MAG is as MAG does. The gameplay is about what you would expect with 256 people that have never met each other before. A bunch of Chiefs and no Indians...

The graphics are a step below Modern Warfare 2, which MAG will unfairly get compared to. Many graphic glitches pop up in the game, and with some lagging as well. At some times, the game feels like it belongs on a previous generation system.

The controls in MAG are also a little awkward. Changing weapons effectively requires having an extra finger in the heat of battle. They are not as user friendly as in games like Battlefield: Bad Company 2 or Modern Warfare 2.

All in all, the concept of the game is spectacular. A lack of quality gamers is not really MAG's fault, because that happens in all online games. This game can't be compared to Modern Warfare 2, but it is a nice thought. If you want something off the wall, then play this game. Otherwise, play Battlefield 2 or Modern Warfare 2.

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MAG, or Massive Action Game is a very odd little game to have. There is no single player campaign, no split-screen action, and no real story (not really, I'll explain this in a bit). All you have is online multiplayer and that is IT. So be warned, if you don't have the ability to play online do not purchase this game or all you'll be able to do is admire the smoothness of the plastic case it's in.

That being said, allow me to tell you how this game works. The first thing you will do once the game is in is make your character and select one of three Mercenary companies (called PMCs). You pick one and only one, and you will not be able to change your allegiance or make a new character until you max out your current one by reaching level 60. Then you hop into a quick tutorial and are allowed to enter the fray. However, you will only be able to play in a single mode that is 64-person team deathmatch, you have to unlock the other modes of play. I found this somewhat annoying as it basically means you must dedicate yourself to playing it a lot or not bother at all. There are no weekend mercenaries.

As I played the game I noticed several things that really aggravated me like a tarantula in my shorts. For one, there is only one map for the team deathmatch (called Suppression for whatever reason). So this means you have the luxury of playing the same map over and over and OVER again, the only difference being which side you start on. This holds true in the other game modes as you will only be playing in a small handful of maps of you either defending or attacking an enemy group. It's boring. It's monotonous. It lacks any real variety.

And if the lack of maps doesn't get to you, then I think I have something that might. Everytime you level up you recieve one skill point to spend on whatever you want granted that you have enough. It can be a faster reload time, better scopes, maybe a foregrip or whatever you want. The problem therein is that you pretty much have to dedicate yourself to a single skill tree or suffer being underpowered and crap. If you want to have that shotgun you're going to have to invest in a couple upgrades you may not even want. Yes, you must unlock the shotgun. Well, that doesn't limit play at all! The issue with this is that the game essentially pigeonholes you into a role. You'll play the same damn map with the same damn gun again and again and AGAIN. After three days of playing this game I really have seen everything there is to see until some DLC is released.

But I am not done yet. Oh no. not even close. Once you unlock the larger game modes, you'll be privy to some very important information: they are not anything that they were promoted as being. First off, the 256-player mode (Domination) is only objective-based, their is no team deathmatch or any other mode, just a very boring "Defend these 8 objectives" or "Attack those 8 objectives". And let me tell you, trying to get 128 people to work together is like trying to cure cancer with nothing but a soup spoon and a ballpoint pen. It's damn impossible. Everyone runs around and does whatever they want without any real teamwork. When I was not the squad leader, whoever was would just place random markers on the map and not even try to get there himself. And when I was the squad leader and attempted to rally my squad to get whatever thing we need to take control of, I was lucky to get 2 guys to join me. And no amount of polite requests or verbal assault through the mic would change that. And since the attacking team has to both take control and protect eight things at the same time, the defending team will win nearly every game as they need only keep you off a single objective to win and spawn right by them anyway.

And go ahead and call me insane, but the battles don't even feel that large. You will never have 128 guys running straight into 128 other guys guns blazing. What you have is several small skirmishes playing out in different parts of the gigantic map your in. Would be so hard to simply have a 256-player two-team gunbrawl without the bull***t of asinine objectives? You might say I'm simply a simpleton who doesn't get it, but I respond "nay, tis you who be stupid." Say whatever you want, but the majority of people simply want to kill eachother, not spend hours strategizing over how to conquer the enemies balloon-supply.

But I do not totally hate this game. Despite it's repititive gameplay, I found myself having a fair amount of fun at times. Eventually it did begin to wear itself out due to having little to offer, but what is here is pretty decent. All the dev team need to work on is better and more varied guns, a few new game modes without the overly-annoying objectives (you will never get 128 people to strategize, so just let them kill the other team), and some more levels and this game would totally flip off any other shooter on the PS3 today. In all the games I played, I experienced lag ONE time. That's better then any other game I've ever played. And considering the amount of jackasses running around, that is impressive.

That being said, do not try to convince yourself what MAG should be. Instead focus on what it is: A large-scale game with not much to offer and overly-chaotic gameplay. If you disagree, then that is your opinion. I give it three stars and a slightly disappointed frown.

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its a great game, aside from losing connections to the server almost 90% of the time. then when it comes time to respawn, you have 10 seconds to go then bam your back at 55 seconds...dont get it! I think I should have went with COD modern warfare 2, then i would not be hearing my husband and the kids yelling at the playstation and telling me to call someone to fix it!!!

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why it gets frustrating?? well 'cause of the imbalance strength of each faction. at first i really enjoyed the game. it was so addicting. but as time goes, i noticed sver always win the game and i don't get to play a match with the raven faction but only with sver. it's so frustrating and it gets old 'cause i only play the game against sver.

and one time, i managed to use one of sver's guns. and i noticed how powerful and accurate their weapons compared to the other factions. so that's what's the reason why they always win in every battle. it's a flaw in the game 'cause of the imbalance strength of the factions' weapons. it's so unfair. i mean... even tho how good you are in a game, you'd get tired of competing against the same faction over and over again. just 'cause their weapons are more powerful and accurate than the others.

but yea... the gameplay, well... it's ok aside from the imbalance strength. it's fun (at first till the 3rd or 4th day). you'd really enjoy blowing up gates, road blocks or bunkers too. and it's true that there's no lag in the game.

the only thing is that you'll get tired of the game easily 'cause if you're a valor like me, you'd get fed up of battling with sver most of the time. i just wish the weapons are all equal in strength in every factions. 'cause really if you're too impatient, you might just delete your character and just join the sver faction.

graphics? well i'd say they sacrifice the graphics for the exchange of the huge map of the game. graphics is ok to me. it's no a let down and it's not as awesome as it is in modern warfare 2.

and oh, you can't create more than one characters. that means if you're in the valor, then you're in the valor unless you deleted your character to join the other faction.

but yea. it's much better to see the game for yourself. i mean watch the gameplay on youtube and read other people's comments and reviews about the game before buying it. but yea, i didn't really regret buying the game. it's still fun tho.

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MAG is an interesting idea for a game. The core of the game are the massive boards, and that armies, squads, and units work together in concert to accomplish a larger goal. Also, there are some elements of RPG character development in game (I am level 15 SVER grunt at the time of this review). First, let me start by saying that you can never control other players, and working as a unit in this game is actually difficult due player limitations/inability. There is nothing the developers could do about player skill. Hopefully over time people will start to figure things out. However, the second problem with working as a unit rests squarely on the developers shoulders. Re-spawning tends to separate you from your unit, meaning a long run to get back with the unit only to find that the rest of your unit is dead and waiting to spawn, or in the process of running to catch up with the squad after a spawn. It is really difficult to stay together for a meaningful length of time. The only way to do so is by relying on others to heal you. Given the hectic nature of the battle, field healing can either be great or worthless. Spawning is often obnoxious especially if you are on the attacking team as it means a long wait followed by a long run. This is a small thing, as there are larger game play elements that fall flat on their face. I can't put my finger on it, but MAG reminds me of the bad game play presented by Haze some time ago but with a different gimmick. It almost feels like Zipper spent so much time on the larger game play elements that they forgot to put the same level of attention into the little stuff like firing your gun and how it feels to be in the world. At times it feels like I am gliding through things, and not actually present in the world.

Many have focused on the graphics, and they aren't cutting edge to be sure. However, graphics aren't everything, and are only one piece of a larger puzzle. There are some positive elements in the game. Zipper did a good job designing the levels, as they are interesting and well suited to this type of game. I also really like the idea of picking a faction, and the loyalty that this creates. Zipper did a good job giving each faction a unique feel. However, they didn't spend enough time on game play. In many ways this feels like a shooter from 2001, not 2010. The controls are awkward (not being able to toss a grenade on the fly, really?). The guns are uninspired. It is especially embarrassing watching explosions from RPGs and grenades. The game could have been brilliant, but I wonder why it feels so antiquated? There is just something off with the game. I own many games, and usually find that I can switch between them, and with a small learning curve, get right back in the action. MAG just feels wrong. Maybe the problem is that the game just feels too clean? To the point of detaching the player from the game world.

On a final note, others have been very concerned with lag. I have experienced some lag, but nothing significant or noteworthy. Although, the other day I did play in a game where after I was killed I became a floating zombie (not the undead, but the un-spawned?). I couldn't shoot, interact with anything, or even kill myself through the start menu. I floated around for a while just exploring the board until the game ended, because I was already dead nobody could kill me again. It was frustrating, although amusing to watch other players shoot at me with no effect. Also, I have only managed to play one game larger game because the server keeps timing out. I don't count this as lag, but it ties back to server speed and connections.

There was so much potential for this game, but Zipper missed the mark by just a bit. Hopefully, another developer will pick up on some of the great ideas presented in MAG, and design a game that also plays well.

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*This review is based on Beta and whole game play teamed with Valor.*

I am not a fan of FPS games. Never really have been. There has always been something rather redundant of run, gun, kill, die, respawn, repeat. However, in light of recent FPS games that I HAVE enjoyed, I gave the Beta a try and was really impressed by the overall enjoyment of the game. So much so, that as soon as I could, I bought the game.......complaints and all.

First off, I want to say that I am getting REALLY tired of the COD MW2 comparisons. I am not saying that comparisons are unfounded, but let's just say "I hear you. COD MW2 is a fantastic game. Move on." Any time a game breaks, or in the case of COD, MAKES the mold......people are bound to make comparisons. It happens in all genres, but if you spend your whole life comparing the rest to a single ideal you miss out on the nuances that makes the others enjoyable in their own right.

And that brings me to MAG. What intrigued me about MAG from early reviews is the focus on teamwork and strategy. Right away, I raised an eyebrow. However, the very idea that makes this game stand out, is being overlooked by alot of gamers on the servers. Seriously, dying in the game sucks. It sucks more to be surrounded by five medics that don't even try to heal you. It sucks still more to respawn only to (literally) be knifed in the back by your teammate. If MAG is guilty of having any major flaws, it is this: Very few people out there seem to grasp the idea that working as a team to take an objective is the goal......NOT seeing how many kills you can rack up. I'll be the first one to lay down suppressive fire, maybe getting a kill or maybe not, in order for a couple of my teammates to run in and blast the other guys without being mauled. Sadly, this seems to be a rare occurance. The graphics are solid. Not as good as some games out there, but by no means would I say they are even NEAR "bad". The sound is decent. With a surround sound, some of the battles erupting really can shake the walls......especially when airstrikes are called. The controls are pretty easy to pick up and learn, although I occasionally press a wrong button, but hey....that's my own dumb fault. Honestly, MAG is all around a very good game. The only weakness I really see is the human factor. Some have said gameplay is repetitive. Honestly, it can be. But the varying game modes helps break up the monotony and truth be told, it only gets tedious when 128-256 people are all out there for themselves. Don't get me wrong, I have worked with some GREAT players on here, but when I bought the game, I immediately went the route of field support since the BETA was lacking anyone willing to play a medic and having to respawn and run all the way back to the action SUCKS. I am just fine sitting back and letting a few stupid people run out in to a bee's nest and get killed. I'll be right behind you racking up exp. bringing you back to life.

If you are looking for an FPS with a little more to bring to the table. An FPS with strategy, teamwork, and truly MASSIVE maps.....MAG is for you. And honestly, if that is indeed what you want......join Valor and look for shadow_n_shade. I would LOVE to work with you (hell I'll even take orders from you if it gets the job done).

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I was rather disappointed in this game not from the game play itself and lack of a single player option, but more from the players on the servers. First of all if you don't want to join a clan then don't get this game. The an orginized clan will dominate you if you are not on a squad that knows what to do. On another point if your in a squad that has clan mates in it and you don't do what your squad mates determine to be the best plan of attack (rush the objectives) you WILL get either kicked, TK'd or verbally harassed.

Let me start by some history. I am relatively new to console FPS games, but am a very experienced PC FPS player ranking in the top 5% in the world in games ranging from Tribes to Battlefield 2 on the PC. In other words...I know what I'm doing. I decided to get a PS3 and try some FPS games and MAG seemed like a good choice. I was initially underwhelmed by the game play but as I unlocked more weapons and skills the game got better. The only thing is that the players haven't changed. For example if you don't stick with the group and essentially bum rush the target people will get pissed. Even if they are getting mowed down they want you there with em to rez and get mowed down with em (having a 4-18 kill to death ratio isn't a good thing even though it has no bearing on the score or winning). Now my position of choice is sniping. I'm good at it and think it is invaluable to have a good sniper covering your flanks. Most players in this game don't understand that. It is a good thing if a sniper can cover your ENTIRE right flank from attack and leave you an opening to attack. If you are like me and choose this route be prepared to be TK'd multiple times (some people actually go out of their way to TK you) or yelled at by other squad mates. Even after explaining to them what I'm doing they still don't care.

Even if you join the mass lemming suicide of bum rushing targets you will more than likely get shot in the back by a teammate so he can have your weapon because he is more important than you. It will happen to you at least once every other match.

People may say that I am being sensitive or that it was an isolated incident...but it wasn't. It happened multiple times on multiple days. In short...I'm returning this game and trying BFBC2 on the PS3. If the players are the same then its back to the classy players on PC.

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This is one of those games that would be a perfect rental first. People will likely love or hate this game so a quick rent should help choose which side you might be part of. People will love or hate that it is very different from arcade shooters like Call of Duty. In MAG, everyone operates more or less like a smaller cog of a greater machine, whereas in Call of Duty and other shooters, everyone is just running around getting kills and ridiculously powerful killstreak bonus that lead to more kills and etc. MAG requires a large amount of teamwork in order for the battles to function correctly. Unfortunately, there just are not enough players vocalizing anything that is of much value. Sometimes you have a squad leader who calls stuff out, but really, its never something that you will die without. It isnt bad, but the chaotic nature of the large maps and people not knowing whats going on will frustrate a lot of people who cant devote endless hours into studying the layouts of each area.

From the start, I thought that my low level was contributing to how much I sucked at this game. I later found that I was stuck in a rut, because the weapons that you are first given felt like peashooters. However, the game became quite fun for a limited time once I unlocked the ability to heal and revive my teammates. Acting as a medic will not get you the most kills, but will definitely deliver the most experience points.

Later, I unlocked few other weapons and I just never felt like they mattered. I played as Raven and had an opportunity to pick up a Valor assault rifle and it was great. Otherwise, the Raven weapons seemed like junk. Horrible iron sights tha obscure your target. Half the time you will get sprayed by someone shooting from the hip and headshotted because you couldn't get the center of your screen on him while he was running. Playing the medic was the way to go because I was a weak soldier, but reviving people got old too quick.

Large game modes seemed just too chaotic to be fun. In huge maps with several squads of 8 teammates attacking or defending various objectives, I never felt the bigger picture in any of the battles. The map was never helpful enough to tell me the size and scope of everything and by the time you realize you got lost, you died from sniper fire you will never find and wait 20 more seconds to respawn. Squad members are split up andrunning all over the place because of the rotating spawn timer.

The game boils down to needing to work with your squad. When your squad starts getting picked off and some of the team is down and waiting for a medic, some are dead waiting for the spawn timer to count down, and the others are cluelessly still running around outnumbered or outmatched. For Raven, it seems like we were ALWAYS outmatched. The general consensus on the [...] forums is that Raven is the underdog. I can attest to that. At this point I have no time to dump into switching PMC's and leveling up all over again.

This game offers nothing for offline play, nothing for split-screen, and the tutorials to get a newcomer is woefully lacking. There is nothing to help teach an aspiring squad leader or platoon leader what they are supposed to do or what their responsibilities are once they put the leader boots on. All the time, there is someone trying this role out for the first time and not knowing what to do. The rest of the squad gets frustrated and quits or attempts to vote the person off. Regardless, the chaos and distraction usually results in a loss. Other people that would gladly take the role, are intimidated by this and don't bother giving it a shot at all. Its frustrating that the game could not have included some decent tutorial videos to help get people on track with each role. The game would rather you jump in the hot seat and disappoint your team, thus taking a heavy loss and wasting a half hour in the game. The lack of sufficient briefings set many players up for failure. In many ways, the entire game feels this way. Would-be medics run around with their heal-guns out aiming at teammates, but don't understand that they have not unlocked the ability to heal others yet. Huge battles have no war-room strategizing before the game starts. Leaders don't know what is going on and call in air strikes while the enemy still has anti-air defenses up. Players are all over the place. It takes forever to figure out which weapons suck the least. Everyone is thrust into a huge warzone with no regard to what is going on or how to do it before hand and expected to perform.

Again, Im not saying the game is terrible. There is much to appreciate here in terms of the technology and potential. Huge battles can be lots of fun if people know what they are doing. If the coordination, teamwork, AND skill all line up in every match, you have a winner. Unfortunately, asking 256 people to get these three things straight every single time is not going to happen.

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MAG requires communication and teamwork from a group of 8 people. If you are not going to be playing with a group of 7 friends, be ready to get placed into a random squad with very little teamwork and communication. If you have a group of friends or are a member of a MAG clan, this game is OUTSTANDING in every way. Huge maps, exciting gameplay, great leveling opportunities.

On the other hand, if you do not have friends playing MAG falls seriously short. It becomes extremely frustrating. You WILL die a lot. Spawn times can be as much as 20 seconds making the game very tedious. Your squad has the ability to kick you out for any reason so if the other players feel like you aren't doing your job, be ready to get kicked out. The problems just pile up.

Additionally, the community currently playing MAG is so full of drama it's ridiculous. People complain and whine about anyone who kills them regardless of the reason. You will often be able to hear them over the headset. Additionally, many of the players are taking this game WAY to seriously and will viciously berate you over the communication lines, making the game all that much more stressful.

In conclusion...

If you have a group of friends playing MAG is EXCELLENT! 5- Stars!

If you are planning on playing alone be ready for some frustration. 2 - Stars.

Overall - 3 stars.

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Some people seem to think of this as a giant Call of Duty or Battlefield Bad Company, and others seem to think it's not.

I bought this game thinking I was going to get a revolutionary shooter that would wow me out of my brains. I was a little disappointed.

Pros

-No lag

-A lot of players

-Short queue times on certain game types

-Character customization

-Also the possibility to be recognized as a leader.

Cons

-No destructible environments.

-If you like to snipe, you can't even use the environment to your advantage short of sitting on top of a rock or parachuting on a building, making yourself obvious.

-A lot of people with a lot of annoying voices.

-Instead of treating the 64-256 players in the battle as part of a large force, you get several small scale battles that will make the duration seem to go away.

-Respawn timer is horrible with 20 second maximum.

-Spawn campers are aplenty, due to having assigned spawn points per squad.

-No really special abilities, instead a bunch of passive ones for specific weapons or body parts.

-There's always the challenge of ending up with the right (consistent) army.

This game was supposed to be a "constantly evolving war", and in the fact that it went almost as far as Halo did with the depth of the shooter element, you really get most of the bacon out of this one with character development. Too bad that's really nothing new either, it actually seems outdated as well. I don't know about everyone else, but I'll take Call of Duty's kill streak Abilities or Bad Company's destructible environments over the feat of having 255 people to play with online.

It's not how many people you can get into the game, it's what the people get to do in the game. PlayStation's marketing pulled the wool over the PS3 communities eyes on this one (or at least the people who bought it).

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I recently acquired a PS3 in a trade, so I set out to get some of the top games, this being one of them. I used to be a hardcore gamer, but now I have so many other things taking up my time that I can barely claim to be a casual gamer. I've long been a fan of Counter Strike, and more recently, Call Of Duty. This game is absolutely nothing like those games. Maybe it's just that I haven't spent enough time to rank up, but as I played it seems like nobody is at all interested in teaming up or helping one another. I understand the concept behind this game is supposed to be a large scale strategy FPS, but it hasn't come close to that for me as a new player. I like the concepts of leveling up and having squads and leaders and all that, but I just don't think PS3 is a good platform for this kind of game. Lately when I play a console game it's just to pass some time, usually not more than about an hour. This is not the kind of game you can just pick up and play and have fun doing so. If you're just looking for another shooter to try out and spend a little time with, look elsewhere. If you've got the time to spend with this game I could see it turning into a pretty cool thing. I just don't have the time, and I don't feel this game is worth losing sleep over. As for the game play, it's extremely clunky and I feel like I'm playing a bad version of early Counter Strike. I'm pretty good at most FPS, but I can't seem to keep much of a positive ratio in this game. The weapon accuracy, or lack there of, is extremely annoying. The game completely lacks weapon selection of any kind, and with only three main classes to choose from, it gets old fast.

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MAG is a tough sell in general. On the one hand, the gameplay can get quite addictive if you enjoy intense competition and teamwork. However, this also assumes that the community is willing to play ball, so to speak. And as anyone with an internet connection who games will tell you, that isn't always the case. Secondly, this game requires a sense of dedication to really see where it wants to take you. Also understand that this game is online only, so don't look for a single player mode of any sort for some downtime distraction.

Your online avatar builds his arsenal through leveling up. There are a lot of neat upgrades and experiences awaiting you...you just need to hang on and wade through level grinding to get there. However, once you progress to a certain level, you can begin to command your squad, helping give orders/support to the chaos of combat. After that, you can go up the ranks and lead larger crews against your rival factions. I can tell you this is where the game gets immensely fun. When your squad works like a well oiled machine, there is almost no stopping you. Medics are on their job and no task is too great. However, as I've mentioned before, this isn't always the case. This game punishes lone wolves, and that punishment sometimes extends to your teams suffering because people cannot get their act together. While this isn't the fault of the game, it is an experience that should be understood if you plan to hop in.

Also on that note, a mic is very much encouraged. Communication is paramount and a silent player isn't much help. While it's not 100% necessary, I really don't suggestion trying to plow through the game without it (unless you want to be hated).

This game appeals to the highly competitive gamer or clan-based groups. Casual players will likely be intimidated by MAG's overall presentation, as well as its piss poor tutorial that explains on a fraction of the information you should really know. However, a sense of competition and adventure will help fuel you through this admittedly addictive, online shooter.

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The game is fun, but there are a large number of players who 'camp'. The servers don't always deliver either. It's not a bad game though, just nothing special.

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This game only delivers on 2 areas. 1- the amount of players per map. 2- the control factor of the maps by the armies winning the most. Some may say you cant compare this game to MW2 but you can. You can also compare it to BC2. MW2 excels on the flow of the characters moves and BC2 outperforms on the interaction between the players and the environment. MAG fails at both. It reminds me of MW1 but with more players. BUY THIS GAME USED AT BEST OR NOT AT ALL.

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I bought this for my son because some of his friends were playing it on line; he gave it a few tries, but said it wasn't as fun as Modern Warfare 2. He and most of his friends went back to MW2 and haven't launched this one in quite a while. I am not an expert, but visually, both games seemed to be a similar format.

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