One of the most hardcore, unforgiving games ever. But always fair. It managed to be realistic, in-depth and detailed without ever getting too po-faced about it.

JA2's in-depth character development, resource management and tactical combat combined to make every single decision tough to make because it alwys really mattered. Every victory in every sector felt like a real achievement, especially if all of your mercs came out unscathed. No auto-healing between battles in this game. A single gunshot wound could require hours of medical attention, which could in turn halt the progress of your entire operation. Sometimes you really had to think as ruthlessly as a real merc – if he's slowing us down, maybe we need to leave him here to bleed to death…

Or maybe just load up our last save and make sure no one gets shot this time.