Well, thanks for the info.

Mind you, Jagged Alliance 2 is very different from its predecessors in that aspect. I've only played the demo and read articles about the second game, I have not played it yet, but from what I know, Jagged Alliance was a masterpiece that focused only on the strategical and tactical aspect. With Jagged Alliance 2, they not only beefed up the strategical and tactical aspects of the previous games, but they added this RPG layer on top of it. You may want to ask someone who's more familiar than I am with Jagged Alliance 2 to answer your questions, because I know some of those answers will differ from those given by ZFR.

I don't really go on the forums regularly, but I'd have guessed that this would have been answered by someone else for the games in the series after the original.

Since all of the the games are very different from one another, I'll answer some of these here. Before I do though, I should like to point out that the questions are being asked are from a RPG perspective. I'd say that the series as a whole is better thought of a tactical-simulation series. JA2 adds light RPG elements and moderate strategic elements.

So if you liked the various XCOMs, the entire series removes a bit of strategic and the entire research emphasis but adds quite a bit of personality. If you are a fan of classic RPGs but wish they'd gone the route of more in depth mechanics and combat rather than the highly scripted-story route, JA2 may strike that balance for you (but you may want to pass on JA1 or DG). If you want the next alternative to the Final Fantasy series, then look at some of the other fine games available on GoG.

[DG: Deadly Games]
[JA2: Jagged Alliance 2]
>
Would it best be described as:
- Mission based (do one mission, then the next, then another, and they're not connected)
- Open world (keep exploring around, and there may be "missions" as in goals, but they're all in a connected world)
- Mixed (an open world that leads to smaller missions connected to it but individual and unrelated to each other - i.e. "dungeons")
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DG: Timed-Mission based. They are "connected" in the sense that any equipment that you're holding in your mercs carries over to the next mission. So efficient looting is key.
JA2: Open world. There are some quests scattered about, but these are strictly optional.

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Are the games auto-generating with random environments like X-COM and Diablo, or is everything pre-built to the developer's specifications?
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DG: pre-built
JA2: pre-built

>
Are there non-battle RPG aspects, such as
exploring towns and talking to people,
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DG: no
JA2: yes.

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buying and selling things,
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DG: in between missions, sort of, but not really in an RPG-like way.
JA2: yes. Access to one or two stores may depend on completing quest or two. There is also internet-based purchasing, once you have the ability to accept delivery.

>
a significant story,
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DG: no.
JA2: Not in a JRPG plot-on-rails way, which is likely what you meant. If you're familiar with how traditional CRPG stories developed (Ultima 4-5, Wasteland), JA2 is closer to that tradition. (And since most RPGs have pretty much adopted the way of JRPGs, I normally wouldn't add that qualifier. But since this question is being asked on GoG, there's is a good chance that you're interested in the later).

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and things to figure out?
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DG: no
JA2: no, except for the xray scanner.

Unless you're including tactical approaches to combat in various towns, sites, and assorted sectors, in which case, the answer to both is "hell yes!" The former is a series of well-crafted set-piece scenarios with almost no strategic considerations. The later doesn't involve set scenarios, but includes quite a number of strategic factors.

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Can you control all your characters or just the main one?
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There is no "main character." You are a merc commander, and are not physically on the field. You employ mercs, all of which are individually controllable and equippable.

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Is it possible to do things that could potentially screw up anything (like killing an npc in a town)?
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DG: Not winning within the time limit, or otherwise hitting a scripted lose condition, all of which are explained up front.
JA2: Yes.

Of course, getting everyone killed will screw up your game pretty badly as well, but I assume that you already knew that.

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Are there side quests or not,
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DG: no.
JA2: Yes, but this question implicitly assumes there's some fixed linear story, which is not the case.

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and more importantly, are there choices to make in either the quests or the dialog or both, or is it completely linear,
or mostly linear but some things can be done in a different order and some are optional.
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DG: linear
JA2: I think if you get mercs captured, they can tell the truth or lie during interrogation. That's the only "branch" option you have. The game is very much *not* linear. You can win the game in under 7 minutes of real time, if you abuse the game mechanics in the right way, because there are no game-defined mandatory hurdles.

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What I mostly want to know is, is it possible to do EVERYTHING without having to play the whole game multiple times?
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Yes and yes.