130°
7.0

GOONL!NE Review: MAG

James Love, GOONL!NE writes: When MAG was first announced, there was one number in the forefront of everyone's mind. 256.

On the PlayStation 3 Resistance 2 was the former champion for large scale online play, with 60 players in a game it was at the time considered large-scale for a console, but at E3 2008, Zipper blew everyone away with their claim of 256 players, making the game effectively an FPS MMO in scale. Ambitious? You bet it is. Successful? Well, almost.

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goonlinegames.net
deadreckoning6665351d ago (Edited 5351d ago )

In the past, Goonline has reviewed these games:

Uncharted 2 10/10
Killzone 10/10
Little Big Planet 10/10
MGS4 10/10
Modern Warfare 2 9/10
Halo: ODST 8/10

Just wanted ta point that out before all the cries of M.A.G conspiracy get here.

-Alpha5351d ago (Edited 5351d ago )

I do find that people keep whining about the 7/10 reviews, yet throw out all their detective work when a 9/10 or a 5/5 review come out.

The bottom line though is that MAG is a fun game that succeeds in it's attempts at sustaining a large, team-based game.

kharma455351d ago

Exactly, 7 out of 10 I feel is a good solid score, good but not great.

Just because MAG didn't score 9 or 10 out of 10 with us doesn't mean it was a bad game by any means.

WildArmed5351d ago (Edited 5351d ago )

Aye. 7/10 is a good score.
I think that the online games usually start around 7-8 and keep going up as they keep patching and updating the game with more content.

For example,
Socom confrontation was a 5/10 in my book.. but now it's easily a 8.5/10. The game has really improved since then.
Ofc, in no way am I saying reviews should wait longer.
Reviews give us what to expect right out of the box.. not what to wait for in 20 weeks after launch.

Also, Warhawk is a great example as mentioned in @2.x
game is a solid 9-9.5 in my book.. i suck at the game, but enjoy it thoroughly.

@below

lol nice.
I never seem to catch ya online XD Otherwise I"d love to help.
Btw, make sure you beat Old Monk online... it';s just soo much more fun!
If you go offline, the old monk is a piece of cake

Hit me a msg when you hop onto PSN. I'll give ya some extra gear you cud use.. since my char is female, it doesn't need all that male stuff. *assuming ur char is male*

-Alpha5351d ago

Yeah, that's the thing with online only games. Very hard to judge.

Oh by the way, I beat ManEater :D

But Now I'm having so much trouble with Old Monk that I decided to skip him and move on to 4-1.

THE MAX SPEED 215351d ago

Wasnt expecting any higher. Great score

silvacrest5351d ago

7 out of 10 is a solid score, i tend not to play games rated any lower then that so this is a decent score for an ambitious game

bjornbear5351d ago

but, this is a very black and white game.

Some love it others don't. If you are reviewing this game and it doesn't stick to you, it doesn't work.

I know, because this game didn't work for me. I did not enjoy MAG.

Does it mean it sucks? No.

Actually, everytime i read someone's pledge about how great the game is, I admire that they can enjoy it, even if i couldn't, because i KNOW its a solid game, its just has a very specific "gamer" in mind.

sikbeta5351d ago (Edited 5351d ago )

@deadreckoning666

Reviews are OPINIONS and got NOTHING To Do with Conspiracy

The Game is Awesome and 7/10 means that is a GOOD GAME, IMO MAG Deserve more, but everything is OK

Gamers FTW!!!

randomwiz5351d ago

please, just read the review. Dont look at the score and go "omFg oNly a 7 tHiS gamE suCkS"

A summary of the review: MAG works great, graphics are okay not spectacular, sound is awesome with surround sound, but there's no soundtrack(which is kind of a flawed part of the review imo)

Blaze9295351d ago

No see you don't seem to understand - with review scores of PS3 exclusives it's always turned into some kind of "conspiracy" with PS3 fans.

DarkTower8055351d ago

You're totally right about online game scores fluctuating. For example, MW2 online at release was a 9.5+, but now with all the boosting, glitches, exploits, etc its dropped to a 9.0 at best.

The MAG community is niche just like SOCOM is, it's not for everyone, but it will have a loyal fanbase for a long, long time. And with a great dev like Zipper and a growing PSN userbase the sky is the limit.

WildArmed5350d ago

@blaze..
ya, just like how the ps3 fans(boys) where whining about the 10/10 reviews that ODST got.
oh wait.. that was the 'other' side.
It goes both ways, none of them are above another.

+ Show (10) more repliesLast reply 5350d ago
deadreckoning6665351d ago (Edited 5351d ago )

"The bottom line though is that MAG is a fun game that succeeds in it's attempts at sustaining a large, team-based game."

Exactly Alpha Male. If people were ACTUAL fans of M.A.G, then a couple of 7/10 scores here and there wouldn't bother them. Btw, since when was a 7/10 bad?

@kharma- I remember when I had Warhawk and it was an awesome game. I think if it got scored after all the add-ons were in place, it wulda been a 9+ game easily.

kharma455351d ago (Edited 5351d ago )

7/10 is a good score in my opinion, MAG just lacked a certain... something for me, and that's why it didn't get an 8 off me.

Reviewing it further down the line might have resulted in a different score for it as it does all very much depend on the players in the game.

EDIT

Yeah reviewing Warhawk at the start it was a solid 8/10 game, but now with a mature community and some frankly brilliant DLC, it's a strong 9/10 game.

That's the thing with many online only games, it takes time for them to settle etc., so reviews at the start will differ from opinions much further down the line.

unrealgamer585351d ago

i love this game. yesterday a guy on my team tried to spam his two grenades and run to the bunker to secure data link b, he got his ass smoked by three diffrent guys hiding in the bushes. lol what a noob XD

WildArmed5351d ago

lol I do love picking out newbies-- new players-- like that :D

So fun.. no matter where he'll run, he is already dead.

SoapShoes5351d ago

Look at the loser fanboys swarming this page with their crap. Everyone sees right through it, you are only commenting on the reviews that are negative and pointing out how they are justified... Yet when a review that's 8.5 or higher, you don't put so much effort into it... Digusting, but at least we all know you love the game and think it accomplishes what it intended to do from your comments. :|

WildArmed5351d ago

How ya liking MAG?
Just wondering, I read ur comment about you getting it yesterday/

ANd what PMC are ya? xD
Honestly, I'mma Raven fan.. Coz of MGS4 >.<
*Syncs SOP*
Lets move out men!

SoapShoes5351d ago

I've had a few poor games though. I don't know why but two of the games were way too one sided. One my team was owning so hard there was nothing to do, another my team was losing and there was no stopping them.

I'm in Raven though and just got through with a round where we beat SVER. :) They're tough, but not unbeatable like everyone likes to spew around here...

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470°

MAG was one of the most ambitious shooters ever and deserves a PS5 sequel

Zipper Interactive were once one of Sony's most important studios and became a household name due to their work on the SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs series during the PlayStation 2's heyday. Their most ambitious title was MAG. Could it make a comeback?

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gamerevolution.com
yellowgerbil1703d ago

Best game ever. I had put over 1700hrs into that game before it deteriorated too far with cheaters getting out of the map and sadly decided it was time to let it die (Zipper had already been closed down by that time).

_SilverHawk_1703d ago

Amazing game. Hopefully sony makes a sequel

XisThatKid1703d ago

This is the game in modern gaming that even got me into shooters i spent literally days with this game Raven All the way. War against the the mighty D ride oh so edgy S.V.E.R.

NecrumOddBoy1703d ago

Original Battle Royale. No microtransactions. Definitely ahead of time.

XBox4eva691703d ago

It's almost as far from battle royale as you can get. o_O

frostypants1703d ago

It didn't have a BR mode.

Da12RespectA1702d ago

That wasn't a battle royale game at all.

rdgneoz31702d ago

3 teams of 32 fighting it out would be considered Battle Royaleish. If you're gonna saying teams are OK when you start doing teams of 2 or 3 or 4, then 32v32v32 should work. And on besides that, it had 128 v 128 which was insanely fun.

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Muzikguy1703d ago (Edited 1703d ago )

I personally hadn't played much of it. I did spend a lot of time in PlanetSide 2 though (somewhat like MAG). Games like these tend to get overrun by cheaters and then ruined too often.

Teflon021703d ago

MAG didn't have that issue as far as I remember. I use to love the 256 matches. That game had an amazing community. Everyone actually communicated and played together. No one B****ed at the team. Everyone understood there was so much going on that if things are going wrong. Everyone had to think of new strategies.
Fav moment was when all 3 other squads 32 took their objectives but we were struggling with ours and had one more to blow up. The other leaders were communicating asking if the 2 nearest squads should send ppl. Our leader was like Naw I got a idea. So he told us all to die and set ourselves at the nearest hills prone without being seen. So we all did and surrounded the areas.
He said everyone on his count throw your grenades. Then snipers go all out and everyone else run in. They won't be able to get everyone and if needed the snipers go in about 10 seconds after.

Everyone did that and I got to the objective and set it off. 9 of us survived and got it. felt amazing to say I got the objective, cover me in that moment. Wish it was PS4 so I could have saved that moment
It was literally the coolest moment I had in a online shooter, closest since was BF4.

Muzikguy1703d ago

@Teflon

That does indeed sound like an awesome moment. One that makes games like these memorable for sure. It does seem like MAG had a lot more cooperation than most any online shooter

Teflon021702d ago

It did because you absolutely can't get no where in it without teamwork. It also didn't have an extremely big base of players. Everyone who played really wanted to play. I really hope they bring it back and do the same thing to only have serious players get into the big matches again

UltraNova1703d ago

Wow, what a run! This game looks better than PUBG!

Muzikguy1703d ago

Watching that video you wouldn't think the game was on PS3.

Spenok1703d ago

I adored this game too. Some of my best FPS online memories on it. So freaking good.

I'd love to see another game like this come out at some point. And NOT like Planetside... M.A.G. was something special.

yellowgerbil1703d ago

Yeah problem is if it existed now adays, it would likely be riddled with xp boosts and dance moves and all that other pay garbage...
MAG and Warhawk are the only 2 online games I ever got into, and both need a PROPER sequel on PS5.
Remember the first time I got 100 kills in a match, was in a turret with a repair kit and just mowed down wave after wave on Valors map.

1702d ago Replies(1)
1701d ago
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PrinceOfAnger1703d ago

I had so much fun with this game

TGGJustin1703d ago

This is a game that was ahead of its time. Had it came out on PS4 it would've done much better. I put hundreds of hours into this despite the problems it had on PS3.

UnholyLight1703d ago

Really interesting as an Xbox owner at the time. This game had captured my interest as a kid but I never got a chance to play it. Being on PS4 and soon possibly PS5, I would love to see this franchise brought back to life. I imagine with the power of next gen it would be really quite fun.

From what I hear and what I remember, this game was FAR ahead of it's time. A real shame it never truly took off from my understanding.

grifter0241703d ago

I'm an xbox boy since mech warrior but got a ps3 slim for mag. If you liked halo or cod you'd have had a blast in mag. Was one of the first games you could actually do something other than shooting and still make a difference in game.

spicelicka1702d ago

PS4 needs something like it. In the multiplayer space it's far behind the Xbox, there are no quality multiplayer games on it that aren't on other consoles.

Dirtnapstor1703d ago

Yes, yes, and yes. Way ahead of it's time. Would love to see a PS5 variant of this game.

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120°

Modern Warfare Ground War mode has MAG vibes

Erina Rose, Sausage Roll writes, "Call of Duty: Modern War introduced a new, improved, Ground War game mode this weekend that reminds us of the old PlayStation 3 classic, MAG."

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sausageroll.com.au
ilikestuff1828d ago (Edited 1828d ago )

I never played mag, I did play this beta however, and if mag was like this beta then (fart noises) for mag.

1827d ago
TheGamez1001828d ago

Man do I miss mag and zipper.

TheSinsibleOne1828d ago

Seriously though. Nowadays this and next gen are practically begging for a new MAG.

zodiac9091828d ago

How did we go from having games like resistance 1, 2, warhawk with 30 vs 30 player battles, and M.A.G. with 128 vs 128 players, ON LAST GEN to now having 20 vs 20...such a step back.

JEECE1828d ago

Because Sony hadn't figured out how to market their exclusives yet. Plus at that time COD craze was at its peak. So "generic high school bro #7," who was the primary purchaser of FPSs at that time (or at least represented a crowd necessary to sustain a playerbase), if he even had a PS3, would have just seen a game like MAG as a "copycat of Black Ops, man."

Not to mention MAG was pretty terribly uninviting for new people after awhile, because it was more skill-based. This was great for veterans, but if you weren't willing to put in the time getting destroyed for awhile, you would never appreciate the game. The Battlefield: Bad Company and BF:3 games out during that gen were far more accessible to lower level players.

Vegamyster1827d ago

Battlefield 4 was at the start of the generation and had 64 players, to me it depends more on how the map/gameplay is utilized, i enjoyed the 20vs20 modes more in the MW Beta than the 64 player ground war mode.

1827d ago
moomoo3191827d ago

It feels absolutely nothing like MAG lol. Way more battlefield vibes

xX-oldboy-Xx1827d ago

And even those are very small vibes, it still feels like COD at the end of the day.

390°

MAG: The Greatest Game You Never Played

Almost 10 years ago the greatest first person shooter came out and most of you probably never heard of it, never got to play it and never will.

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sausageroll.com.au
FiLTHY ESKiMO1947d ago

Who would the next gen version nor that Zippers gone?

_SilverHawk_1947d ago

I remember this game and it was amazing. I would like it if Sony would make another one because this game was ahead of it's time.

RememberThe3571946d ago

It was an amazing concept and it was a cool game, it was just ahead of it's time. I played the sh!t outta MAG, but the game itself played just okay. I'd love to have seen a sequel, even just a spiritual successor, especially with the next gen coming and the way cloud computing has advanced a game like that nowadays would be awesome.

Elwenil1946d ago

It may have been amazing if you played for SVER, but if you played for Raven or Valor, it was an unbalanced mess. I had some fun with it, but the player count was an illusion at best and false advertising at it's worst. The map and faction balance was so ridiculously skewed you knew who was going to win as soon as you saw what team you were against. It definitely had some interesting ideas, but was far from an amazing experience in my opinion. I would have much rather Zipper have made another SOCOM game rather than MAG.

darthv721946d ago

that game would make for a great battle royale release. So many players all at once... it was ahead of its time for a console shooter.

TheGamez1001947d ago

Was such an underrated game. One of my most favorite fps of last gen. So unfortunate zipper was closed down. Imagine if it was a success and thered be a 2nd game by now.....

TekoIie1947d ago (Edited 1947d ago )

I can think of many better games that I've yet to play...

"Almost 10 years ago the greatest first person shooter came out"

HAH. So is Planetside 2 now the best FPS ever? Because it does everything MAG can and does it far better. I'm afraid that MAG is basically your standard FPS but uses scale as it's selling point. The vast majority of shooters that focus on smaller scale matches have gameplay leaps and bounds better than MAG so it is definitely not the greatest FPS.

I know many people are going to try and refute this by telling me to look at the three factions but MAG has literally no character. The game is call 'Massive. Action. Game' for gods sake which is a contender for 'The Worst Title a Game Could Have' award. I've never been a fan of Zipper but I hear great things about them from their PS2 days. However, with MP gaining popularity in the generation that followed I think it says a lot that they couldn't keep up with the competition.

Knushwood Butt1947d ago

'HAH. So is Planetside 2 now the best FPS ever? Because it does everything MAG can and does it far better.'.

It was released years later.

Was there anything offering what MAG did when MAG was released?

TekoIie1947d ago

"Was there anything offering what MAG did when MAG was released?"

Yes, Planetside 1.

Knushwood Butt1947d ago

Fair enough.

Can't say I've played it, but I enjoyed MAG for a while.

FantasticBoss1946d ago

MAG was one of the very few games trying to do scale like it did, but I think it missed the mark. Wish it could have had a sequel though as they may have been able to iterate on it to create something pretty neat.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1946d ago
Profchaos1945d ago

Sony had a awesome approach to online in the PS2 days with SOCOM co op that had games working together to achieve a tactical goal they pioneered voice chat on the PS2 for SOCOM but as they steamrolled ahead it was clear team Deathmatch would take over in popularity which shifted zippers approach so all their experience amounted for not much when designing online in the PS3 era.
It still was a decent game but couldn't stand out compared to cod which had millions of players consistently

yellowgerbil1947d ago

Loved mag had over 1700hrs into it across many accounts, remember my first 100 kill sabotage game, was insane

BLow1946d ago

Yes, so do I and not that game they released on PS3. I'm talking the one Zipper did and not Slant Six. At least Slant Six tried to do the series justice once they fixed the issues.

The one Zipper did didn't feel like Socom to me. It felt more like Ghost Recon to be honest. I absolutely loved the voice commands and I figured they would be even better on next gen hardware. They didn't even bother doing anything.

Maybe, I just wanted it more grounded and not so techy if that makes sense. I just wanted to go into jungles or missions just using my wits and patience and not have to use a bunch of gadgets. I wanted to be able to give orders with my voice to squad members. Yeah, they can at least have earpieces lol.

It's hard to explain but I know the old school Socom players know what I'm saying. Socom just had a certain feeling and the new game didn't feel that way. Slant Six yes. Zipper no...

We can only hope but if they bring it back they have to do it right. If not don't bother and just make something new. I rather have the memories I had with Socom be mostly positive than negative. Unless you pull a God of War, don't bother lol.

I've already said too much but that goes to show how much I loved Socom. Especially 1 and 2.....

Deathdeliverer1946d ago (Edited 1946d ago )

Game was simply ahead of its time. If mag came out now with improved graphics people would be blown away. Back then people whined about the graphics even though it had players literally everywhere. It was several great games in one. Battlefield, Ghost Recon, and Call of duty.

Hungryalpaca1946d ago

What exactly was it ahead of its time in? Player count? Planetside released in 2003 and and played count per match was over 300.

xkvcq1945d ago (Edited 1945d ago )

The BETA for MAG was one of my fondest gaming moments. I was highly anticipating the start of the beta servers but I had school that day. I had started downloading it that morning as soon as it was available and just when it finished downloading I found out school was cancelled, last minute, because of weather. BEST. SNOW DAY. EVER. I played the beta all day, continuing to put off my homework :P

TekoIie1945d ago (Edited 1945d ago )

Well have I got news for you pal! Planetside 2 has been available for nearly 4 years on the PS4 and longer on PC and people still aren't blown away. Maybe the novelty of scale is actually overrated and people don't care as much about it which is why MAG failed when multiplayer shooters were at peak popularity during it's lifetime?

If you were blown away by 256 players in 2010 why would you not have been blown away by 1000 roughly 2-3 years later?

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