DECIDING on a name is a crucial stage in the development of anything.
This week we saw Apple launch their new tablet computer and, for reasons known only to themselves, they decided to name it after a woman’s sanitary product. Nintendo seem to have only recently shaken the connotations between their motion sensing console behemoth and the yellow stuff that fills the toilet. No longer does it raise a childlike giggle, complete with hand covering mouth, to say you enjoy playing with your mate’s Wii.
It was with this in mind that Zipper Interactive unleashed MAG on the gaming world. MAG, you see, stands for Massive Action Game. No messing about, no deep storyline, no pretentions. Like Snakes on a Plane, you know exactly what MAG is going to be before you play it. Farmville it ain’t.
Effectively, MAG is a MMOFPS (massive multiplayer online first person shooter) not dissimilar to some of the online game modes present in any of the Battlefield or Call of Duty series’. You choose between three different private military companies and fight to the death. You’re never quite sure what you’re fighting for, but you’re fighting with guns and that’s all that matters, right?
The big selling point, the one Sony have hung their entire marketing campaign on, is the fact that up to 256 players will be playing together, against each other in teams of 128. The reality of this is that the 256-player games need to be unlocked by leveling up, but even the 64 player games early on feel massive. The storyline is non-existant, so all you need to know is that the people with blue signs above their heads are on your team and the people with red signs need shooting, fast. That’s about the sum of it.
Where this games comes into its own though is when you get a group of people who know each other on the same side, each with geeky Bluetooth headsets, so you can work as a team and help each other out. One of you may be a sniper, picking off the stragglers from a grassy knoll, one of you may be a medic and one of you may be a machine gunner. The simple fact is that you need to use teamwork here because maverick lone wolves will die quickly and often. I found myself discussing tactics with two American snipers at the top of a church tower and sure enough, working as a team meant we were able to stay alive longer and more efficiently achieve the active mission. Better players will rank faster, meaning they can take leadership roles and control the battlefield from afar, calling in airstrikes and UAVs to help the troops on the floor. The tried and tested format of gaining XP to unlock better weaponry and gadgets is present here, and the progress rewards make the grind worthwhile.
If it is to be compared to anything, then the most obvious choice will be Modern Warfare 2. Nearly four months on I’m still hammering the online section of that so MAG was always going to have to offer something unique to usurp it. I don’t think you could ever say MAG is a better game than MW2, where the action is more focused and the controls more responsive, but it is certainly good enough to warrant a look. One important thing to say is that MAG is an online only game, there is no single player campaign here, so if you aren’t hooked up it won’t work. It does offer a great reason to get connected though, if you aren’t already.
I can quite easily see MAG becoming more of a cult hit than MW2. Don’t expect it to break any sales records, but once the hype has died down and the casual gamers have moved onto to something new, the lobbies here will still be full of dedicated gamers lapping up that 256 player carnage.
4/5