Frank-the-Rabbit
01-29-2010, 02:54 AM
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/8008/mags.jpg
The popularity of first person shooters has grown over the last few years like wildfire and with this developers are pushing the envelope anyway they can to stay ahead of the game. Massive Action Game aka MAG is the latest game from the guys at Zipper Entertainment. The team that brought you SOCOM looks to take things to a new level with battles of up to 256 players and intense squad combat. Will you help your team win the shadow war or will you suffer a crushing defeat?
MAG is a multiplayer only tactical first person shooter exclusive to the PS3. It’s the year 2025 and the nations of the world signed a peace treaty removing the use of normal militaries. This has lead to the formation and growth of private military corporations or PMC’s. On the surface these groups work as peace keepers for the major super powers but underneath this facade there is a shadow war raging to gain control of the worldwide peacekeeping market. In the game you choose one of the three PMC’s to fight for and join in the shadow war.
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/368/mag2m.jpg
The plot of the game is fairly simple and for the most part the story is told via the MAG website (www.mag.com). Each PMC has its own website and facebook and there is a Global News Network that reports on what is happening in the world. I found this a very interesting way to do things. Those that just want to get to the game play can but there is a lore and story available for those of us who like that kind of thing. The three PMC’s are Raven, Valor and S.V.E.R. each with its own niche. Raven Industries (http://www.raven-gmbh.de/)focuses on a high tech approach to warfare. Valor Company (http://www.valor-co.com/)uses only the most experienced warriors. SVER(Seryi Volk Executive Response) (http://www.sver-services.com/) uses guerrilla tactics and many of its members are rumored to have been criminals. The weapons and maps for each PMC are pretty well balanced but different and may take some time getting used to if you switch from one to another.
MAG is a tactical shooter and requires good teamwork to complete objectives. This game is not like many other shooters where you can take a Rambo approach and just run in guns blazing to win. It requires you to work together with your eight man squad to take objectives. Having a mic is a huge help in MAG. You can play without one but it will be much harder for you to be successful without one. You can play with friends or party with clan members. MAG has a built in clan system very much like guilds in MMO’s where you can be invited and kicked from a clan by the leadership. The clan system is very nice since you do not have to then add all your clan mates as PSN friends. At this time they only allow you to group up and play with 8 friends or clan members at a time. I think they put this in there so clans would not come in and dominate PUG groups.
There are four game types in MAG that you unlock as you level up suppression (64 players), sabotage (64 players), acquisition (128 players), and domination (256 players). Wins for your PMC in all but suppression can earn your PMC different contracts that can buff everyone in that PMC with things like increased experience or cooldown reduction. Losses can do the opposite and make you loose your contracts and the buffs they give. Each PMC has a map for each type that they defend. When you attack you are facing that PMC at their base. The maps all have their advantages and disadvantages but I found them to be very well balanced as to not give one side an advantage, they just take different tactics. Players manage other players with a chain of command that works very well. You have squad leaders who report to platoon leaders who report to the officer in charge. You earn the right to take on these roles by leading you group to wins. Leaders can mark objectives for their squad to work on and have many other bonuses depending on the map like air strikes.
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/9247/mag3.jpg
You play as a soldier in one of the three PMC’s and you are only allowed one character per PSN account. I feel like it was only right that they did this so you have some loyalty for your PMC. There is a minimal customization for your character in that you can choose your face and voice to start and then unlock different colors and types of armor as you level up. The level cap is 60 for characters and you earn one skill point for each level (except for 1-2 you get two skill points). The skill points you use to upgrade your weapons and items. This system is one of the best parts of the game in my opinion as it allows different people to play how they want. You can be a medic and heal or resuscitate people or you can be an engineer and repair important equipment or you can be an explosives expert and blow up the enemy. I am not one of the best first person shooter players compared to many online but I can play as a medic and really turn the tide of battle with my heals. You are able to change your skill points if you have enough respec points that you acquire much like experience. They have a veteran system that once you reach 60 you can then go into veteran mode and start over at level 1 but with a built in experience boost. This is very similar to MW2 but you are allowed to switch to a new PMC when you do this. This allows you to gain all the trophies.
The graphics in MAG are good but I wouldn’t say they blew me away and that’s ok. I think if you want to have 256 people playing a game together you need to reduce the graphics a bit. The game play is fun and I have run into very little lag and I am very impressed with that. The controls could be better but I think once you get used to them you will find they work well enough. I have run into a couple of bugs when parachuting in but nothing that is horrible. The kick squad member button can a be a bit hard to find but for the most part I have only found team killers need to be kicked.
MAG must have been a very big undertaking but I feel like the team at Zipper really made an amazing game and hopefully started a trend for bigger shooters. For me this game is best while playing with a couple friends or clan mates. You can get a real feeling of accomplishment when you work together. The big battles seem very hectic at first but the built in player leadership helps to make everything much more manageable. The skill system stands out as one of the best parts of the game and really allows you to customize how you play the game. The controls might scare some people off at first and I feel like they could have made them easier but once you play for a bit you can make them work well. They really should allow you to group with more players for some of the bigger maps but I can understand why on some maps it would change the balance too much. I enjoy this game very much but some of the more hardcore MW2 players may not enjoy this as it is very different from that game and you cannot play the same way in both and do well. If you have a PS3 and like tactical shooter I would highly recommend you pick this game up.
The Good
Skill Trees
256 player battles work
Player Leadership
Built in clan system
The Bad
Controls have a high learning curve
Only 8 players can group up
Only male characters
Score: 7.5/10
The popularity of first person shooters has grown over the last few years like wildfire and with this developers are pushing the envelope anyway they can to stay ahead of the game. Massive Action Game aka MAG is the latest game from the guys at Zipper Entertainment. The team that brought you SOCOM looks to take things to a new level with battles of up to 256 players and intense squad combat. Will you help your team win the shadow war or will you suffer a crushing defeat?
MAG is a multiplayer only tactical first person shooter exclusive to the PS3. It’s the year 2025 and the nations of the world signed a peace treaty removing the use of normal militaries. This has lead to the formation and growth of private military corporations or PMC’s. On the surface these groups work as peace keepers for the major super powers but underneath this facade there is a shadow war raging to gain control of the worldwide peacekeeping market. In the game you choose one of the three PMC’s to fight for and join in the shadow war.
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/368/mag2m.jpg
The plot of the game is fairly simple and for the most part the story is told via the MAG website (www.mag.com). Each PMC has its own website and facebook and there is a Global News Network that reports on what is happening in the world. I found this a very interesting way to do things. Those that just want to get to the game play can but there is a lore and story available for those of us who like that kind of thing. The three PMC’s are Raven, Valor and S.V.E.R. each with its own niche. Raven Industries (http://www.raven-gmbh.de/)focuses on a high tech approach to warfare. Valor Company (http://www.valor-co.com/)uses only the most experienced warriors. SVER(Seryi Volk Executive Response) (http://www.sver-services.com/) uses guerrilla tactics and many of its members are rumored to have been criminals. The weapons and maps for each PMC are pretty well balanced but different and may take some time getting used to if you switch from one to another.
MAG is a tactical shooter and requires good teamwork to complete objectives. This game is not like many other shooters where you can take a Rambo approach and just run in guns blazing to win. It requires you to work together with your eight man squad to take objectives. Having a mic is a huge help in MAG. You can play without one but it will be much harder for you to be successful without one. You can play with friends or party with clan members. MAG has a built in clan system very much like guilds in MMO’s where you can be invited and kicked from a clan by the leadership. The clan system is very nice since you do not have to then add all your clan mates as PSN friends. At this time they only allow you to group up and play with 8 friends or clan members at a time. I think they put this in there so clans would not come in and dominate PUG groups.
There are four game types in MAG that you unlock as you level up suppression (64 players), sabotage (64 players), acquisition (128 players), and domination (256 players). Wins for your PMC in all but suppression can earn your PMC different contracts that can buff everyone in that PMC with things like increased experience or cooldown reduction. Losses can do the opposite and make you loose your contracts and the buffs they give. Each PMC has a map for each type that they defend. When you attack you are facing that PMC at their base. The maps all have their advantages and disadvantages but I found them to be very well balanced as to not give one side an advantage, they just take different tactics. Players manage other players with a chain of command that works very well. You have squad leaders who report to platoon leaders who report to the officer in charge. You earn the right to take on these roles by leading you group to wins. Leaders can mark objectives for their squad to work on and have many other bonuses depending on the map like air strikes.
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/9247/mag3.jpg
You play as a soldier in one of the three PMC’s and you are only allowed one character per PSN account. I feel like it was only right that they did this so you have some loyalty for your PMC. There is a minimal customization for your character in that you can choose your face and voice to start and then unlock different colors and types of armor as you level up. The level cap is 60 for characters and you earn one skill point for each level (except for 1-2 you get two skill points). The skill points you use to upgrade your weapons and items. This system is one of the best parts of the game in my opinion as it allows different people to play how they want. You can be a medic and heal or resuscitate people or you can be an engineer and repair important equipment or you can be an explosives expert and blow up the enemy. I am not one of the best first person shooter players compared to many online but I can play as a medic and really turn the tide of battle with my heals. You are able to change your skill points if you have enough respec points that you acquire much like experience. They have a veteran system that once you reach 60 you can then go into veteran mode and start over at level 1 but with a built in experience boost. This is very similar to MW2 but you are allowed to switch to a new PMC when you do this. This allows you to gain all the trophies.
The graphics in MAG are good but I wouldn’t say they blew me away and that’s ok. I think if you want to have 256 people playing a game together you need to reduce the graphics a bit. The game play is fun and I have run into very little lag and I am very impressed with that. The controls could be better but I think once you get used to them you will find they work well enough. I have run into a couple of bugs when parachuting in but nothing that is horrible. The kick squad member button can a be a bit hard to find but for the most part I have only found team killers need to be kicked.
MAG must have been a very big undertaking but I feel like the team at Zipper really made an amazing game and hopefully started a trend for bigger shooters. For me this game is best while playing with a couple friends or clan mates. You can get a real feeling of accomplishment when you work together. The big battles seem very hectic at first but the built in player leadership helps to make everything much more manageable. The skill system stands out as one of the best parts of the game and really allows you to customize how you play the game. The controls might scare some people off at first and I feel like they could have made them easier but once you play for a bit you can make them work well. They really should allow you to group with more players for some of the bigger maps but I can understand why on some maps it would change the balance too much. I enjoy this game very much but some of the more hardcore MW2 players may not enjoy this as it is very different from that game and you cannot play the same way in both and do well. If you have a PS3 and like tactical shooter I would highly recommend you pick this game up.
The Good
Skill Trees
256 player battles work
Player Leadership
Built in clan system
The Bad
Controls have a high learning curve
Only 8 players can group up
Only male characters
Score: 7.5/10