I enjoy a good power fantasy as much as anyone, but I have a soft spot for the crushing bleakness of Far Cry 2. Everyone is a shithead. You're a shithead. You will always end up taking missions for both sides in the conflict, perpetuating it. Most of them involving war crimes. The only missions where you don't do evil are the ones where you're paid in malaria medicine which you need to not die.
You get a bunch of buddies which will likely get killed one by one, possibly by you as a mercy killing. And those who survive will end up betraying you.
It's such a nihilistic game. No hope, no redemption. I couldn't get into FC3 after that. Even though it was a ton of fun mechanically, Far Cry 2 just hits different.
Edit: Happy to see from other replies that this is not a completely fringe opinion any more.
I took a piss on my nut sack and called it Jack BlackIt's a fact, I got more rhymes than Zack Braff taking a napI attack motherfuckers wearing purple backpacksAnd I snack on towel racks and take a shit on your trackYeah, you're wack cause everybody understands what you sayBut when I get on the mic, I make milk out of clayAnd I play air guitar with a tube of toothpasteAnd I say, "Karate pencil case" and put it on tape
I hate rhetorical answers more, that is to say, when someone answers something nobody fucking asked them.