I'm a big fan of everything to which JoWood have signed their name thus far, and I have to say I'm pretty damn disappointed with their latest offering.
The following scenarios have recurred time and again every single time I tried out the demo, on all three difficulty levels:
Allies mission - Ubersneaky scout "Elf" sneaks up to within 1 cell of an enemy(IE, either physically touching him, or a single space behind him, which equates to about 30 centimeters, half a meter at most). Undetected, she either waits a full turn, or uses what AP she has left(Having spent less than 6 AP getting behind her foe), either by emptying half a clip of ammo into the unwitting foe's back, or by throwing no less than four knives at him before he even has a chance to turn around.
Two thirds of the time, either one of the knives misses, bringing the enemy to critical condition, but no worse, or only 3 or 4 of the shots connect, bringing him to heavily wounded or healthier. EIther scenario is invariably followed by said enemy turning around and making a soup strainer out of Elf, either killing her or redbarring her health.
Axis mission - Ubersneaky Italian psycopath "Not Elf" lies down beside train tracks and hides. In broad daylight. 2 or more enemies wander by. Not Elf opens fire with silenced AUTOMATIC from 2 meters away, at the very most. One enemy seriously wounded. Enemies respond to this point blank threat, not by kicking Not Elf in the face, a few inches from their boots, but by crouching and looking alert, possibly taking a step or two in a random direction. Not Elf empties magazine, finally bringing one adversary down, reloads(The WWII equivalent of rinsing) and repeats. Enemies never catch on.
Lame, lame, LAME. Besides which, when I spend 2 or more turns drawing a bead on a stationary subgoonling from a convenient sniper's roost at a perfectly manageable distance, I EXPECT TO BRING HIM DOWN IN ONE SHOT, not three or more. This holds even truer for high powered rifles fired from concealment at point blank.
Also, as pointed out above, grenades are downright pathetic. Which is to say, within range, they're infinitely more effective than firearms, for some reason, but said range leaves plenty to be desired.
Now, were this game somehow revolutionary, or at least innovative, I'd be willing to let this apalling lack of realism slide. However, when a game does no more than polish up an older title(Jagged Alliance, ferinstance) with spiffy 3D graphics and a few hours of voice acting, you expect it to at least get it right. I mean, Jagged Alliance's damage/stealth system had plenty of holes in it, but I do believe this latest incarnation has actually worsened a few of them, rather than learning from past mistakes.
I suppose this is my way of saying JoWood should stick to Gothic III.
