Zipper Interactive knows how to think big. Maybe it's the fact that the company got its start designing Apache helicopter sims for the U.S. military -- it may be that any civilian game development feels like a cakewalk in comparison. But whatever the reason, the developer has been pushing forward in the online arena since they launched the PS2 network adapter with the original SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs way back in 2002. The series started out with 16-player online play, and graduated to 32-player matches with SOCOM 3. 2006's Combined Assault added four-player co-op. These were sensible, predictable improvements.
MAG, on the other hand, is almost ridiculously ambitious.
For Zipper's latest trick (and their first PS3 game), they're filling vast maps with 256 simultaneous human players. And as if the sheer technology behind such a feat weren't enough, they're also creating a complete chain of command to give players the ability to take command of squads of eight, and platoons of 32, with a single officer in charge of the whole company. Using a simple icon system, leaders can set objectives for the troops under them, from simple waypoints to more long-term goals like defending territory. Soldiers who choose to obey their officers' commands get bonuses to experience, which in turn grants experience to the officer.
You need to earn leadership abilities, of course, but the effort to do so will be worth it. Each leadership role carries with it certain forms of tactical support: squad leaders can deploy recon drones, for example, while platoon leaders can call in strafing runs.
But understand, even though the structure is similar, this isn't a military game in the traditional sense. Since MAG is set 20 years in the future, its fighting forces are privately owned, and each of the three corporations in the game is constantly competing with the others for lucrative contracts in what the developers are calling the "shadow war." If players in your faction perform well enough to maintain these contracts, you get access to special gear: tricked out, state-of-the-art vehicles and weapons, for example.
I got to check out some of these advanced features and leadership abilities for myself, and using them works as well as anyone with experience in SOCOM's singleplayer modes would expect: you can issue commands on the fly with the d-pad, or take a more big-picture approach by using the tactical map, a simplified, 3D, overhead view of the entire battlefield, showing the location of every friendly unit and any enemies that have been revealed by line-of-sight or other recon.
The really shocking thing is that the game runs as smoothly as it does. In the 256-player match I participated in, I noticed almost no lag or other technological issues. The environment was complex and detailed, with no visible compromises to draw distance and no noticeable slowdown even with a screen full of players. The weapons felt fast and accurate, with the exception of grenades, which are in obvious need of some tuning as they never seemed to land remotely where they should. And tactical support felt quick and powerful, making it a simple affair to take out a group of enemies with a cluster bomb. (Don't worry, you get some warning when this sort of thing is incoming…if you're paying attention).
Like any online-only game, though, MAG is going to stand or fall by its players and its real-world performance. Sony seems confident the game will hold up well on both counts. You'll be able to find out for yourself when it launches late this year.
Comments
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PurpleTeletubby
I honestly have been waiting for this game since last year's E3 and I'm so happy that it worked out for the better. I really think that this game could sell some consoles for sony, if they had a price drop. I know i would purchase a PS3 if they lowered the price.
MAspiderface
This is going to be a awesome game.
scx84
i can hardly wait....256 players! Cool tricked out guns! I AM IN!
g4ismediocre
Although I want games to come out for Sony this year, I think I could wait a little longer for a release. There's some things I saw that I think wont have time to be fixed by the release date
boom_f15
Granted, Ive only seen the video preview like everyone else but it didnt really seem like a 128v128 match. It was more like a bunch of 12v12s that just happen to going on next to each other. Hopefully Im wrong, I want this game to be awesome.
Joshua360
This was I think the biggest disappointment of E3. The demo that was presented was not well done. They didn't show anything special about the game that makes it stand out from other shooters besides the fact that there will be 200+ players. I still think it's going to be a pain in the ass trying to get people to follow orders.
Just not impressed at all.
Hueso
I can't wait to kill 128 players all by myself. Then I'll get the all time achievement award for being the most awesomest...j/k. But I wouldn't mind trying.
sitkemkev
You cant forget, there will be 256 players, but it will be on a HUGE FREAKING MAP. You're not going to be seeing 128 players in one small spot. Theres going to be skirmishes all over the place, and it will make one person not stand out as much as other games. Huge forst will be contested all around it, probably battles of maybe 64 or so in a small piece of the map, which is still a lot. THen again, two platoon leaders and group up and get a huge freaking invasion going in. The numbers will be endless as to how congested areas are. I mean, what happen if one team only has one bunker left? They will all spawn at that bunker and there will probably be a lot of spawn killing and everything. I've been hearing only good come from E3 about lag and other things, which I'm hoping it will stay that way. This game will surely rival many other games from all consoles.
AngelsandDemons
Yeah..we need that PS3 price drop...I think it's psychological for so many of us. I mean, at least with the high end XBOX 360 Elite, they are giving away Fable 2 and Halo 3 in there Game of the Year Package. They may be old games but good games nonetheless for the same price.
magotman6
to be honest i think the game is ganna be awsome but the two things i have a feeling about is that there will be alot of glitches on this game theres ganna be so much space i guarentee by a week there will be map glitchers and everything and the other one is i hope the controller lay out is the same of call of duty and if thats covered im good : ]
magotman6
i have a feeling theres ganna be alot of glitches on this map
Eazy1
Sony will not drop the prices on the PS3. You are paying for the the Blue Ray tech. most blue ray players are $200 alone and you get a PS3 for $399 GOOD price I payed $699 for mine when it came out so get a job or ask mommy and daddy for them to pay for it cause this is going to be the FPS of the year.
wess105
I can barely wait for the beta, there is going to be one but so far there isn't a date out there for it yet.
ROBOADOBO
not saying a put down or anything, but why 256 people? why not 300 or 200?
chubbyakajc
this game is gay because its olny on PS3 why not 360
wess105
The same thing that gives you the rrod is also why it's not on the 360. I know it has better online support but when everything you hear off in the distance is caused by another person's actions... the 360 is easier to design for but in raw power the PS3 has gotten it beat. Also, the people who are making the game have worked with Sony a lot, have you ever heard of SOCOM? Also 256 works with the command system, which is really important to the game not being a bunch of uncontrolled chaos.
19SGT55
The reason it is not on 360 is that M$ failed to use the proper hardware and then rushed into production with inferior parts... The PS3 has 7 cores vs the 360's 3 cores, which means the prodessor has more cache memory to work with internally to do more things at once. Also the PPC chip that Sony developed with IBM and Toshiba process information in PARALLEL, in other words it can do 7 things all at once without having to store the data to wait for software compression to feed it to the processor. This makes games able to have more information worked on by the PS3 unlike the 360 which only has the 3 cores that works mainly like an older Apple Mac G4 tower that sold for 4K for video processing... And as time goes on, as has been considered recently, that the 360 has currently maxed out its gaming ability. One reason is that it does not have a large capacity disc drive and still depends on the old DVD format for games... Sony has blu-Ray which has a lot more capacity for game information...
wess105
I agree with you on that too, which is also another reason why Uncharted 2 is going to be awesome (>-_-)> <(-_-)> <(-_-<) Kirby victory dance ftw!!!
kaslon
xbox 360 fans r just mad cuz this game is sweet & they cant get so boohoo for them cuz now they r realizing how much blueray rocks and how much ps3 is better
wess105
I don't think they actually think that. But they know it in the back of their head, and will be jealous when it gets showered with praise by X-PLAY for being awesome. Or they'll get mad and that day on x-box live there will be an increase in cussing kids yelling at innocent people for no reason. At least that's my prediction.
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