Even though MAG is pretty much an online exclusive shooter, it does have a story.  The year is 2026, the Earth has started to recover from another World War and corporations are the new super powers that control the masses…oddly enough, this doesn't sound far from the truth.  The real story behind MAG is that it's the first game to appear on any console to support 256 player matches, 128 on each side, impressive is putting it mildly. More impressive is that it actually works better than I could have predicted when I first heard about MAG way back when.

Now the game is developed by Zipper Interactive, best known for their SOCOM games, a pedigree that should put folks at ease right from the start.  Granted that Confrontation wasn't the best example of what SOCOM has to offer, but you have to realize that this is a development studio with some serious experience under their belts already, making it a good platform to build a shooter that caters to so many players at one time.

From the start you'll be given a choice of choosing between three waring factions. You have "Raven" - the European private military with their all black uniforms and high tech firearms, "Valor" which are the more western Allies such as America, England and I guess Australia, basically a team of grunts and then you have the more ragtag, but no less deadly force, SVER.   Be warned though because when you create a character and choose a team to join, there is no going back, you are stuck with your choice and you will have to delete your current character and create a brand new soldier to enjoy the other teams.  I was a bit miffed with this idea at first but what Zipper have done is create a worth to the faction you choose.  To be able to switch and change as you see fit would go against the 'real online war' that MAG is trying to create.  In the end I do agree with the choice.

Unfortunately it seems like Valor has more people joining it and thus seems to be winning the war, and MAG does very little to balance it all.  I chose Raven and found that it seems to be the team that is the least effective, mainly due to being unable to get good players. I hope this gets better as more and more people play MAG but if you're new and can't win a single match, MAG does very little to keep you playing.  Sink or swim seems to be the motto and while that's good for us hardcore types, I can see new players getting turned off to the whole idea and thinking the game is dumb.

The biggest downfall of MAG is unfortunately one of the most important parts of any game, level design, or in this case, maps.  Not only are objects and assets constantly repeated throughout the paltry 9 maps, they are meant to be placed in various locations around the world and often feel like they belong in the same small location rather than by a space that is separated by thousands of kilometres.

You have some maps that are great for playing deathmatches, quick loadouts, quick respawns etc, and there are of course other modes that you will unlock as you level up through the very basic RPG style system that Modern Warfare made popular.  The more you play, the more maps and modes you unlock, easy as that.  What isn't easy is gathering the patience to keep playing because if you're stuck with a team that isn't performing particularly well, you're going to take a bit longer before you see everything that MAG has to offer.

The weapons that each faction have differ quite a lot, meaning that one team's strength, may be the other faction's weakness.  Working out what suits you best will require a bit of trial and error but the weapons seem to be pretty balanced from my experience with the game.  SVER probably seems a tad overpowered and I had more success there then I did with Raven and secondly Valor, but unless you're the type who likes to run and gun, stick with the other teams.

In terms of visuals, MAG gets the job done.  It's not the prettiest game but it functions well, and with the prospect of having so many players of screen at any given time, I think Zipper have hit the perfect balance between looks and functionality.  It's certainly not going to set the world on fire but you're not going to sit there and say it looks like crap.  The weapons look great and they fire nicely, the sound is brilliant and with the booms of grenades and the distant gunfire getting closer the more you zero in to a gunfight can actually lead to quite a few moments of excitement.  Be prepared though, that excitement will be short lived, you will die in MAG and at regular intervals.

Lastly that leaves us with the question of how does it hold up when being played online?  I gotta say…wonderfully.  I never experienced any dropouts or lags, the games load up quickly and with so many players doing so many things, the network code held up admirably.   I barely noticed any lag; a pat on the back should be given to Zipper for getting that working as well as it does.

I actually had a great time with MAG.  I probably had more fun with it than I did with MW2, but MAG's slower place and lack of twitch gaming probably suits my style of gaming more.  I like sniping and MAG caters to that well.  True the missions lack variety, the graphics aren't the prettiest, but the controls (although awkward in places) and pace of matches really end up being quite good fun.  Big warzones with people competing all over the world is something that MAG boasts about but at least it can back it up.  Hopefully over time more people will get into this world but I find it doubtful unless Sony release more free DLC that changes up things for people as you start to get bored of seeing the same things over and over again.  If you the type that loves online gaming, I recommend giving MAG a look.  You might just like it over what the competition is doing, for a time at least. It might steal a few people but I think for the most part it will serve as a worthy distraction.  I hope this game continues to evolve because Zipper Interactive has certainly piqued my interest.