Brigade E5: New Jagged Union PC
User Score
8.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 20
  3. Negative: 1 out of 20

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  1. AlexD.
    Feb 26, 2007
    9
    The best available now of tactics genre. May be first real-real-real-time. Any interrelations with turn-based - out of topic, totally. Fun: combat, tactical solutions, squad weapon selection, glory of victory. about the listed weaknesses: camera - has no own AI. true. however, after 2 hours of experience I've found a way to manage it: now it's simple to me and not even worse than any other (just try: mouse scroll, double-press on merc's #, double-press Enter, click om frag's shortcut) AI: don't trust to those saying no AI at all - the best tactical AI I've ever seen! especially - frags of regular armee. yep, some lacks with pathfinding, not crucial interface and graphics - are okay for me, graphic allows a comfort play even on outdated notebooks (with at least 1Gb RAM). translation, hints, journal - coud be better. much better. just by adding some more cluesome text. replace translators. NPC's and RPG parta aren't a core. enjoy the combat!… Expand
  2. JustMe
    Jan 18, 2007
    1
    There is nothing superb about this "installment in the JA series". Control, cameras, action, you name it - it's a miss. I cannot understand how anyone with ANY experience in TBS can enjoy this fuming heap. Silent Storm still rocks the socks off of this alpha stageish "release", and SS(S) has been around for quite a while now. One point for the arsenal.
  3. HarryP.
    Jan 23, 2007
    8
    Minuses: Lack of immersion like JA2, NPC and merc interactions Pluses: Tactical simulation, Weapons selection, able to set options to have very realistic combat.
  4. TomB.
    Feb 24, 2007
    10
    Camera control does take some getting used to, along with some other features. Amazing combat though. Awesome weapons and realism. Best game most people will never hear of. Totally addicted!
  5. MilesP.
    Feb 3, 2008
    9
    Bad graphics, worse sounds.... ok now that that's out of the way, if you're into squad based tactical combat or strategy in general look no further than this game. Large variety of weapons with realistic properties and all the freedom you want on a wartorn island, what more could you want. I knew it was going to be great when i saw it on the shelf all beaten up for 5 bucks, great games like this are sadly underrated and underpurchased.… Expand
  6. Nathan
    Oct 23, 2006
    9
    Fairly solid game. Much more realistic than JA2 but elements of the story and some NPCs are not as fleshed out as they were in JA2. Tactical combat is what this game is really about, however, and in that department it shines. This game is NOT for the faint of heart. Unless you know a good deal about cover, concealment, suppression, and close quarters fighting things may potentially be very bad for you when you first start playing. These can all be learned with experience, of course.… Collapse
  7. JoseC.
    Oct 31, 2006
    8
    The RPG aspect is very very rough. Just about zero strategy beyond moving around the island and dodging ambushes (none of the resource management/militia building of the Jagged Alliance series). Receiving missions is done by talking to people. You only get your specific instructions once, and the "journal instructions" give about zero info besides who the target/object of the mission is. Missions consist almost solely of: "go here, kill this guy", "deliver this package, then kill this guy" or "defend this location, kill some guys". These issues aside, the tactical aspects of Brigade E5 are in my opinion the best implementation of a full-on tactical combat simulator to date. My only hope is that this game can serve to bring about a renaissance in this genre, and we can get more games with similar tactical content, but a much more polished/involved strategic/RPG aspect.… Expand
  8. Dan
    Sep 13, 2006
    10
    Best tactics I've ever seen!
  9. MickaelT.
    Jan 12, 2007
    8
    Bad graphics? Bad interface? Not a problem if you like tactic games!
  10. XmAnXmAn
    Dec 12, 2005
    9
    If you like Jagged, it's your game!
  11. AnoN.
    Dec 31, 2006
    7
    This is one of the best games out there, maybe because no one makes games like this now a days. I feel I got the freedom to do what I really want to do in this game and there's not story line that I'm forced to follow. Awesome weapons and gear... would be better if rpc's talk a alittle more... but I rather the tactical aspect be good than the rpc aspect so that's a good trade off.… Expand
  12. Tepeze
    Oct 24, 2006
    10
    Combat engine totally rocks! Buy this game.
  13. [Anonymous]
    Jan 25, 2006
    10
    Great new installement in the Jagged Alliance series.
  14. AnonymousMC
    Nov 16, 2006
    9
    AWESOME! Jose C may say RPG element is not great, but it is not Fallout anyway, and the translators may miss some minor conversation and hints. I wish the sekuel for E5 placed among South East Asia jungles, in Indonesia for example, these countries are quite often experiencing coupe, natural disaster, chinese-native conflicts, etc. This game is AWESOME!
  15. goertz1980
    Feb 19, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm not even sure if anyone is going to read this, since the last post was 2007, but I wanted to add my 2 cents. This game should have no relation to JA series. It should be its own franchise (see JA: Back in Action). None of the characters from JA or JA2 are in BE5, and you aren't even working for AIM. NPC interactions are a joke, I stopped caring about the storyline pretty early in the game because talking to NPCs was not enjoyable (translation not very good, no emotion in the characters, not personable). As for the storyline, I was disappointed as well. There are 3 factions, each don't like each other. If you do missions for one, you will lose your status with the other(s). Although, it really doesn't matter who you take your missions from, because all of the missions are pretty much the same among the factions, with tiny changes. Mostly deliver a package, then assassinate someone, then retake a city, etc. All of that being said, the game does have some positives. If you aren't concerned with storyline and want to go around blowing everything up, this can be the game for you. The weapon selection is pretty good; you can even select different ammo types for your weapons (FMJ, JHP, etc). The RPG even has anti personnel rounds and anti armor rounds, even though you won't need to knock out tanks or other vehicles. There are many attachments for every weapon as well. You can deck it out for night ops with night vision devices (NATO and WP equipment), or go with CQB setup like red dot sight, or for long range (sniper scopes, ACOG, etc). You can carry almost every version of M16 series or AK series. Grenades, trip wires, land mines, body armor, the works. Combat is pretty neat as it is all in real time, although you can pause the action to make your moves. Although not exactly realistic, it does give you a chance to make decisions for your mercs (which won't do anything without your involvement). I think this option is imperative for any game where the characters can't do some basic things for themselves (like defend themselves). I would have liked to see more squad tactics, such as being able to move in tactical formations such as wedge, line, column, file, etc. You won't have too much trouble with the bad guys for the most part. They aren't very good at tactics, although I have been snuck up on occasionally (always have someone guarding your 6). They aren't afraid to use grenades, and they usually carry some hefty firepower. You can enter some buildings and go to multistories, shooting out of windows or off rooftops, but be careful doing so. Launching rockets from the roof can be dangerous, because the rocket usually hits the roof ledge and explodes on contact, killing anyone unlucky enough to be standing next to the shooter. This also goes with shooting from the roof; your merc will continue to blast into the roof ledge, with none of the bullets going to the intended target. But it is fun to lob grenades from the roof on unsuspecting bad guys. After all of that, I like this game. Not for the storyline or interactions (JA2 was so awesome with that), but for the chance to go around causing mayhem. I know this is a good game because I find myself pulling it off the shelf and reinstalling it, just to play the combat.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
41 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 9 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 6 out of 9
  1. PC Gameworld
    55
    Brigade E5: New Jagged Union tries to revitalize a struggling genre, but gets almost nothing right. There are some nice customization options available, but that's about it. Combat is not fun at all, and the bad camera views and Playstation 1 era graphics only make things worse.
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  2. GameSpot
    35
    Third-rate mission design, prehistoric visuals, and problematic pathfinding mean that you won't enjoy playing soldier of fortune here, even if the developers have added a bit of life to the squad-sim genre with a few design innovations.
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  3. Game Chronicles
    50
    Brigade E5 has the biggest choice of weapons and equipment I have seen in any video game and it is all usable. That in itself says a lot toward the game and its potential even though it does have some larger problems.
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