10 Video Games That Let You Be Incredible Criminals

9. Jagged Alliance 2

yakuza 7
Cliffhanger Productions

The United Nations classifies mercenaries as a very ambiguous class of soldiers - going so far as to exempt them from the protections offered by the Geneva Convention. But with a world filled with constant warfare, somehow there's still plenty of them out there.

If you want to be one without risking a war crimes trial, why not try a classic game, Jagged Alliance 2. There are more recent releases, but there's a lot wrong with them. JA2 is the pinnacle of the series and is still, to this day, a great game. Create your player character and lead a force of interesting, unique mercenary badasses to save the people of a fictional country!

Between the wild personalities you'll fight against and alongside this old title, originally released in 1999, still has a fun combat system. You'll command squads of up to six soldiers as you reclaim silver mines, rescue imprisoned political dissidents, and train militia forces. Armed with everything from a knife and an SMG to the experimental CAWS automatic shotgun, you'll manage your mercenary allies from the hiring negotiations to mission completion. Or their funerals, the merc life is a rough and deadly one.

Contributor
Contributor

Author of Escort (Eternal Press, 2015), co-founder of Nic3Ntertainment, and developer behind The Sickle Upon Sekigahara (2020). Currently freelancing as a game developer and history consultant. Also tends to travel the eastern U.S. doing courses on History, Writing, and Japanese Poetry. You can find his portfolio at www.richardcshaffer.com.