Warhounds

I have real trouble believing that much of the art and writing in this game isn't AI-created. And look, I don't play tactical shooters for the plot, but also the plot can't be... offensively bad. Emphasis on offensive. Gameplay is... eh. I've played worse xcom-alikes, but this one felt pretty soulless, tbh.

[h1] Intro[/h1] I am a huge fan of Jagged Alliance (JA), so when a game invokes its name in its blurb or by comparison, my ears pick up and I go through everything with an extra fine-toothed comb. The premise behind Warhounds is nothing new. You play the commander of a group that’s been hired by the leader of a fictional African nation that needs help repelling a self-proclaimed warlord or somesuch. I am 19 hours in as of writing this review, and plan to continue playing and will update the review if my impression drastically changes. Thus far, the campaign seems pretty linear and straightforward. Since there’s a lot to talk about, let’s get right to it. [h1] Likes [/h1] [b] + Fresh take on a beloved classic, with some updates like operating from a ship, base-building, and new features like intel generation and resource management. [/b] [b] + New fixed classes of mercenaries like Assault, Sniper, Support, Grenadier etc. can streamline squad creation and composition. [/b] [b] + The skill trees for merc leveling look simplistic, but as you pick your perks and try them out, you can see that there’s been quite a lot of thought put into them. [/b] [b] + The veteran mercs you recruit come with a UNIQUE personal skill. This can be pretty cool and enhances the immersion factor. [/b] [b] + Contracts create an added dimension to the game: you can’t buy an item without signing a contract initially. So which items, resources or abilities do you obtain first? You decide (there’s even remote bombardment). [/b] [b] + Access to the black market provides another strategic layer to procurement. I’ve bought a couple of interesting items so far. [/b] [b] + Combat appears to be following real-world physics, with some exceptions; main missions appear to be varied enough so far. [/b] [b] + LoS physics look good, and I like the fact that they indicate if the merc has to peer out of cover in order to initiate overwatch. [/b] [b] + Speaking of cover, the various types (half, full) are also marked with a crack if they are destructible. This is really handy when picking where you want your mercs to move to next. [/b] [b] + Immediate recruitment option can be valuable (the limitation is that you only get newbies, with no set class yet). More skilled mercs take time to arrive. This seems pretty fair. [/b] [b] + Enemies can be in disguise, and can only be revealed at close visual range. This is an interesting feature that can make missions more challenging. I found it pretty cool. [/b] [b] + Introducing factions with varying interests is a nice touch. Gain enough favour with them and you can access unique equipment and supplies exclusive to that faction. I haven’t progressed far enough to utilize this yet. [/b] [b] + I like the fact that if you listen closely to the background music, there are notes there that echo the score in JA. I suspect this is intentional and an homage to possibly the greatest TBT combat game ever. [/b] [h1] Dislikes[/h1] [b] - No custom character creation option for the commander; this takes a lot of personalization out of it. You play a faceless, nameless character. [/b] [b] - Mercs have cookie cutter classes and must follow set upgrade / skill trees; you cannot improve individual attributes. Skill trees are limited, which can limit the usefulness of having classes [/b] [b] - Ammunition is unlimited; your only constraint in combat is reloading. Handguns also have unlimited ammo, and DO NOT have to be reloaded (seriously?). There’s no need to dumb down tactical loadouts this way. [/b] [b] - No loot is automatically gathered after missions; if a dead enemy drops something, you have to collect it IN-MISSION. This is both unrealistic and unfair. [/b] [b] - Mercs have very limited inventory slots. There is no backpack or head protection, or camo. [/b] [b] - No called shots are possible. My overwatch snipers in JA excelled in called shots, fine-tuning the degrees of accuracy using action points. You can’t do that here; accuracy improvement is a % automatically fixed depending on your merc’s level and perk picks, costing 1 action point to activate this skill. [/b] [b] - NO CRAFTING or upgrading possible. One of the things I loved about JA was the multitude of weapon improvements I can make or improvise on the fly. [/b] [b] - The artwork is good, but looks AI-generated; not only that, they’re not unique. e.g. Both Frost and Needle look like twins. Again, seriously?? The devs note that with their latest release, portraits should be improved, but I’ve yet to verify this. [/b] [b] - The non-main missions can be repetitive; this includes Julia’s (your assistant) briefings and post mission comments in the chopper. I just skip them as they add nothing. Potentially wasted opportunity. [/b] [h1] Undecided [/h1] [b] ? Each merc only has 2 action points, which can be used for combat or moving. This cannot be increased. I appreciate that simplifying the UI can make the game more accessible, but once again, this can be unrealistic as when mercs improve, they should be able to affect movement and combat actions. I have not completed the game, so I can’t assess how big a deal this is yet. [/b] [b] ? Voice acting is a missed opportunity. While veteran mercs have unique voiceovers, this could have had more variety and depth, re: JA, which was superbly executed, decades ago. The mercs felt like REAL PEOPLE; they had quirks, specialities, rivalries, petty jealousies, etc. EVERY merc in JA had unique voiceovers. Heck, even the calling and recruiting process in JA was fun. But maybe not every gamer feels like I do about this. [/b] [b] ? Play balancing thus far seems ok, but leaning towards unwieldy. Note that at easy level, one mission can have your 4 mercs against up to 23 enemies, in 3 waves. [/b] [b] ? During a mission, your squad is in continuous turn-based mode, even before enemy contact is made. This can affect pacing in the game. [/b] [b] ? I liked being able to change my mercs’ tactical positions to crouch, prone, etc. but you can’t do it in Warhounds. [/b] [b] ? There is no overhead map or auto-mapping. You can determine the mission area yourself by scrolling and seeing where the red-lined boundaries are, but that’s about it. The intel you gather has no bearing on the main campaign missions, which may be another missed opportunity. [/b] [b] ? As mentioned above, you have to sign contracts before you can buy certain items (which is fine in principle). However, it takes a certain amount of time (days before complete), and you need intel points to do it. It’s not a bad feature, but I’m undecided on whether it enhances the game or creates additional frustrations. [/b] [b] ? The presence of a bar displaying “Da’amat’s Power” is unclear. What happens if it gets too high? What are its implications and how do you lower it? This could be better explained. As you progress, missions that specifically lower the power level appear. Again, this is a bit odd. Shouldn’t every covert (non-main) mission lower the threshold? Instead, it increases. [/b] [h1] Verdict [/h1] Thus far, I haven’t encountered anything that would make me walk away from Warhounds; I’m still playing it and intend to complete it. Is it perfect? No. Is it the 2026 version of Jagged Alliance, infused with new life? Well, it could have been, but not in its current form. Still, you can tell that it’s a labour of love. The devs have put serious thought into the game design, and some finishing touches. I hate it when devs push something out like a vending machine, then claim that it’s a blah blah or similar to blah blah. If the devs work on some of these gaps (in a sequel) and improve them, I think Warhounds could become a JA contender. 7.0 / 10.0 *Key via [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/tbtactics] Turn-Based Tactics [/url]