I was there in that fateful month of January 2010. Never before had I seen such carnage; such madness, and so many damn snipers. Had I been shipped abroad to fight in the war? No – I was playing Zipper Interactive’s online only FPS ‘MAG’. Yes, rather unbelievably MAG is a year old this month so TSA is taking the opportunity to take a look at what’s changed over the last twelve months.
I was one of the people who went out and bought MAG on day one, and to be honest it was a struggle. Not being the most adept at online shooters anyway, MAG was a harsh introduction and after a month or so I gave up, tail between my legs. Things change though, and I had heard so many positive comments that I went out and purchased the game again recently to give it a second chance.
Wow, what a difference a year makes! I suppose the biggest addition is ‘MAG 2.0’. One might call this an update, but essentially it’s turned MAG in to a brand new game. One of the biggest additions has been PlayStation Move support. Having been banished upstairs for my MAG sessions, I have yet to play the game with Move, but those I have spoken to say it’s difficult and takes a lot of getting used to. For those of you who baulk at the idea of a measly level 60 cap, it has now been upped to 70.
The game’s ‘skill tree’ has been completely redone, with some new additions. I found this particularly useful, and as all new skills now only cost one ‘skill point’ I was able to unlock useful skills (such as the medical kit) much earlier than in MAG 1.0. This helps the sense of progression and in just an hour and a half I have unlocked about 70% of the Medic’s skill tree. An ‘Economy System’ has also been added, where you earn in-game currency for completing missions, earning ribbons etc. With this currency you can then go on and buy new weapons, or gear (once you have unlocked the relevant skill and reached the required level). This sense of customization is fantastic, and I can’t wait to get my hands on some new guns…or I may tinker with my existing gun to make it better, I haven’t decided yet. Gear and weapons can also be sold so you can make some extra cash.
An interesting new feature is ‘Multiqueue’, which replaces the ‘Directives’ deploy option. Multiqueue gives players the opportunity to queue up for any or all game modes simultaneously. This allows users to jump into the action quickly without forcing them into game types they don’t want to play. All you have to do is uncheck the modes you’re not interested in playing and the Multiqueue will take care of the rest. As an added bonus, Zipper has also equipped the Multiqueue with a stackable XP reward that grows in its payout depending on how many modes you’re willing to play.
Those wishing to turn to the dark side can also buy up to two additional character slots for 79p a month, which will allow you to create a character in one of the other factions.
One of my favourite new features though is being able to take 720p resolution in-game screenshots. Just got shot in the backside and team-killed by a mate? Take a screen grab of it as proof for when he proclaims his innocence!
Overall I’m so impressed with how far MAG has come in twelve months, and the stuff I’ve detailed above is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of tweaks and modifications. Sure, it’s still a hard game to get into but the wealth of post release support has made it a much superior product. The servers have apparently seen a spike in activity recently, so now would be a great time to jump in and have a go.
coolgr33k
I rerember the build up to this game. The presentation, the video’s, they looked immense and I had great ideas on what it could be like. But after looking at a few video’s, it looks totally different to how I imagined it, seems like an 8vs8 battle on some.
Also I never bothered trying the beta because I couldn’t really be bothered to wait for it to install and update so I gave it a miss. But i wish id given it a go as it does seem quite fun now, although I don’t know any of my friends who have it, and part of the game is teamwork so I don’t know if it would’ve been as fun as possible
Oh well, but GT5 will keep me busy for a while.
cam_manutd
Personally I think the critics should re-review this game and I wonder if that would see a spike in critical acclaim?
TheUgandanGamer
Me too.
This game never got the respect that it deserves – It’s a hidden gem which I think should ideally have the same user base as the Call of Duty franchise.
Here’s to hoping they make another!
Kovacs
I gave it an 8. I still think it’s an 8. Re-review DONE!
:)
cam_manutd
Not specifying sixthaxis or you kovacs because it was a good review and a good score.. but other publications that criticised it whereas you were positive on the other hand :)
Kovacs
Indeed. That’s always going to happen, though. If we re-reviewed games that “got better with time” we’d never get any new reviews done.
:)
cam_manutd
A fair point actually there…i wouldnt say the same about naughty bear though lol :’)
linkavich
gonna have to crack this on tonight i thinks
linkavich
im on valor if yous wnats to meet up ( psn AngryLink)
l C0D3 M0NK3Y l
I did the beta… which almost pursuaded me to not get the game, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt. After all, it WAS a beta. Anyway, I played the game off and on for a few months, but quickly got distracted by BFBC2, and eventually traded in MAG for something different. After reading this article, it makes we wish I would have hung onto it so I could give it another whirl. Dang it. Good article, thanks for the update! :)
lukieboy1981
I play this mainly when organised with a few other PSN buddies as it is like a different game when you can have a laugh and joke as well as shooting stuff.
Jim H [Teabags]
The new economy system and skill trees are great, and add an extra sense of depth to the game, though the PlayStation Move support if far too difficult to get used to. It’s been a good couple of months since I last played, mainly because I was turned off by the new mode they introduced.
MXZ
I remember being interested in this game since it was announced but never had the time to get it. now i really want to.
im a sucker for skill trees and huge battles so it seems like a ideal buy.
mcduff1979
im still playing this and i find it alot of fun, the dlc and constant updates make this game always fresh and fun to play