Mag-Open Beta Impressions

I decided not to do a user review well...this is not a review more of an expression of the current but now ended beta. First off I'm gonna say that yes the game is far from perfect but for what it has accomplished it does it well and then some.

So basically let me explain what MAG is for you newcomers. MAG is a FPS made by Socom Developer Zipper. The games main selling point is its ability to have 256 players all at one time and have relatively smooth gameplay. I have to say that the game has little to no lag during play sessions. There is some FPS drop when there is a massive amount of action happening at 1 time but it rarely affects gameplay and never happens frequent enough to cause a major complain on my part.

I'm gonna talk about the bad first as their wasn't that much but there is some that I think should be changed before the game is released. Personally the game is tasking if your constantly on a team without mics as its basically leaving no way to communicate with your team and communication in this game is key. This of course leaving you in your squad running around like MW2 kids getting a few kills and then just dieing. Zipper should include a mic in the disc based purchase of the game which should solve this problem. Another gripe I do have is the spawning mechanic of the game. When you die(which you will) your sent to a overview of your spawn point but if you press X you go to a much larger map of the area of your spawn point which shows your allies and any enemies that may have broken through. Anyway the spawning is on a 16 second continuous loop but if your looking at the map and not the overview then you won't spawn which is
annoying at times but this could have been fixed by just forcing people to spawn but this is also the screen if people want to change their loadout so maybe clicking a ready button will allow me to spawn regardless of whatever screen im in.

Now the gameplay and skill point elements of this game make it more of a MMOFPS more than just a basic FPS like MW2. The shooting in the mechanics are not as spectacular as Killzone 2 but it definitely feels good enough so as to not take away from the gameplay. People complained about the lack of weapons in the game but of course this is a beta and they definitely gave you enough weapons and attachments to satisfy my weapon crave. For instance everytime you level up you get a skill point which can be used for weapon attachments,upgrades,class or equipment upgrades, or even basic character upgrades so there is plenty to work for. Although leveling was quiet easy (Was MVP is majority of my games) but they will probaly increase the exp needed as this was only a beta and they probaly wanted to everybody to atleast get some levels so they could be a squad commander or try out more weapons. Either way the gameplay feels balanced for the most part. Except if your team is full of no mic scrubs but this can be fixed by just getting in a group with a few of your PSN friends. As I said before this game is heavily based upon teamwork and thats where this game shines. Field support classes can make or break battles as a medic reviving his fallen comrades can make defending a position much easier than having to wait for reinforcements from spawn.

The 3 game modes available were Sabotage, domination, and Directive. Sabotage was the smaller mode with 32vs32 but my was my personal favorite . Domination was the mode with the bigger battles with the 256 people. I'll tell you right now you won't see 200+ people fighting at 1 time but you will see large battles taking place and you will feel like your helping the other squads when you complete the objectives. The sound in the game being played by a decent surround sound system makes you feel really immersed in the game.

The graphics in the game are not ZOMG Jizz in my pantstacular but they look comparable MW2 and even resistance 2. They look well for what their accomplishing when you think about it. There's no virtually no bugs in the game at all except for maybe a few server ones that I experienced.

Overall the beta was a good experience and convinced me to buy this game Day 1. You can take my opinion and listen to you can ignore me but I suggest you at least rent the game and play it with a mic and some buddies and see if you don't enjoy it.

[RememberThe357]

I didn't like the game at first, but after reading some comments I was convinced to stay at it for a bit longer. After a little more time with it and finding a sweet spot with the controls, I began to really get into it. I was also convinced to pick the game up day one(or close to it, I gotta get Mass Effect 2 as well).

[Tiberium]

Questions: If you aren't going to see 200+ players onscreen, how many do you estimate to see at once? And how long is the respawn time?

[krouse93]

respawn I think is based on 30 second intervals that continuously count to 0 and when you die you are placed where ever it is at counting down you could be placed for a 1 second wait or a 30 second weight I usually end up waiting around 15 seconds.

And seeing a certain number on the screen at once really depends on what's going on. are you attacking a base are you running looking to an objective. It's relative to what your doing.

[randomwiz]

respawn basically works likes this. When the game starts, the game counts down from 30... when it reaches 0, everyone in the respawn line respawns, and the counter starts again.

Depending on when you died, you could end up waiting 30 seconds, or 1 second. I at first hated this system, but understood why it was a perfect system as i got into the game

from the closed beta, you could see anywhere from an 8 team squad, to a 32 player platoon on screen. Depending on the team work. I remember my favorite match in the closed beta, it was acquisition(64vs64). We were attacking SVER.

I was Platoon Leader, and I told all the Squad leaders to round up their squads on the edge of the map. Once we were all rounded up(took 2 minutes) It was 32 players attacking 8 player defended bunkers one by one, from the edge, moving inward. We won that game in under 6 minutes total.

[pimpmaster]

what the hell??

"The graphics in the game are not ZOMG Jizz in my pantstacular but they look comparable MW2 " did you seriously just post that.... wow.. dude the graphics in mag beta are horrible, there nowhere near mw2. ahh w/e why am i posting all this just for some fanboys post

[Coolrah]

To me I think the graphics in Mw2 are not all that spectacular. Its basic texturing mixed with a whole lot of gloss to make the graphics look nice and crisp. I liked Mag for its gritty graphics and dark atmosphere. I mean there is no clear cut way to measure graphics across different games so that why its only my opinion Vs yours. Just like how some people say that Halo 3 looks better than some random Ps3 exclusive. Its really up in the air as if its right or wrong as its only their opinion....

[k8faust]

I'm pretty certain the respawn timer has always been 20 seconds. Initial spawn timer is 30 seconds for the Attacking side, I believe, which gives the Defenders time enough to set up a defense.

In matches larger than 64-players where the Squad, Platoon, and OIC are allowed to call in support, one can Blockade the enemy's reinforcements, increasing the respawn timer to 30 seconds. You'll notice the respawn timer has a background with X's (steel/Czech Hedgehogs). I'm going off of memory spanning both Closed Beta and Open Beta, so I may be wrong, but I'm fairly certain this is the case. Also, when the OIC calls in faster reinforcements, the respawn timer decreases to something like 16 seconds. If the enemy OIC Blockades and your OIC calls in faster reinforcements to counter (I can't remember the name of it) then the spawn timer will be 20 seconds.

MAG is very much a team-oriented game, but I don't think voice chat is required, just smart play. Even with mics, I've had squads continue to press their own shut-off pumps rather than swarming a single set. As you may have realized, if you can bypass the first stage of the assault in 5-10 minutes, you can press just a single set of pumps and hold them for the rest of the match, which is enough to win. This is a great deal easier to do with the several APC squads running around, who can easily reinforce a single set of pumps. If the enemy reinforces to counter the push, then their defense will be lacking and you just shift to counter. Regardless, you need at least one Platoon to listen, but you'll usually end up with half a Platoon--if you're lucky--or only half a Squad--if you're not--smart enough to follow orders. That's assuming you aren't in a match populated by clanners.

In smaller games like Modern Warfare 2, it's a lot easier to control who you play with, but in MAG it becomes a great deal more difficult. Still, it's all great fun either way; if your team is pissing around, you just go off and reap some kills the entire match.

Community aside though, my biggest gripe isn't with graphics--because MAG looks fantastic, matter-of-fact--but with the leveling. I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate leveling. Not because it's such a pain to gain experience or anything, but because the only way to go is up. You level up, never down--unless you're playing Metal Gear Online--and that means you'll eventually hit a limit where you can't level anymore. I've said it a million times, but games like MAG need to use a credit/cash system--in-game, not real--for the purchase and upkeep of gear to use in combat. Instead of leveling up, you save up, and then you load up, and then you maintain what you have until it falls apart. Honestly, levels rarely bring ANYthing good to a game, and only brings to surface a lack of imagination or dedication to creating a truly fantastic gaming experience on the part of the development team or publishers. If it weren't for the levels, MAG would be a day-one purchase for me. But currently, I'm waiting until March/April, when the release calendar lets up its grip on my wallet.

Heh, look at that, I should've just made a blog post...

[Keith Olbermann]

they were not bad either. The gameplay more than makes up for the graphics. Like dragonage. An amazing game that could stand to look better. This is a day one purchase for me. At first I thought it was ok because I was never into shooters but I love the tactical aspect and the team based gameplay that you just dont get out of those twitch shooters like MW and that elk. Great post by the author by the way.

[Coolrah]

Really appreciate the constructive comments you guys made.

@k8 your basically 100% right on that. It really does depend on who your placed with and who's in your squad and platoon. I usually played with a group of 5-8 friends so we had great fun. But I can tell that could be a problem for other people or clans to get that many people all together. Let alone to be able to communicate well enough to execute a good plan.

On the lvling aspect your right their is a limit you will eventually reach but its like that in a lot of games. Counterstrike for instance does not use a lvling system but instead uses a currency system in that you get money if you get kills. The only problem I saw with that is that if you sucked then you probably would not have a lot of fun with CS. Yeah you could just go join a diff server and try again but eventually that gets tiresome on some. Not saying it wasn't a good method just saying that I could see that some people wouldn't like it. But then again some people like yourself don't like the lvling system. Personally I think they should just make it harder to lvl but as I said in the blog they probably will seeing as how it was only a open beta and they wanted to test it out first. They may even add some extra limitations in the game or they may use a mixture of the money and lvling system like the FPS Warrock uses.

@Keith indeed the game does have a Socom like tactical aspect. Which is why I love it so much more than MW2. I enjoy the execution of a good plan. Their is hardly any of that in MW2 on a scale as large as MAG. Which is why it will be a day 1 purchase for me as well.