A crucial title that needs to be experienced to be truly believed.

Straight off of two critical and commercial successes with "Star Wars: Battlefront" and "Full Spectrum Warrior," Pandemic Studios has made a reputation for itself. Then... came "Mercenaries." Written off early by some as a "Grand Theft Auto" clone, it came in under the radar as an excellent surprise.

"Mercenaries" does share a few things with the "Grand Theft Auto" series. You're a single person without a care for what consequences may come. Your interests include carjacking, destruction, killing, and long midnight walks on the beach. It's right there, though, that "Mercenaries" finds a new direction to take its gameplay. In inverse to its peers, "Mercenaries" has plenty of military vehicles to commandeer, and very little civilian craft. Jeeps and APC's are common fare, with the occasional AI taking over the turret to help keep enemies at bay. Tanks are a little less common, due to their power, but are still in enough numbers that you can find one with a little effort. Helicopters are the rarest form of transportation, but their value is unparalleled in both attack and recovery missions.

Vehicles have more cause than just being a faster, more destructive way of getting to your destination. They also serve a stealth function in that non-officer troops will not pay a non-enemy or same-faction vehicle any mind when they drive around in plain sight. It's useful in some more covert missions, but you will get caught once in a while.

When you do get caught, fight or flight naturally takes over. Fighting is no longer the chore that the genre usually employs - a 3D targeting system and smart movement help you take on your adversaries. Most notably, you can keep a lookout behind you when you run, do an automatic quick hop to fire off a few rounds while backpedaling, and return to a full run in a fluid motion. As you are a well-conditioned mercenary, it only makes sense that your combat skills will be top-notch. Your fighting skills are also backed by a slight period of blood rage whenever you take what should be a fatal hit. The screen will be a red hue, you'll get a second chance at fighting the enemy or running away, and your health will slowly regenerate to 20. You can still get killed, of course, but this makes it a little easier to get through some of the nastiest fights.

Fights do get really nasty really quickly, of course. Soon after you start, you'll already be in battles against armed guards, tanks, and helicopters. Sometimes, they come all at once. Even the toughest of battles can wind up being very rewarding after all the skilled work you administer to get to the objective. What more, you can even cheat a bit: a few targets can be easily killed by destroying the structures they're in, but it may compromise your paycheck in the long run. An easier way is almost always available, but it won't be as rewarding.

Not all the missions involve fighting, of course. Some involve subtle assassination, a few have you spreading some widespread destruction, and, obviously, some "Crazy Taxi" rips. The difference is in the way they're adapted to the scene. For example, one of the taxiing missions involves you on a run through Korea with an embedded reporter. Your purpose is to make sure he gets video of things that make it look really nice for the Allied Nations faction. This comes into play at a few times in the storyline, as you'll both see and hear news reports on how the AN is doing so well in the battle - even though you see they're in a losing battle with you being the one person who's doing most of the work.

Between and during missions, you'll be treated to the beautiful, yet perilous Korean landscape. A rusty, organic feel is integral to the environment. You'll see everything from rows of trees lining the roadways, to farmlands, to deeply dented and charred remnants of a battle long past. "Mercenaries" has a world that's both convincing and complete, which makes moving through it so fascinating.

Your private contractor of choice can also become an excellent landscaper. Nearly everything in the map that is manmade can and will be destroyed. Few things match the sheer marvel of bringing down a hundred-story tower to flush out a target. In fact, the only game I can think of that exceeds "Mercenaries" in interaction with the environment is "Katamari Damacy."

"Mercenaries" has only a few flaws in its rather spectacular form. First and foremost, a couple of the seams on the bridges (for destruction's purposes) can catch your vehicle and turn it ninety degrees into a suicide run into the river below. Once you find and realize the infrequent environmental glitches, you should be all right. Also of note is the uneven difficulty of the title. Instead of increasing in a curve, "Mercenaries'" difficulty increases in a pattern more akin to stairs. It's not organic at all, but you should eventually be able to catch up with it.

A few readers will remember the infamous quote from the hype of "Halo 2" about" being on fire, going 130 miles per hour through a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters and ninjas... and the ninjas are on fire." "Mercenaries" epitomizes that quote by combining hardcore action gaming with a grand environment and an intense feeling throughout. Not only that, but it expands and improves upon the genre formula that has been set down for it. "Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction" is a crucial title that needs to be experienced to be truly believed.