Should Mercenaries 2 have been more serious like the original?

Mercs 2 dove deeper into the action B-movie vibe but feels like something was lost in the process.

• The subtlety of the A.N. being the “official” Western response while the CIA covertly backs South Korea was lost. Instead the A.N. is a villainous CIA puppet, led by an agent who was cartoonish.

• Peng went from a reasonable, prudent leader to comically proud.

• China being a faction also feels out of place, yeah their power is growing but sailing all the way to South America. I would’ve preferred it to be a Cuban intervention since they were quite active in the Cold War, even fighting in Africa. A Cuba faction can have PRC support, sure- maybe Peng could return as an advisor to them the way Buford was for the South Koreans.

• Pirates weren’t an active faction like the Russian Mafia was.

• Also each faction had two guys you could talk to! They had banter and could have side-conversations with you.

Thoughts? What factions would you have wanted to see in the Venezuelan setting?