Mercenaries takes place in the near future. On the eve of the historic reunification of North Korea and South Korea, the president of North Korea is overthrown by his son, the General of the Army. The new power in North Korea threatens to launch nuclear weapons all over the world. At first, the global powers try to find a diplomatic solution, but it's to no avail. In order to quickly suppress the threat, the world powers make a list of the 52 most dangerous people in North Korea. You play as an agent of Executive Operations, an elite mercenary group that specialize in such clandestine actions. Not only do you have to take down the new deck of "evildoers," but you also have to contend with the numerous factions threatening North Korea itself.
The developers at Pandemic are attempting to make Mercenaries a very cinematic game. In the initial insertion scene, it seemed like a scene out of a movie. The ridiculous amount of collateral damage you can cause only heightens its resemblance to a Hollywood summer blockbuster. In this respect, the game is akin to Metal Gear Solid in that it has a very filmic feel. Plus you have a saucy agent, Fiona Taylor, providing you with information. I'm not sure if the dynamic will be like the one between Solid Snake and Meryl Silverburgh, but it's the first thing I thought of when I heard her on the com-link.
The main objective of the game is to capture all 52 cards, culminating in the apprehension of the General, who is the ace of spades. You get the full bounty for capturing your prey, but only half if you kill them. With each new bounty you get more money to fund your exploits. This is where the other factions come in. The Chinese, South Koreans, Russian Mafia, and United Nations each provide weapons for you to purchase. Each has their own specialty; the Chinese are experts at crafting heavily-armored vehicles, the South Koreans make incredible stealth weapons, and you can get the best explosives in the world from the Mafia.
Kaboom!
