Let me make this clear: I hate online multiplayer like you wouldn’t believe. Still, there is something extremely intriguing about a game that claims to offer live action play with over 250 players per game.

So here we have the concept for MAG or Massive Action Game. So many commentators have said that games with this many people will not work. There are too many things to go wrong and at best the games will end up in chaos. I say: let chaos reign free because never in my life have I had so much fun playing online.

Firstly, I have just been playing the MAG Beta relentlessly for the last week  and the one thing I have noticed is that having this many people playing at one time is a hell of a lot of  fun.

There are two game types being tested at the moment: Domination and Sabotage. Domination is exactly as you’d expect – a massive 128 on 128 battle to control the game map. Sabotage is a smaller game of just 64 on 64 with the objective of destroying or protecting a valuable communications outpost.

So far I have encountered very few problems with the Beta build of MAG.  Both game modes run very smoothly and the controls are very intuitive. The real low point is that the wait for 256 players to join up to a game, which can be a little bit longer than I’d like  sometimes but then this is not a public free-for-all yet. Most importantly there is no lag to speak of and I am playing in the UK where broadband averages a whopping teo to four meg.

Now onto the individual game modes. Domination is easily my favourite mode. This is a 256 player battle royale for control of a particular map. To say that a game of Domination is complete chaos would be to mis-sell slightly. Yes, it is chaos but it is just so much fun to pile in that you really enjoy it for what it is. In Domination mode you actually get to experience some of the complete and utter madness that is modern warfare. It’s not fully authentic by any means but there is just the right blend of realism and playability that will suck in a lot of fans of online FPS war games and keep them coming back.

Sabotage is also fun but on a lesser scale. The smaller amount of players implies a more commando-like approach for the assaulting team and while the game is not as enjoyable as the insane melee of Domination many fans of Modern Warfare 2 will definitely appreciate the opportunity to develop their skills against more opponents.

MAG isn’t just war for war’s sake though. There is some sort of story to it as well. This involves a very Metal Gear Solid-style story involving three PMCs battling for control of the world’s resources in a near-future setting. You choose the PMC you want to fight for and dive straight in. You have five different customizable loadout slots allowing you to tailor your weaponry to specific mission types and you can level up different attributes depending on what battlefield role you like to adopt be it engineer/medic, commando, heavy weapons specialist or sniper.

The battles you win and lose are recorded against worldwide scores and you determine how well your PMC is doing in the overall battle for control on you performances. As you progress in the game you also move up the ranks with the eventual aim of commanding squads and even whole forces into battle. And command is what the game is really all about.

MAG isn’t just about picking up the game, connecting to the internet and shooting the heck out of some other people for no reason. Every battle tries to foster team play in order to achieve victory. Win for the PMC and you will become a better soldier, progress through the ranks and potentially lead your PMC to victory. When finished MAG aims to be a constant battle, a 24/7 non-stop feast of combat and right now it is not too far off that.

I mentioned that there was not too many problems with MAG – it wasn’t entirely the truth. I have one qualm and this is generally a problem  with the PS3 and Sony rather than a problem specific to MAG. Sony, in their endless quest for merchandising, have decided that the PS3, whilst capable of in-game VOIP does not need to be bundled with a headset. For MAG to work properly it needs every player to be equipped to talk. I imagine that Sony will release MAG in a bundle with a headset like they did with SOCOM and Tom Clancy’s Endwar and it will help but I balk at having to buy from Sony, something that Microsoft give away for free with their machine. I want a complete experience and I believe that after shelling out £250 for a console (I actually paid £300 for an 80Gb model) and still have to buy extra accessories to get the most out of it.

Anyway, I digress. When playing MAG with a headset and a group of like-minded individuals hell-bent on kicking some ass online in the biggest online battles ever fought outside of MMOs, I foresee a huge amount of chaotic fun to be had. Next year, when MAG finally hits our shelves it should be well worth a look and that’s really something coming from me.

"Let me make this clear: I hate online multiplayer like you wouldn’t believe."

Nice way to start a preview...
It gives me no desire to read it.

Good thing, I have the beta, and have access to everything he is describing in that article

What I hate about this one is that you have health bars. So, basically you kill one guy and then you kind of have to die (can't go all out).

Still a pretty fun beta though!

This game is good (scratch my old comment on how bad this game is) its actually pretty fun, but its really confusing and i think they should have that training thing IN the beta, because after all these plays i still don't know alot of the basics

After getting used to the game modes and leveling up a bit, it's actually pretty fun.

@coolbeans
First off, AWESOME name. Secondly, this game sucks!!

I was in the Killzone beta, loved it and love the game. I was in the R2 beta, liked it, and liked the game. I loved BattleField 2 and love huge multiplayer games. This game SUCKS!

The mission directives aren't as clear as they should be. It takes forever to get into a game. Seriously, I've never had to wait for a game with 200+ people waiting in queue. Does that mean that as soon as a game starts, no one can join?

As for the graphics, I'm sure you've already heard. It's terrible!! Seriously! You can't even tell who is shooting you and from where.

I love Sony's first party games, but unless this game is overhauled before release, it's going to stain their impeccable first party record.

I'd rather play Warhawk. Better game play AND better graphics.

Why would you have to die? Find some cover or something and/or if after killing someone and possibly be in the clear just press L2 and use your medkit to refill your health?

I tend to find some cover, poke out shoot someone, go back into cover, heal up, poke back and continue. I move my location every once in a while though to help prevent me from getting surrounded.

On average I die 7-8 times per game while getting 18-25 kills. On one ocassion I had 18 kills and 0 deaths.

It all depends on how smart you approach the battlefield.

ive had a lot more fun playing bad company 2

never liked battlefields before but i've been playing bc2 constantly


the aiming/controls are 10 times better in bc2 imo

The beta experience has grown on me over the past week. Unless you're SVER, the 256 player Domination mode is pointless (maybe they have more players from past beta phases and/or need some balance tweaks) and a waste of effort right now. This leaves you with 64 player Sabotage battles if you want to actually score a victory with a different faction.

The experience can feel like night and day. If nobody communicates or tries to work together then things tend to fall flat especially if the other team works as a group or your team is attacking. On the flip side, when you get people yelling out locations, strategies, and calling for medics it's a fantastic experience.

That feeling of triumph is great when your team pushes up and finally takes out the final objective. The feeling is even better when your squad and team was working together to capture the objectives.

It's important for your first ugprades to be improved healing and then the revive ability. Being able to heal and revive team mates is a valuable asset and each revive nets you 10 points versus 5 points for each kill. Thus, you can get more points and help your team which leads to you leveling up faster and being able to improve your character because you're base abilities and equipment make it rather difficult for new characters.