[Hayashi]

I've played both JA and JA2. I liked JA2 better. Never tired JA2:UB as it's short compared to JA2 (I think).

I would highly recommend JA2 to any gamer who likes strategy, mixed in with a bit of role playing. Here's a brief synopsis of the game:

Arulco (a fictitious country with South American/African overtones) is ruled by a despotic queen. The deposed king who escaped by feigning his death, contacts you and asks you to lead a force of mercenaries to liberate his country.

You start the game by creating one mercenary who can serve as your alter-ego in the game, although if he/she dies you can still carry on. You can recruit up to 17 other mercenaris and freedom fighters, some of whom join for free. Others need to be paid.

You liberate the country by capturing the towns and the mines, which are the primary source of income to fund your operations. You need cash to pay your mercs, plus purchase of weapons, ammo and other equipment.

The enemy will resist your efforts, sometimes counter-attacking important locations you have captured. To defend the towns and the mines you will need to raise, train and fund a militia.

Part of the fun is that mercs have their own personality - they like some and hate the guts of others. In extreme cases, it can cause a merc to quit your team for good.

The game plays out in real time, except for combat which is turn based. Every merc/enemy soldier has "action points" to spend, which are used for movement, shooting, changing posture, reload a gun, throw a grenade, etc.

You (and the enemy) start off with pistols (Colt .45, S&W .38 special, Glocks, etc) then slowly you will be able to buy/find/salvage better weapons - shotguns, rifles, SMGs, assault rifles.

There are many side-quests and the game is totally non-linear. You choose where to go, what sector to take. The enemy gets more numerous and better in quality as you progress thru' the game.