JA:Flashback - Early Access Review @ Cliqist

Cliqist posted a new review of the Early Access version of Jagged Alliance Flashback.

Graphically, Jagged Alliance Flashback looks fine. The style is mostly realistic, which follows the same theme as the mandatory reloading and perma-death, and the environments generally look very colorful and finished. There are plenty of flaws to pick out, but overall, this was a fine aesthetic experience, music and all. There’s also a pretty massive island to explore, all sectioned off into a grid that you explore one square mile(ish) at a time. That’s all fine, but unless you are incredibly lucky in combat, you will never survive long enough to explore more than a third of this area.

Overall, I’d say that this was a really good game-in-the-making if it wasn’t for one thing. When I first got this, it cost $45 on Steam. No way. I’m unable to see Steam Early Access as anything but a place to get people to beta test your game for free. If you’re going to charge people $45 for the right to test your game, you’re crazy. It’s unfinished, mildly broken in places, and missing features. It needs to be play tested, and instead of paying people to do that (common practice for most of gaming’s history), most companies charge people to do that. They lose save data, they play a broken game, and they miss out on the inevitable 50% off sale that will render this game a fair trade. Not to mention all the surrounding controversy with this game’s distribution. It’ll be a really good game – when it’s done.