Mercenaries

The good: action-packed missions
The bad: needs more gameplay mechanics
You're a mercenary on the employ of a private military organization who sends you to war-torn North Korea to capture its dictator leader. This backstory, while interesting at first, takes a backseat to all the gunfire, explosions, and just sheer mayhem which you'll inflict - through a wide assortment of guns, vehicles, and heavy firepower - on the North Korean mainland.

Comparisons to the Grand Theft Auto games are inevitable. You'll wander around two expansive maps choosing missions in any order you like, collecting and destroying this game's equivalent of GTA 'packages', and completing missions in a pretty much non-linear fashion. But this isn't really a GTA-type game. This game is far more action than plot-oriented unlike that game and the available options for your character is more varied and expansive here.

You have at your disposal the standard collection of firearms and support items like rifles, grenades etc. but the interesting gameplay mechanic here is that you have access to radio support which may be in the form of supply drops (medical supplies, ammo, even vehicles) and more importantly, heavy firepower assistance. Yup, for a price you'll be able to order artillery barrages, cruise missiles, bunker buster bombs and all sorts of other stuff which makes things go boom! And since every building is destructible here, there's lots of opportunities to witness fancy explosions.

Since you're a mercenary, you'll be able to choose which of the 4 warring factions you'll help. But be it the Allies, the South Koreans, the Chinese or the Russian Mafia (the NoKors are the only real enemy), you're ultimate goal is to kill or capture the so-called deck of 52 which are the military and scientific leaders of NoKor. You'll earn money for every kill, capture or successful contract which you'll spend in radio support.

I just wish that there were more to the game. There's a lot of potential here like having to buy more permanent upgrades to your arsenal, squad-controls, more tangible effects of the disparity between the factions and on a more technical side, better draw-in distance especially when in the copterts. But as it stands, Mercenaries is still one of the best action games I've ever played. (5/5)