MAG Preview page 2

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

Just like recent online first person shooters a levelling system has been created for the game. With soldiers gaining XP for kills, assists, planting bombs on a bunker or strategic location, levelling up in the earlier stages can be very easy. When you level up you earn skill points, these can be used to purchase special skills, equipment or even customise a weapon. Want to put a red dot sight on a rifle, or attach a grip for a steadier aim? Sure, go ahead, you can unlock those items. There is so much variety in fact, that it results in you being able to go down a specific weapon classes. I chose to go down the sniper role. I attached a bipod for non-wobble when going prone and an extra long scope to pick off enemies from afar. The numerous customisation options are impressive (not as many as Borderlands) and they don't just stop at weapons. You can upgrade medic kits allowing you to revive fallen allies, faster explosive planting, different grenades which emit toxic gas. I could go on forever but when January rolls around I'll let you all see exactly what there is to unlock. If you want to level up quick, even following squad orders earns you double XP. You can do this when you kill an adversary or if you plant a bomb in a designated FARGO which your squad leader has assigned you to attack. This addition makes you want to follow orders and work as a team like you're meant to.

You can apply for certain roles when you join a game queue but you have to be a specific rank before given the opportunity to lead, and it's not always a guarantee. With the squad leader you need to have a mic. Too many times I've joined a squad where the leader is silent, and not telling the squad where to go creates chaos. If you find a good squad with a decent leader assaulting objectives you can really make a tactical approach to the game, however it isn't always the case and can result in your whole squad trying to be John Rambo and taking an objective by themselves only to be shot down by a wave of bullets. However it doesn't stop them as they try again and again which results in the same outcome every time. You see, the essence of this game is teamwork and you only realise that when the shit hits the fan and you have an incoming mortar strike on your position.

Think about it, 256 players all attacking and defending, grenades going off, mortar strikes, air strikes, people dropping in from the skies on parachutes, sounds like the PlayStation 3 is going to struggle under the weight of it all? Well think again. I'm impressed with what Zipper has achieved in the Beta. Of course there are a few bugs which need ironing out but that is all apart of beta testing. Overall when everything is happening on screen and explosions galore are erupting across the screen the game runs fine. There is no slowdown with 256 players, no jumpy framerates with the game running at 30 FPS and connection issues are fine, sometimes the queuing system can take a while if your looking for a match but after a couple of minutes you are thrown straight in. I can see why the designers haven't tried to implement a lobby system after each match as waiting for a full 256 players as people drop in and out could be a very time consuming affair.

Even though it is still in Beta testing MAG is a very impressive concept. It really does make you feel like you're a part of something big, and when it does get frantic defending your objective seems like the only thing that matters in the world. Zipper Interactive has until January to make this the finished product. It's not about being a one-man war machine, it's all about teamwork, you and another 127 men as you fight for your selected PMC. Who will you sign for? Who will you pledge your allegiance to when January rolls in? VALOR, S.V.E.R or RAVEN? The choice is yours...

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