This game is easily going to fly under the radar of many gamers because of the low review scores that gaming sites are giving it. This is really a shame because the game is great fun, and most sites are giving reviews for the beta. I will compare this game to Mw2 mostly because that is the most recent FPS everyone has played.
Balance - Whereas MW2 was the most unbalanced game of recent memory (akimbo shotty comes to mind), MAG is really balance. When you are in the armory you get 3400 credits to spec out your character. Even though you get new weapons and armor the cap makes it so that you really have to think about what type of player you are and make armor yourself accordingly. You can also create custom classes that combine multiple classes like a medic with repair abilities. Another major difference in the balance of the game is that in MAG only Squadleaders, platoon leaders and Officers in command can call in airstrikes. The airstrikes only work if the anti-air has been destroyed. MAG is easily the most balanced game of recent memory.
Maps - Massive would be a good way to describe the maps in MAG. The only FPS with a map close in size is pyrus rise. But even then the maps have lots of targets to destroy (Anti-aircraft missiles, Sensor Arrays, Gates, Blockades, Bridges, Cooling towers, vehicle depots etc). The large size also justifies one of the features not present in other games which is parachuting. Instead of a spawn grenade people can parachute into an area specified by a leader. The problem with parachuting though is getting shot out of the sky. If you're a sniper this is a great way to get on top of buildings that have no roof top access.
Sound/Graphics - The game is THX certified Dolby and DTS HD audio. Most sounds are uncompressed with the music being the only compressed sounds. This is one game you'll want to have a surround for. The binaural localization will help you out more than the shot locator indicator. But the latter is really well done with a white, yellow or red mark that tells you if the shots are far away, near to you or are hitting you respectively. Of MAG and MW2, MAG blows MW2 out of the water in the sound department with the latter using compressed sound for all of the audio. As for graphics it is harder to determine the winner. The environments in MAG especially the foliage are much better done and probably the first difference you will notice of the two. Other than that the graphics are pretty similar but with MW2 having the overall edge. The game has nothing on killzone 2 in the graphics department.
Online - One of the things that really bugged me about MW2 was the use of peer to peer connections. When a host didn't want to play anymore the game would stop and a new host would have to be chosen. There would also be lag if the host had a poor connection. MAG doesn't have any of these problems since it uses dedicated servers. The only lag you will experience is once in maybe 5 games you will be moving and your character will go to the position he was a couple seconds before and the games resumes normally. The dedicated servers also allow for the most advertised feature of the game 256 players at once compared to the 24 maximum on MW2. This increase in the number of players give the gamer a feeling that they are involved in a WAR.
Team work - A oft overlooked feature on MAG is the team work factor. With most other games team work can be done but for the most part everyone is a lone wolf; MW2 is the most glaring example of this. The game forces team work by giving FRAGO points for kills, repairs, assists, healing and resuscitations around the object. The FRAGO bonus just doubles the points you get for the aforementioned actions. The Squad leader can assign the FRAGO to almost anything on the map. There are also bonuses for the soldiers who stick with their squad or platoon leader or the officer in command such as increasing armor, decreasing reload times and the time to set charges.
The game is a very addictive game and if you are itching for a new FPS to play you will not be disappointed with this game. It is best to find a squad to play with and using a headset will increase the amount of fun this game affords. The gameplay is about 200hrs to get the platinum trophy, in other words the price per hour is really low about 30 cents an hour.
Rating 9/10
Zipper Interactive were once one of Sony's most important studios and became a household name due to their work on the SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs series during the PlayStation 2's heyday. Their most ambitious title was MAG. Could it make a comeback?
Best game ever. I had put over 1700hrs into that game before it deteriorated too far with cheaters getting out of the map and sadly decided it was time to let it die (Zipper had already been closed down by that time).
This is a game that was ahead of its time. Had it came out on PS4 it would've done much better. I put hundreds of hours into this despite the problems it had on PS3.
Yes, yes, and yes. Way ahead of it's time. Would love to see a PS5 variant of this game.
Erina Rose, Sausage Roll writes, "Call of Duty: Modern War introduced a new, improved, Ground War game mode this weekend that reminds us of the old PlayStation 3 classic, MAG."
Seriously though. Nowadays this and next gen are practically begging for a new MAG.
How did we go from having games like resistance 1, 2, warhawk with 30 vs 30 player battles, and M.A.G. with 128 vs 128 players, ON LAST GEN to now having 20 vs 20...such a step back.
Almost 10 years ago the greatest first person shooter came out and most of you probably never heard of it, never got to play it and never will.
Was such an underrated game. One of my most favorite fps of last gen. So unfortunate zipper was closed down. Imagine if it was a success and thered be a 2nd game by now.....
I can think of many better games that I've yet to play...
"Almost 10 years ago the greatest first person shooter came out"
HAH. So is Planetside 2 now the best FPS ever? Because it does everything MAG can and does it far better. I'm afraid that MAG is basically your standard FPS but uses scale as it's selling point. The vast majority of shooters that focus on smaller scale matches have gameplay leaps and bounds better than MAG so it is definitely not the greatest FPS.
I know many people are going to try and refute this by telling me to look at the three factions but MAG has literally no character. The game is call 'Massive. Action. Game' for gods sake which is a contender for 'The Worst Title a Game Could Have' award. I've never been a fan of Zipper but I hear great things about them from their PS2 days. However, with MP gaining popularity in the generation that followed I think it says a lot that they couldn't keep up with the competition.
Loved mag had over 1700hrs into it across many accounts, remember my first 100 kill sabotage game, was insane
Game was simply ahead of its time. If mag came out now with improved graphics people would be blown away. Back then people whined about the graphics even though it had players literally everywhere. It was several great games in one. Battlefield, Ghost Recon, and Call of duty.
That is about close to what I would score it, hope you are on Raven or "I Kill You" lol or just run you over.
Anyways great game and lets have fun killing one another.
I agree that its more approachable than mw 2 i just played mag beta too mutch over indulged like cod 4 beta ,in australia games are around 100 bux so sadly im waiting for a preowned copy from what ive played great fun but id score it 8 out of 10. sorry about the lay out of my post using ps3 to post.