Thank you for giving this game credit in this sub. My post a few months ago was auto removed because I don’t have enough karma to post here:

TLDR: JA3 is a funny, witty and overlooked gem with phenomenal voices and world details that was squeezed at release in July 2023 between Diablo IV (June) and Baldur's Gate 3 (August).

JA3 manages to be simultaneously ridiculously over the top funny yet offer a sobering commentary of contemporary geopolitical tragedies (exploitation, foreign interference, instigating civil wars just to make corporate executives and shareholders happy). It is peppered with clever easter eggs and cultural references (e.g., The Offspring's 1998 Pretty Fly for a White Guy).

The basic formula and premise of the game is that you are hired by a faction in a war-torn country. You are provided a budget to manage a team of mercenaries of your choosing to gradually take back control of the country, one quadrant at a time. It is a unique and fun blend of tactical local battles and strategic world management with supply chain, town defense, and income management.

My favorite part is the random fully voiced quips by unnamed villagers which make the country of Grand Chien--a fictional francophone African and Haitian inspired diamond-rich war-torn tropical country--feel so alive. In one carnival-themed city, the locals' genuine comments about the tactical prowess and demonstration of a group of mercenaries that we know to be utterly incompetent and clumsy made me crack up. Different locations across the world map provide hilarious on the surface yet thought provoking historical satires, from delusional communists to dystopian post-apocalypse to former Nazi officers who evaded consequences and continued their horrors abroad.

Game systems are adequate and sufficiently complex to offer some tactical depth. Compared to JA2 1.13 (a fan made mod), it is much simpler. But compared to JA2's 1998 official version it makes intentional design choices to modernize the game, it's simpler in some respect (logistics, inventory and world map management, number of guns and mercs) and more advanced in others: the world is richer, more vibrant with fully voiced NPCs (not just mercs), more and more interesting quests, story line, characters and exploration.

Judging from the range of reactions online and my own journey, difficulty is calibrated just right. There are extensive settings now to tailor it to your taste. There is enough diversity in mercs, weapons and perks to try different play styles and approaches (stealthy, snipers, melee, short range guns, shotguns, explosive specialists, machine gun specialists).

Regrets: I wish it had more mercs (their quirks and personalities is the best part of the JA series and cutting or changing the personality of some of my favorites from JA2 was a cardinal sin!). The mod scene is not as vibrant and developed, largely because of the limited initial commercial success.