Mercenaries

A historic reunification of the Koreas makes for a great story, but this is a video game, which is why before you can even sweat up your controller, a heartless general stages a coup that leaves the world on the brink of nuclear war. Now there's only one option for peace: murder. Your job in Mercenaries, if you choose to pay 50 bucks for it, is to take out the general and his top advisors in this sprawling adventure. Test your skills within wildly interactive environments (you can steal and sell goods on the black market) and a “reputation system,” whereby reports from an embedded journalist determine how other characters react to you—meaning you don't just have to save the world, you need to earn nice press too. Missions full of vehicles to wrangle and people to off feel like a cross between Grand Theft Auto and Metal Gear Solid, with a dash of Contra thrown in for spice. Destroy everything and get paid; this is foreign policy at its finest.