Zipper’s ambitious new online shooter has recently been undergoing some rigorous beta testing and we were lucky enough to get in on the action…
For those of you that don’t know, MAG (or Massive Action Game as it was formerly known) is a 256-player online FPS, from the developers of the original SOCOM games. The command structure in MAG breaks down like a real army. With 128 players on each side it’s easy to get overwhelmed, however MAG compensates for this. Each team has four platoons (or two depending on which game mode you are playing) and each platoon has four squads. Each squad has their own objective to carry out, such as defending a certain area of the map or stealing an enemy transport.
To help coordinate your attack are leadership roles. These positions are squad leader, platoon leader and, eventually, Officer-in-Command (OIC), which is highest leadership role available. Which these leadership roles cover certain responsibilities. For instance, choosing your squad’s spawn point or assigning which objective to tackle first. Each new leadership role becomes available to you after you reach a certain rank.
Ranking up is easy. All you have to do is kill enemy players, heal fallen teammates and carryout objectives, such as blowing stuff up or repairing stuff that has been blown up. With the experience that you gain you can upgrade your soldier’s abilities, health and damage resistance, and buy new gear, such as scopes and armour. Also when you first begin playing MAG you must choose which faction you wish to join – either SVER, the South American guerrilla fighters, Valor, equipped with your standard military gear, or Raven, the more high-tech elite force. Each has their own weapons and armour. The difference between them however is mostly aesthetic, but it won’t take long before you feel a real sense of allegiance with your chosen faction.
So far, only a few game modes have been made available: Acquisition, where one side must battle past the enemy defences and bunker to steal a prototype vehicle then scramble back to the other side of the map. Sabotage, which is similar, but takes place on different maps and requires defence of certain key areas. Finally there’s Domination, which is the only mode to offer the full 256-player limit – and it shows. Domination is insane, hectic, fast-paced and filled with fighting. Players have to ability to parachute as a respawn option, and when you look out across the chaos its quite spectacular. However, this is also MAG’s burden – the key to its success lies in this balance. With so many players it’s easy for everything to go downhill fast. Strategy and co-operation are essential. You have to know what you’re doing and you need good leadership and clear commands.
When MAG works it is brilliant, and by that I mean when people are using mics, communicating and working as a team, instead of running around aimlessly and getting lost in the madness. However, this isn’t always how it works. If people don’t employ strategy or tactics then things tend to fall apart very quickly. Hopefully the game will be shipped with a wireless headset, otherwise it could be in trouble.
As for the core gameplay, anyone who’s played Call of Duty will pick up the controls pretty quickly, considering they are virtually identical. However, the guns themselves are not, they lack any real weight and just feel quite pathetic. They feel more like water pistols. Something to be improved for the retail version. Also, whilst there are no glitches or bugs, the gameplay isn’t quite up to standard. The framerate remarkably holds up very well, but the textures and character models could definitely use a bit more polish. That said, this is small point considering what MAG has achieved with its mammoth player count.
Overall, MAG is like any strategic shooter – when it all comes together its fantastic, but when it doesn’t things fall to pieces all too quickly. This could very well be due to the enormous learning curve the game presents to new users. When the game launches early next year there should be enough seasoned veterans to guide new recruits to victory. With a bit more polish on the visuals and some more impact from the weapons, MAG could be a very important exclusive for the PS3. A definite one to watch.
Stuart Kent
