This quasi-sequel to Jagged Alliance is one game everyone here at GameSpot HQ has been anticipating for a long time. In this day and age - when everyone and his uncle is developing a real-time strategy game - some good, old-fashioned, turn-based combat is a much-needed refreshment. Sirtech hasn't added much to the great formula of the original JA, but what has been added makes the game a little more modern and a great deal more fun for old players and new players alike.

For those who haven't had the pleasure of working with the mercenaries of A.I.M., here's a little background. Deadly Games works much like your typical turn-based strategy game. You have units, each worth a certain amount of "action points." During each of your turns, your basic goal is to use the points to kill as many bad guys as possible. But what made Jagged Alliance such a treat to play, and what makes Deadly Games even more of one, is that each of your units has personality. Not in some abstract, Close Combat way - but real personality. You hire from a huge pool of available mercs, but you must pick and choose carefully. Some won't work together, some will scream at you if you ask them to do something they don't want to, and some won't stop doing something they really enjoy - such as shoot at an enemy, even when taking heat from all sides.