M.A.G. IS OUT NOW! Who's going to buy it?

GozerTC · January 2010

Okay first off, full disclosure, I AM buying the game and I play on SEVR.

I have been interested in MAG since I heard about it's 256 player fights for some time, but I didn't have a PS3 until November last year. As such I wasn't too inundated by pre-launch hype. So this review is only based on actual gameplay during the open beta that ended on Sunday.

First off the concept of MAG is simple. Get as many people into a team based FPS as possible. It follows pretty standard Battlfield 2 / Modern Warfare gameplay and mission structures. You can create your own classes, there are healers and repair classes (like in Battlefield), you can earn medals and awards in each mission, and you earn XP that eventually allows you to unlock more weapons. So at it's heart it is a completely derivative game, but then again all Team Based shooters are, to me, derivative of Tribes one and two.

The biggest change MAG brings is one of scale. Quite literally you start off as a mere cog and work your way up to actually forming a vital role in your squad, platoon, and company. On top of that you are often forced to rely on other squads fighting in another section of the battlefield that you'll never hear from. It is both awesome and frustrating part of the game as everyone struggles toward a common goal. You are often forced to root for those you can't even talk to.

So let me state the goods and bads and my final reasoning as to why I'm buying it.

- BAD

Textures/models/animations. They're not very good and in fact while they're not PS2 low quality they are deffinetly not top of the line. While I understand they're toned down for the sake of LAG and such it would be nice if they were better.

Weapon/skill selection. They are quite limited. There are only like 3 Assault Rifles, 3 Sniper Rifles, 2 LMGs, 1 SMG, 1 PDW, and 1 shotgun. (At least that's all SEVR has off the top of my head) Also the skill selections seem to be identical across all three factions so not much difference in factions besides the guns. So why so few?

Voice Comm. I think this is an ongoing PS3 issue more than a MAG one. But MAG does exacerbate it and show it off. For a game that is SOOOO reliant on communication why isn't it bundled with a headset? Seriously! It's not even an option! Plus too few PS3 people seem to have headsets.

Tutorial. Was basically non-existant in the Beta. While this could be Beta only issue but I can only hope that newbies aren't as tossed into combat as unprepared as I was.

Controls. PLEASE! For the love of all that is good in the world allow us to change the bloody control scheme! Honestly how lazy is it in the electronics age that we can not adjust controls? Hell this is for ALL games, why, when I'm on an adaptable computer system of some kind can I not reconfigure my keys? For frack's sake I've been able to have custom controls since Quake for crying out loud! O.O I know the PS3 faithful are used to R1 and L1 for shooting and aiming but I bloody well am not. Plus the cycling of weapons and accessories is a very poor design choice.

- Good

Okay now that I've got you worried here's the good points.

LAG. What LAG? Seriously this has to be one of the least laggy FPS's I've EVER played. In fact it seemed the MORE people around the LOWER the lag. I do not know how they pulled this off exactly but THIS is what the CELL proccessor was designed for. At least what I was told it was for and it's nice to FINALLY see a game making use of it. (If there have been others before this I don't know of them.)

Teamplay. This game not only forces teamwork, it rewards it. My squadmates and I regularly place highly in scores because we actually work toward objectives, heal one another, and repair objectives/take objectives. This is probably the most rewarding "Field Medic" game for me since I was first introduced to the concept back in Team Fortress 1 and Tribes. (Though the Battlefield series made it better with Rezs)

Size. To me the size is awesome. In the 256 player battles you can actually feel how bloody large the complex you're attacking or defending is. Even in the smaller fights (64 players in the Beta which seems the smallest allowed) the maps are quite well set-up even if they are a bit linear. (2 objectives leading to 1 all in a basic triangle set-up)

Roles. The game actually gives you a reason to specalize. It also notifies others with simple icons by your name at start-up what kind of role you're playing. (Direct damage, sniper, assault, support and the like) You are given XP for healing and rezing teammates, repairing objectives and vehicles, taking objectives and sub-objectives, killing people of course, and actually being near objectives and squad leader marked objectives gives you bonus XP. Oh, and you can become a squad, platoon, or company leader all of which provide you with new abilities both for you to call in and for you to give to others by being near them.

So why am I buying? Well first off I enjoy big FPS battles (I played in Planetside too) and not since the modified Tribes 2 servers have I played in such big fights. (Planetside we tried but it always lagged) Secondly I met some good players in Beta and it made all the difference in the world. If you do get into the game DO talk to others and the second you can find a good player make some Friend requests and play with them as much as possible! The game is so team based getting good players are key to success! Finally the game actually discourages lone wolf "super soldier" players. Sure they exist but the rewards that focus on being singularly bad ass aren't as there as they are in Modern Warfare for instance. (No nukes for example. Oi...) In fact you're mostly compared to your own squad and who's the best squad more than individuals. The more "Group based" feel of the game is everywhere and it really makes it more enjoyable to me, since I'm not a super sniper or anything like that. I'm just competent and a good medic. (Nothing like running through fire to rez people. )

So what do you guys think? Anyone else getting in? If you are PM me and I'll let you know my PS3 name and maybe we'll play together. Though I will be SEVR keep that in mind.

Kickphat · January 2010

been wanting to play this since i heared about it 2 years ago in game informer it was suppose to come out in Nov of 09 but they pushed it back can't wait until it comes out. It is from the people that made Socom. That is the game that got me into Online Shooters

GozerTC · January 2010

Originally posted by Kickphat

been wanting to play this since i heared about it 2 years ago in game informer it was suppose to come out in Nov of 09 but they pushed it back can't wait until it comes out. It is from the people that made Socom. That is the game that got me into Online Shooters

Good to have you on board, though I must warn you this isn't quite SOCOM. Mainly because it's a FPS instead of a TPS. Though we do have a good number of SOCOM players running around in the MAG beta. We'll know Tuesday who's here or not.

jdnewell · January 2010

I am very much considering buying MAG. It looks like a good game and I must say the 256 people battles sound like alot of fun.

My only concern is my playtime. One week I may be able to spend 30 hours gaming, the next week only 5-10. And with games like this usually you have to be part of a clan or guild to get the most out of it. And they usually require you to be online a minimum amount of time each week to be a part of the clan.

This is one reason I dont play MMO's anymore. At my age ( 36) with full time job, wife, kids, ect my playtime varies greatly week to week.

I may buy MAG in a few weeks once it comes out and some good solid reviews from players come out.

GozerTC · January 2010

Well unlike an MMO MAG works pretty well for dropping in and out of the game. I am 31 with a 1 year old daughter and my squad knows that I won't always be there. We're just a group of guys that, when we are on, work together. It's that simple. It's not like we're doing competative clan matches or something.

I'm pretty sure if you got the game you'd be able to enjoy it no matter how little you got to play.

XxMaticxX · January 2010

I am so tempted to buy MAG, I am just worried now about the graphics you mentioned and whether I will be any good LOL. I am so use to playing with a mouse/keyboard, that i don't know if ill be able to adapt to a controller LOL.

GozerTC · January 2010

Okay some quick notes post launch. (More to come probably next week.)

1. They have locked out WAY more of the gear than I thought based on Beta. Instead of just picking your look and off you go with your mostly just for looks gear they've locked most of the outfits down to levels. Specifically helmets, face masks, and all that are based on 10,15, 20 levels or so. Which is totally BS since they do diddly to affect you in game. Seriously.

2. There are far more players than there were in Beta it seems running around like in Modern Warfare. Which means lots more targets to get. I have yet to lose a fight as SEVR since launch. Then again I've not played much since launch and that's because...

3. The servers were down! Specifically the character creation or "naming" servers as I normally associate them in the MMO space. So those who got in early and created their characters (I think before 5PM PST) got in fine, but when I jumped on it was down and my whole squad was in playing and laughing it up.

4. Starting back at one is HARD. I forgot how useless I was at LVL 1-3. (I.e. pre-med pack) BTW take your first 4 points and buy med-pack and rez. It makes you tons of points to level up afterwards and makes you well liked.

5. The training mission is a joke as I expected, but it's free XP so do it once.

6. Any updates to the graphics are VERY minor from the Beta. Gameplay wise though it's still very smooth and lag free. Plus I'm getting to play the Aquisition mode that I never got to try. So all in all lots of fun.

So after my two play sessions not much has really changed since Beta, which is both good and bad. Basically if you weren't interested after Beta you probably still aren't. As for going from Mouse and Keyboard to joystick I have to say this is probably one of the easiest to make the adjustments too just because pure aiming is not as jumpy as I've seen in other Console FPS. Honesetly though if you can rent it, or play at a friends place. You'll be glad you did.

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M.A.G. IS OUT NOW! Who's going to buy it?

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