One of the most ambitious multiplayer shooters of all-time finally debuts. Can it dethrone Modern Warfare 2 so soon after its release?
WHAT YOU’LL LIKE:
Truly Massive
Massive Action Game certainly delivers on its name. You will be sectioned off into 8-player squads, four of which make a platoon, with a company consisting of four platoons for up to 128 on 128-player matches. There are smaller maps and match types available for those that don’t want to get sniped randomly every five seconds, but what would be the fun in that? There were times where I’d keep respawning and battling in a certain area, only to take a different route and realize I had been spending all my time in a mere fraction of the map. It really is quite impressive what developer Zipper Interactive has achieved (with no lag to speak of, either).
Massive Action Game certainly delivers on its name. You will be sectioned off into 8-player squads, four of which make a platoon, with a company consisting of four platoons for up to 128 on 128-player matches. There are smaller maps and match types available for those that don’t want to get sniped randomly every five seconds, but what would be the fun in that? There were times where I’d keep respawning and battling in a certain area, only to take a different route and realize I had been spending all my time in a mere fraction of the map. It really is quite impressive what developer Zipper Interactive has achieved (with no lag to speak of, either).
Adequate Visuals
MAG is sort of a no-frills shooter. You have objectives and targets and the distance between you and them, but you certainly won’t mistake it for the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan or any cinematic action sequence in Call of Duty. However, the massively open-ended maps do look interesting enough to run around in them round after round, which is exactly what you will be doing. Although I can’t help but feel that MAG more closely resembles an extremely high-res PlayStation 2 title than a groundbreaking, this-gen game a la Killzone 2, it allows Zipper Interactive to provide hundreds of players at a time without any slowdown.
MAG is sort of a no-frills shooter. You have objectives and targets and the distance between you and them, but you certainly won’t mistake it for the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan or any cinematic action sequence in Call of Duty. However, the massively open-ended maps do look interesting enough to run around in them round after round, which is exactly what you will be doing. Although I can’t help but feel that MAG more closely resembles an extremely high-res PlayStation 2 title than a groundbreaking, this-gen game a la Killzone 2, it allows Zipper Interactive to provide hundreds of players at a time without any slowdown.
Extensive Unlockables
In contrast to Modern Warfare’s perks, MAG focuses directly on equipment upgrades. By gaining experience and leveling up through kills, heals, and completing objectives, you will earn points which can be used to unlock new weapons, attachments, and gear. You can customize your character’s armor, loadout, and outfit considerably as well. Armor affects the amount of damage you receive, obviously, but also your mobility. You can choose to carry a medical tool to heal or revive allies, or a repair tool to fix damaged vehicles. Lastly, you can unlock leadership perks by not sucking. These will grant a bonus to your entire squad such as improved accuracy, but you’ll definitely have to earn it. That being said, it’s important to level up quickly and choose your improvements wisely, as the hardcore players already have the best gear and tactics so anyone starting MAG later will be at a distinct disadvantage.
In contrast to Modern Warfare’s perks, MAG focuses directly on equipment upgrades. By gaining experience and leveling up through kills, heals, and completing objectives, you will earn points which can be used to unlock new weapons, attachments, and gear. You can customize your character’s armor, loadout, and outfit considerably as well. Armor affects the amount of damage you receive, obviously, but also your mobility. You can choose to carry a medical tool to heal or revive allies, or a repair tool to fix damaged vehicles. Lastly, you can unlock leadership perks by not sucking. These will grant a bonus to your entire squad such as improved accuracy, but you’ll definitely have to earn it. That being said, it’s important to level up quickly and choose your improvements wisely, as the hardcore players already have the best gear and tactics so anyone starting MAG later will be at a distinct disadvantage.
WHAT YOU WON’T LIKE:
No Singleplayer
MAG never intended to be anything but an online multiplayer experience, but that doesn’t reduce the sting from the lack of singleplayer. Even the most elementary of offline offerings would increase the value of the game and build MAG’s overall community which, ironically despite the name, I expect will need all the help it can get. There’s not even a splitscreen mode for when a friend comes over and wants to yell at you for not reviving him in person, which no one should ever be deprived of.
Guns That Don’t Kill People
Imagine how pissed you’d be in real life if you unloaded an entire assault rifle clip into an unsuspecting enemy’s back from damn near point blank range, only to have them turn around and end your life with a single twitch of the finger trigger. Now apply that to every other encounter in MAG and get excited about all the fun you won’t be having not killing people. Far Cry 2 (and several other offenders) was notorious for requiring mass amounts of ammo to down a single target and even underwent a major title update to remedy this problem in an attempt to resuscitate the multiplayer. I’d like to see a bit more realism in MAG, something along the lines of a Hardcore mode or Counterstrike, and I have a feeling from all the angry squadmates I encountered, I’m not the only one.
Imagine how pissed you’d be in real life if you unloaded an entire assault rifle clip into an unsuspecting enemy’s back from damn near point blank range, only to have them turn around and end your life with a single twitch of the finger trigger. Now apply that to every other encounter in MAG and get excited about all the fun you won’t be having not killing people. Far Cry 2 (and several other offenders) was notorious for requiring mass amounts of ammo to down a single target and even underwent a major title update to remedy this problem in an attempt to resuscitate the multiplayer. I’d like to see a bit more realism in MAG, something along the lines of a Hardcore mode or Counterstrike, and I have a feeling from all the angry squadmates I encountered, I’m not the only one.
RECOMMENDATION:
Considering the game just came out and there’s less people playing it altogether than in a single multiplayer mode of Modern Warfare 2, I’m not sure this game will become the hit that Sony’s expecting. Still, if you loved SOCOM or perhaps even Warhawk, MAG offers more of the same but on a ridiculously epic scale. Without bots of any sort though, what happens when there aren’t enough soldiers to put the M in MAG?
February 3rd, 2010 at 4:18 am
hmmm was really looking forward to this title, but is it good enough to warrant a PS3 purchase? meh… lol
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:25 am
I would really like this game to succeed as massive FPS’s have always been a soft spot of mine. On the flip side of the coin of how much ammo it takes to kill another player, it sure beats hardcore mode in Call of Duty only requires you to nick a players shoulder with a bullet to kill. The saying around my house is that regular mode is harder than hardcore.
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:34 pm
It’s crazy how really massive this game is, but kind of sad that there’s no single player. As a n00b FPSer, I’m not sure this game will be kind to me.