MAG, or Massive Action Game, was first shown at Sony's press conference at last year's E3. Its promise of large scale, 256 player battles on the console blew away everyone watching. After the buzz died down many started to wonder if this was really going to be possible to execute properly in this console cycle. If anyone can build an action game of such massive scale, it is surly the team at Zipper, the team responsible for defining what online meant for the Playstation 2 and arguably the home console.
Since we last saw MAG in the May 2009 issue of GameInformer it seems to have gotten a broader color pallet. No longer does it seem drenched in the browns and grays of most modern day shooters. The HUD itself is made up of mostly primary colors while the maps are brightly lit and colorful themselves.
Along with the explosion of colors on the HUD, shooter fans will also notice some differences from the majority of other FPS games flooding the market. MAG will not use a rechargeable health system. Instead, it will opt for a numerical hit point system. The game will include a sprint mechanic and it will be represented by a meter that will fall as you sprint and recharge as you walk (a la Killzone 2).
In the top corner the game will also feature a UAV. While it serves the same basic purpose of the UAV in other games this one comes in an isometric 3D view. Think of it as a Google SketchUp version of the map and you won't be far off. The UAV will display your current objectives, team player and exposed enemies on the entire map. Needless to say each map is gigantic. The representative would not comment specifically how many maps would ship with the final game.
The map that we did get to see however was entitled Baku Oil Fields and took place on a war stricken Oil refinery. The map was split up between mountain ridges, roadways, processing stations, bridges and factory buildings. The map is large, but the amount of detail in the environment make it much easier to traverse without feeling over exposed.
The gamemode on this map had us at the expo pitted up against the members back in the Zipper offices in what I was assured to be a 256 player battle. Placed around the map where 8 different objectives that we were to capture. From what I could tell the Zipper team always spawned with control over them and would assume the role of defense. While us expo goers would take the role of attackers and try to take the flags from their possession in under the 277 minutes time we were given.
While this may seem like an incredible mess to some people, I can assure you it never got too overwhelming with the way the game splits up individual squads. The way I was explained the situation is that the map was split into quadrants. As the attacking team pushed closer to the middle, the battle would get more intense, increasing the number of players participating in one battle as a result.
When I asked about the different options players would have in choosing a game they gave a basic overview of the different modes available in the game. There would be a training mode for new players to hop in and get a basic understanding of the game. Scrimmage would allow players from the same faction hone their skills in a battle against each other in unranked practice games. In terms of ranked games, players would be able to choose from a 256 player battle, 128 player battle or from a much smaller 64 player battle.
As with any FPS game, what it really comes down to is the guns. When I asked the representative how many guns would be in the final game he smiled and simply said "Lots.". Which seems about right as each gun and piece of equipment is faction specific, and with three factions there is bound to be plenty of weaponry to choose from.
The only faction we, at E3, could play was Raven, a faction that seemed to be comprised of highly trained PMCs. Zipper took the role of the SVER, a younger and seemingly less-organized group from somewhere in Russia.
Our weapon selection was limited to one of 3 preset classes for the demo, and we were unable to pick up our fallen allies guns (Whether or not this will be the case in the final game is unknown to me). The three presets where the basic Assault, Sniper and Heavy Machine Gun classes. The final game however will not use preset classes. Instead, the player will earn experience points in the game for getting kills and doing specific objectives. These experience points not only will go towards your rank but will also translate into skill points that can be used to purchase weaponry, equipment and upgrades.
The biggest, and most difficult to execute, in MAG is the Leadership mechanic. Here, players will be in charge of assigning roles and objectives to the player under them. This has been tried many times before and has ultimately failed. Where Zipper hopes to pick up the baton is by differentiating a player's experience points from their leadership points. A player can gain leadership points by doing things such as completing objectives given to them by their Commanding Officer or leading their team to victory. It is through these leadership points that the game will determine who is and is not qualified to lead their team in a specific battle.
The team at Zipper Interactive have always tested the boundaries of what a shooter can do on current technology. With MAG, they hope to not only progress console shooters, but also the shooter genre as a whole. Perfecting large scale battles and player occupied leadership roles is no easy task, but they seem confident. If this presentation is any indication, then I am confident as well.
