Hired Guns: The Jagged Edge is the unofficial successor of the cult series Jagged Alliance.You are at the diamond coast, a region submerged in chaos and wars, governed by an unprincipled dictator. They are ruled by a state of emergency and you must decide for whom you put the life of your mercenaries at risk.

Your task is to stop a ruthless dictator on the west coast of Africa. In order to achieve this goal, you command an elite unit of 30 well-trained mercenaries and have access to over 150 different weapons. To dispossess the dictator is a tactical challenge: Five hostile fractions are raging in the African country, so you have to interact carefully between the warring parties.

It is essential to plan your operation well, therefore you will be provided with various background information from different in-game sources. You should carefully consider the order of the missions as well as the formation of your team of different combat specialists – the mercenaries all have specific powers. And finally, you should be thorough in choosing between the large number of weapons – from handguns and assault weapons to sniper rifles, machine guns, and grenade launchers.

Once you have picked your team, you choose the next operation site on a clearly laid out map. In turn-based battles, each of your mercenaries has over 25 action points at the start of each round, that they will use for shooting, running, changing weapons or further actions. How many actions a mercenary can perform depends on their specific attributes and on the type of weapon they use. In addition, you should consider which body zones a mercenary aims at as each hit causes a different degree of damage, and the hit probability varies.

As a player you plan your strategy on a Global Map that allows you to manage your captured map sectors, mercenaries & finances. The Global Map allows you an overview of the complete battlefield, clearly showing which military factions control each sector. As the mercenaries’ commanding officer you can buy the services of additional mercenaries, weapons and ammunition via the internet on your own personal on screen laptop. Select your carefully matched team of mercenaries from sites such as IMA, an online provider of mercenary services. Examine the biographies and experiences of each mercenary you may wish to employ to ensure you form a well rounded & balanced team that will fight well together. Not all the mercenaries you may wish to employ will be willing to work in the same team, as many will have fought on opposing forces in previous conflicts. Mercenaries may also not be so keen to work for you if your previous military strategies have resulted in high mortality rates! During a mission, individual mercenaries can be allocated specialisations such as Doctor, Trainer or Repair. The correct balance of skills is essential to ensure your units can operate efficiently.

Weapons and ammunition can be purchased online at Dickie Jay’s armoury via your on screen laptop. Initially, the range of weaponry available to you is fairly small but as you gain your suppliers’ trust by paying them once, they will offer you a larger range of weapons. Running a private war is a complex business and making sure you stay in contact with your suppliers and client is vital. So make sure you keep an eye on your laptop email to make sure you don’t miss any important news. Fighting a private war in a chaotic and brutal third world country is a tactical challenge; have you got what it takes to engineer a regime change?

Features:

• Real time and round-based strategy (round based in fight applications)
• More than 30 striking mercenaries with specific strengths and individual characters
• Complex role play system
• 23 different scenes in front of detailed formed background
• High level-interactivity by destroyable buildings and objects
• 5 main parties: UN troops, rebels, soldiers loyal to government, the Butsi tribe and the mysterious client
• More than 150 weapons and other equipment objects (pistols, sniper, machine guns and more)
• Rousing campaigns with the most different mission sighting
• and freely to eligible alliances (alternative play courses possible)

Currently available in North America, Hired Guns: The Jagged Edge will be available on May 22, 2009 for £24.99

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