Zipper Interactive has a strong background in building compelling tactical shooter experiences. They are the architects of the "SOCOM" series and have delivered all but the newest entries, including the poorly received, continually bug-ridden PlayStation 3 release, subtitled "Confrontation." The reason for Zipper's time away from "SOCOM" is "MAG," an acronym for the (rather lame) moniker "Massive Action Game." The title is fitting however, when you consider the specs: "MAG" is the largest-ever multiplayer shooter, boasting matches that support 64 to 256 players.
The Basics
There's a loose semblance of story in "MAG" insofar as the game asking you to select between one of three PMC factions when creating a soldier: the U.S. military-themed Valor Company, the Western European forces of Raven Industries or the Eastern European/Middle Eastern/Asian melting pot of S.V.E.R. (pronounced "sever"). The factions are functionally identical, dictating primarily which colors you wear and which you don't shoot at when a match gets started. And shooting is something you'll do plenty of. "MAG" takes the simple formula of pitting two teams of FPS gamers against one another and blows it out to... well... massive proportions. An essential component to this is a built-in leadership structure, which puts high-level players in decision-making roles and offers awards to the rank-and-file for following orders.
The Highs
Tactically Sound
The basic setup in "MAG" is fairly innovative and when it's working, the experience transcends even the best multiplayer shooters on the market-- I'm looking at you, "Modern Warfare 2." While it's rare that you feel the scale of a 256-player match in terms of the number of bodies on screen, a strong leader makes all the difference. This doesn't necessarily involve listening to orders either, though those with a high enough level to lead are typically worth listening to anyway. "MAG" keeps soldiers in line by way of Fragmentary Orders, or FRAGOs. They function sort of like football's audibles; team leaders designate targets of interest using a simple overhead map interface. All players in the eight-person squad receive those orders just as easily, in the form of a flashing target icon on the mini-map. Participating in the defense, capture or destruction of a FRAGO target nets bonus experience points. It's a simple reward-based structure that is highly effective at keeping the often hard-to-predict nature of online gamers in line.
What's Up, Doc?
"MAG" also scores a win for dangling carrots in front of the players. The skill selection/upgrade interface is a bit clunky, but it offers a great deal of depth -- far more than other games of this type -- in customizing your soldier. You can specialize along a specific track of weapon -- assault rifle, machine gun, pistol/sidearm, sniper rifle and so on -- or in any number of tech or straight-up character buff categories. A skill point is earned for each level gained, and higher level skills, weapons, tech or accessories cost more points to open up. There's also a tiered structure at work, requiring players to unlock lower-level items before the better ones become available. Many upgrades lead to quicker leveling too; the med kit, for example, can be upped to resuscitate downed players by level 5, and each revived teammate nets 10 XP. With matches lasting as long as 20 minutes, a dedicated medic could quickly rack up useful experience in the early game, with the added bonus of learning the maps simply because such an activity requires sticking with the squad.
The Lows
Outlook Uncertain
Because of the scale of even a single match, the future of "MAG" depends on a strong player base building, and quickly. There are a decent number of people playing right now, a week after the game's release, but you'll still be waiting to get into some of the larger matches, or when playing at odd hours.
Not Your Average Shooter
If you walk into this game expecting to succeed using the same tactics that get you by in games like "Call of Duty," you're in for a shock. Weapons feel floaty and enemies soak up quite a bit of damage before falling. "MAG" is not designed for your lone wolf to save the day; the experience works best when players on a given team function as a squad, sticking together, backing each other up with complementary abilities and moving only on leader-assigned targets.
Patience Is A Virtue
The squad-based nature of the game is supported by group rolling respawns. Sometimes you'll get fragged at an opportune moment, waiting only a few seconds before you're back on the battlefield. At other times, you might be sitting in a lobby for as long as 20 seconds, until the next spawn wave comes in.
Visually Inferior
One of the big corners that had to be cut in exchange for the Massive Action are the visuals. "MAG" does not look bad, but it can't compare to the latest shooters out there in terms of visual appeal.
Final Word
"MAG" offers a bold, new approach to competitive and cooperative online play. The flipside is that the bulk of gamers may still be too caught up in "Modern Warfare 2" or waiting for "Bad Company 2" to care. This is a different beast than either of those games, offering a slower, more team-oriented style of play. It's a lot of fun when things go right, but "MAG" is too young to have fully developed as it could. If more players enlist and more leaders emerge who understand what they're doing, the core gameplay and deep sense of investment in customizing your own character could elevate Zipper's latest to the top of the online shooter pack.