MAG Preview [PS3]

28 Sep 2009 at 17:43:04 by James Chalmers

256 players. Think about it for a minute. With a standard team deathmatch on Call of Duty you and 11 other players are waging war, Battlefield 1943 supports 24 players, and Killzone 2 well 32 players. You should be getting the picture by now. Massive Action Game (MAG) is exactly that: MASSIVE. Supporting an unprecedented amount of players on the PS3, I've been lucky enough to get my hands on a beta copy of the online shooter and, oh my, it is shaping up nicely.

Initially signing onto the servers you have to create and register a character, and straight away you're given a tough choice; which private military company (PMC) will you sign your allegiance to? The choice of RAVEN, S.V.E.R or VALOR is a tough one and once you choose there is no going back unless you want to start all over again resetting your level and losing all your perks. The S.V.E.R are more third-world style fighters not having the best gear to equip them with AK-47s being a main stay throughout the ranks in sheer force and power. The VALOR are the hardened military veterans, they come with the standard equipment which you would see in armies today. Finally the RAVEN PMC, they're the elite of the elite, coming with top of the range and the most up-to-date equipment. They also look the part with slick black armour. However as far as I'm aware with each PMC you don't get any advantages except for the varied weapons. I picked VALOR and from there you can choose a voice for your character along with a selection of faces; there's a few with numerous races and all come with an assortment of facial hair and features. Once you've done that it's a case of entering the battlefield soldier!

To get onto the battlefield you have to enter the lobby system which is portrayed over a map. The map shows the three PMC's locations and with each different game mode there is a specific PMC themed level designed for the set mode. The levels are huge, almost city like and even though you will start in one corner its not until you bring up the full map that you realise just how big the games can be. Unfortunately I only managed to play the domination mode which supports 256 players, the aim of the game is to capture numerous objectives which in turn unlock another set of objectives and sends you deeper into the centre of the map. This is when the game is at its very best.

While you're attacking in your numbers (128 to be exact) there are the same number of enemies digging in to repel the attack, trying to hold you off for the duration.

You know when you see the action war movies and the heroic squad are held up in a building while they defend against the endless swarms of enemies? That is exactly what MAG feels like when the attacking PMC has worked it's way into the centre of the map. It results in your whole squad, along with the rest of the platoons, held up inside buildings taking strategic spots in the windows and picking off the enemy while defending the very last set of objectives. If the attacking side takes out the AA guns then expect to see helicopter spawn points and parachute deployments much closer to your location which results in more ammo being used as you frantically try to hold on.

Told you it sounds good. But don't worry about running out of ammo as, placed evenly around the maps, are supply dumps which allow you to heal and restock your equipment. It's a great addition because numerous times while defending you find you use all your ammo only to have more ammo without having to die or find someone other weapon from a fallen comrade or foe. It may sound like the attackers have the advantage but while you have to give up your position to go and re-supply, it can lead to the enemy using the open section to sneak in and plant explosives.

Explosives are very frequent in the game, everyone is equipped with them and when it comes to a structure; be it AA guns, mortar batteries, bunkers or gates, it's just a case of holding the O button until the meter fills up and waiting for the timer to count down. It would've been nice to force players to take an explosive route, such as the medic gun which you can unlock and revive people, but giving everyone the chance to take out strategic objectives or FARGOS as they are called in MAG means they can earn that vital XP to level up.

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