by Ricky Tappenden
MAG or as zipper no longer want it known as Massive Action Game is the new online only shooter from the original SOCOM team exclusively for the Playstation 3. The main feature of this game is the huge 256 player limit it offers
When you first start the game you are given the choice of three factions to join:
S.V.E.R are an eastern European outfit who are best described as rebels. With little money to fight the war with their guns are old and held together with gaffer tape, but what they lack in money they make up with fighting spirit.
Valour are you standard western military. Made up from American and South American troops. They have a military budget and the weapons that come with that budget. They are the happy medium of the three factions.
Raven are your high tech sleek organization. Based in western Europe, they are made up from various countries tactical elite. They have near unlimited funds and the most high tech weaponry money can buy.
You are able to change your faction at any time , but at a cost of either deleting your character, thus loosing all your hard earned XP so far, or you can wait to hit the level cap of 60 to do so. Apart from different skins and back stories, all factions weapons etc are basically the same.You are then given some preset weapon and equipment loadouts which are your standard assault, heavy and sniper class and two of the four game modes to choose from. Once in a game the teams are evenly divided in to 32 men platoons and each platoon divided up in to four eight man squads with one being picked as squad leader.
Suppression is the simplest of MAG’s game modes and is your basic team death match. This is a 64 player in-faction match which is described as faction training. This mode is a good place to start as it gives you a chance to get a feel for the guns. There are no other objectives apart from to get the other teams respawn tickets to zero before yours.
The other game mode that is open from the start is sabotage. This is the first game mode to really divide the teams up between objectives. Here the idea is for the attacking team to capture two control points whilst the defending team try to hold them off. If captured, this then opens up the final control point. All players will then descend on to this control point. This can get a bit manic with all the players descending on the final objective and most of the time tactics are thrown out of the window and it becomes the attackers rushing in waves with the defenders trying to hold them off.
When you hit level four, which will not take long at all you unlock the game mode Acquisition. This game mode ups the player limit to 128 players and is the first game mode where you start to get a proper feeling of what MAG is. The attacking team has to get two vehicles back to a designated point to win the match. Acquisition introduces assets like mortar barrages, artillery strikes and sensor sweeps for squad leaders of both teams to call in. These are available as long as the teams keep them up and running as the enemy will try to destroy them, if this does happen don’t worry, any solider with a repair gun can repair these for the team. Once the attacking team have a vehicle, the defending team are tasked with stopping them escaping with it by blowing it up. If this is achieved, a new vehicle will spawn.
Once level eight is reached domination is available, this is the last game mode to unlock and the only mode that incorporates the 256 player limit. This is where you will find the full MAG experience. Again this game mode is all about the attacking team capturing various control points and pushing the defending team back to the final eight points and holding them long enough until a damage bar fills completely. But its not always that straight forward, a good solider follows orders from your squad leader and those orders will have you going between focusing on a capture point, to destroying or repairing assets and then going back to the capture points.
MAG like most shooters these days has a progression system. Each time you level up you earn a skill point, these are used to purchase weapons and perks. With the weapons you can choose from assault rifles, LMG’s or sniper rifles for you primary weapons. You then have various slots in your load out to fill with claymores, gas, medical kits or repair kits. these are all unlocked as you progress and cost from one to five points. If you decide you want to re-spec your character, you are able to with the re-spec points you earn throughout the game. Each piece of equipment you unlock comes with a credit amount and each load out needs to add up to a certain amount or under, this stops people playing with the best guns, all the attachments and every type of grenade.
When you reach level 15 you are the eligible to apply to be a squad leader and take control of an eight man squad. When given this role, you are then able to give specific orders from your team and your team are encouraged to follow these by being rewarded with a bonus for completing objectives or killing enemies within the surrounding area. Also being squad leader you are able to call in the early mentioned mortar strikes, precision artillery or UAVs to help your squad with their current objectives. You access these two ways either from the D-Pad, move the onscreen icon that appears then press R1, this doesn’t take you out of the game but can only be fired in your surrounding area. Or you can access this via the select button, this gives you full view of the map and the ability to use your assets anywhere on the map.
MAG isn’t setting any benchmarks graphically, but for a game that supports 256 players it looks good although a little bland as everything seems grey, brown and green. Also there are a few issues with some sprites not layering properly and some texture pop. The sound in MAG is also pretty good but again, not setting any benchmarks. All guns and explosions sound fine but seeing as you will be communicating via your headset most of the time i doubt your notice.
Overall MAG is a good online shooter, what it does it does well. It intelligently finds ways to get people playing as a team rather than the loan gunman and the leadership roles also offer another game play mode most other shooters do not. If your looking for something else to play on your PS3 and are looking for a decent shooter, give MAG a look.
