9. Surprisingly Nuanced Story
Similarly, this is the most compelling and well-developed story of the entire series, even if the Big Bad is still a weak point as it was in all the previous games (and as a result, the final boss fight is rather underwhelming). However, the ambitious story presentation - framed by a military tribunal under which Baird and Cole's squad are charged for undisclosed crimes - keeps players guessing as to quite what's coming next. Instead of inundating the viewer in dense cut-scenes and overt exposition, we're given the rein to control flashback sequences ourselves, enhancing our involvement in the narrative. Though it doesn't deliver any shocking twists as such, it does a far better job than the other games of asking us to care about what's happening on-screen rather than simply shooting through to the next choke-point indiscriminately. More so than any other game in the series, I was genuinely curious to keep pushing forward, not just for the next awesome set-piece, but for the intriguing nature of the story as well.