Okay, yeah, so the name's lame. But I thought it was funny...and I'm the one writing this, so there!
Alright, anyway, let me start out by making it a point to note that I have yet to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 online. Thus, whenever I compare MAG (the game I'm reviewing here, in case the oh-so-clever title didn't inform you) to "Call" it is the first CoD:MW. Of course, I've read a lot of reviews and watched a handful of videos about the second installment of the MW series and may level my experience with that. But, in doing so, I'll reitterate that this is speculation.
Okay...here we go!
Earlier this week I had the pleasure to download and partake in the Open Beta for Zipper Interactive's new Playstation 3-exclusive First Person Shooter, MAG. While I have no idea what the name of the game means--is it an acronym for something or just the common use of "mag" for "magazine"--but what I do know is that the game's story revolves around a near-future Shadow War being fought by three Private Military Company's (Valor, S.V.E.R., and Raven). Each PMC represents an area of the world (not simple countries, but a coalition of existing powers) and the player is tasked with joining one and taking up the offered arms. From here you create a character and customize loadouts then head out into one of the gametypes offered to your current level; the beta only had one gametype available while I was playing it, but allows you to take a look at the others. There is promised 264-player combat and, though I'm not sure how that is going to work out, during my time with the game, the mode offered sported 64 players and ran silky smooth.
Now, let's dive into the meat of the game: Gameplay.
From the second my digital boots hit the dirt to the time I was comfortable with the controls--which I opted to learn via fumbling around like an idiot ingame--took less than one game. I'd say I had a handle on the controls within 5-10 minutes. The game is an FPS so all the basics--run, strafe, shoot, zoom, weapon/item swap and usage--were there and easily mastered. Shoot and zoom are handled by L1 and R1, respectively, while switching items or weapons are done by tapping L2 and R2. Given that I prefer the Xbox controller, which uses the trigger/shoulder bumper system, over the PS3 controller, I was a little leery about the "trigger" set-up. However, by the end of my second game I had assimilated the layout and was using it naturally. Another aspect of the PS3 controller I am generally put off by are the thumbsticks and their side-by-side position on the controller; n my opinion, the concave layout of the Xbox's thumbsticks is simply more natural and easier on your hands. That said, I didn't really experience any of the cramping I used to with the DualShock controller. This could be attributed to the fact that I've spent a lot more time with my PS3 in the last year and may have conditioned my thumbs to the controller's shape. Either way, I had no problem playing for multiple hours at a time.
The core aspect of MAG's gameplay is skill progression and customization. Players earn experience through objective-based goals or actions during gameplay. Now, I'm not totally familiar with every detail with the leveling system, but my time with the game revealed the following: Players earn 5 xp per kill, 3 xp per Assist (typically done by losing a stand-off with another player and then being rewarded when a teammate steps in and finishes the job for you), 10 xp for reviving a downed player (something only Medic-spec'd players can do), and you lose 5 xp for teamkilling a fellow soldier. As a whole, I am happy with this system; I think, for the most part, it's fair and offers a nice reward/penalty balance. Of course, that isn't to say I don't think there isn't room for improvement; specifically with the Medic. When a player is reduced to 0 health, they are incapacitated and on a timer (much like Gears of War), thus giving a player who has allocated Skill Points in the Medic skills time to come over and revive them. As I said, the medic player is awarded 10 points for every time this occurs--a fair amount for risking one's life--but the player who was just revived is given nothing but a second chance with half their full health. Under normal circumstances I would totally agree with this system. The problem, however, comes in two flavors: 1. TeamKilling a player just to run over and revive them for free 5 xp (10 for the revive -5 for the TK) and 2. Most of the Medics I dealt with refuse to clear an area of enemies and simply run up, revive you, and dart back into hiding--this allows the guy who killed you to rack up xp and murder your Kill-Death Ratio (for those of us who take pride in such things) as he simply stands by and shoots you again in that frantic few seconds after you're revived. Kill-Heal-Kill, repeat.
There isn't a whole lot I could suggest to fix this, other than to give the player who is being revived some compensation for allowing himself to be revived instead of simply hitting X and Bleeding Out. If I'm going to risk my own score so that you can rack up the xp by continuously healing the wounds I sustain from the same asshole's gun, then I should be compensated accordingly. Right?
All that aside, though, MAG is simply fun as hell. The gametype available is simple in terms of objectives, but can drag out to the entire length of the match or end within 5 minutes based on how good your team works together; plus, parachuting into the battlefield (which is how you respawn once Objective C is unlocked) is unbelievably fun! I never once experienced an unfair disadvantage because another player was exploiting some glitch or taking advantage of some overlooked loadout which totally sodomizes the game's ballance. I had one or two issues with people just being dicks in general (one guy started shooting at the same enemy soldier at the same time and, since I got a headshot and scored the kill, he turned and knifed me in the face) but this sort of thing you can't avoid. When that many people, of that diverse an age-range, go to war, you're going to come up against (or play with) the occasional asshat. But, in the 8+ hours I spent playing MAG (accumulated, btw), I never once got frustrated or angry. I had fun. That's almost unheard of in online multiplayer of this sort, anymore.
My final thought on the game is this...
MAG is a war simulator, plain and simple. It forces players to think tactically and approach each match with the goals in mind and utilize their team's cooperation. Other games may have War in the title, but never once, did I feel like I was a soldier in the conflict talked about on the box. Instead, these games almost always devolve into a pissing contest to see who can get the most kills in each match...and, unfortunately, the one's who do, usually augment their "skills" with exploits or system mods. I'm not saying that this won't eventually happen with MAG, but so far, that stuff is just not there.
For anyone who has a PS3, I highly recommend this game. If you don't have a PS3...well...enjoy Call for as long as you can, I guess. My thinking is that a lot of players are going to migrate.
Later!
No comments:
Post a Comment