For those interested, a demo has been released.
Really hope the demo isn't the quality of the final game. Took all of 20 seconds to get annoyed with it...
Yeah, I really wanted to like it, but you end up facepalming about some of the weird design decisions they made. The big dealbreaker is the lack of Fog of War. The main thing I remember about JA2 is creeping around in the darkness, waiting to stumble onto an enemy, hoping you get off a shot before they do.
Now you have the whole battle laid out for you, and it's just a matter of setting up sniper killzones. Pretty much every design decision (based off the demo) reinforces that as the ONLY reliable way to get ahead:
1. Grenades have clipping issues so they tend to not go through windows.
2. Explosives can only be used on designated points for breaching. No using them like Claymore mines, or as heavy grenades.
3. The AI makes hearing checks quite well. Sneaking up for a backstab or even a silenced SMG is pretty suicidal.
4. Some doors inexplicably only open from one side. Even if you have a lockpick.
5. You can't shoot open doors.
While snipers were always dominant in JA2, at least your explosives and ninja-types were useful if you wanted to screw around. In BIA (based off the demo,) they really aren't.
Another thing that irked me as that BIA has magical return-to-full-health style medpacks. Your medic can use up items to completely restore health at anytime. No more having to keep a bench roster to fill in for the wounded.
I really wanted to like this game, and I don't think it's truly awful, but they really made some dumb decisions that kept this from being good. I'll probably play the shit out of it still, but I'll be weeping the entire time for what could have been.