ammo. Mull the choices to give Pablo the Militia Guy a better gun or keep it for your own crew; feel better a few minutes later when Pablo and his buds slaughter a gaggle of machete-wielding thugs sent by the queen. Ponder whether to buy the mercs better stuff or save the money and add a new member to the team. Decisions, decisions.

The graphics of Back in Action won't win any awards but for sure represent an upgraded version of what JA2 fans experienced years ago. The map is zoomable and spinnable, and when zoomed all the way in it gives a nice almost-ground-level shot that shows cover, terrain and avenues of approach for mercs that a player might miss while zoomed out in drones-eye-view.

The game's tutorial was very well done and will get gamers running a squad almost immediately, although they may want to go with more squads containing fewer but more talented (more expensive) mercs to start so as not to feel overwhelmed. The sound effects are well done and the voice acting for the dozens of available mercs is top notch if a bit repetitive (it seems fully half of them sound like the Terminator). There is very little sense of real backstory in the preview build; NPCs serve merely to point you to the next mission as opposed to giving the locations any real flavor. Players who like their tactical combat with an I'm here to dust these suckers, not chat about this and that will find this decision to their liking; those who appreciate being pushed along by a solid story and characters may find it lacking.

Jagged Alliance: Back in Action is a very, very solid game in its current build, and it will only get better at its release and through subsequent patching and version upgrades. Devotees of Loot 'n' Scoot will find plenty of weapons, ammo, and accessories to spread out among their squads, and a leveling system makes even the greener mercs able to boost their skills over time. The game isn't easy; cover and thinking ahead tactically are crucial to success but Back in Action could prove to be a keeper on hard drives, much like its predecessors, come release time.

Preview written by: John Thompson, Staff Writer