The game received positive scores from reviewers and was praised for its freedom of action, memorable characters and non-linear and tactical gameplay. However, it sold poorly in the United States. The game was commercially successful Pelit estimated its sales at 300,000 units by 2006. The game features a wide variety of guns, armour and items that the player may use. Combat and individual location exploration takes place in tactical screen, where the player can issue individual direct commands to their mercenaries, such as run, shoot, talk and so on.

The game uses a strategic map screen of Arulco where the player may issue high level strategic orders for their troops, such as travelling or prolonged training. The player is put in control of several hired mercenaries and with aid of local citizens and militia must reclaim Arulco's cities and ultimately defeat Deidranna. The game takes place in the fictional country of Arulco, which has been ruled by the ruthless monarch Deidranna for several years. The core game and the Unfinished Business expansion were combined and released under the title Jagged Alliance 2 Gold Pack in 2002. Two commercial versions of the mod Wildfire were released in 2004 in the form of expansion packs. The game was followed by the expansion Unfinished Business in 2000. It is the third entry in the Jagged Alliance series. Jagged Alliance 2 is a tactical role-playing game for PC, released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows and later ported to Linux by Tribsoft. Tactical role-playing, turn-based tactics

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