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Does anyone remember MAG - Massive Action Game?

Aztorian

Member
So this game came out on the PS3 in 2010 and was developed by Zipper Interactive. The servers for the game closed just four years after the release.

I still wonder why MAG was so poorly received. It really seemed like a big deal back then. I mean we were playing with 256 players in one map and it felt amazing.

For those who have not heard about MAG yet:
MAG used a new server architecture to support online battles with up to 256 players, with users divided into eight-player squads, with four squads forming a platoon, and four platoons forming a company. Each squad is led by a player who has advanced through the game's ranking system. Character statistics and development also increase with frequent gameplay. The players assigned leadership positions are able to simultaneously direct the battle and participate directly in combat.

Version 2.0 introduced a new skill tree and also a supply depot for purchasing weapons. Now, in the skill tree there are individual classes in which players can spend their skill points. These classes include Assault, Marksman, Close Quarters, Special Ops, Medical, Engineering, Athleticism, Vehicles, and Resistances, which then branches off into their own skill tree. Players now in the supply depot have a balance which is money that is earned from every match. So instead of getting the weapons/attachments in the skill tree they can now be purchased separately. After an item is bought players have the choice of selling that item for half of its original price. Patch v1.05 introduced a modified leadership selection algorithm that relies on using leadership points that are earned by winning battles while being at least a squad leader and whether the player has a Bluetooth headset or not.

Would love to see a game like MAG returning to this or next gen.
 

Huggers

Member
Weirdly I was thinking about MAG the other day. I played the hell out of it. Really fun game that never got the attention it deserved. Hugely ambitious for a console title
 
MAG was great back in the day. I played a lot. I remember the announcement, 256 players was a lot (still is for me personally) and all of that was done on a PS3. It also played well ( i don't remember having a lot of problems.

Hoping for a remaster.

edit: also that whole platoon thing, everyone had their own objectives, and at the start of the match, the atmosphere of people swarming, was a unique feeling. (only matched by planetside 2 somewhat).
 
It was fun. All of the MMO FPS games I've ever played have been fun initially but they end up getting ruined by people who devote their lives to the game and max level/gear quickly and those who pay for upgrades.

I'm still waiting on an actual war type MMO with a persistent and changing battleground.
 

Aztorian

Member
The servers have only been dead for about 4 years, but it feels like an eternity. Really miss the unique experience I got from MAG.
 

Grinchy

Banned
For a game that "flopped" it was surprisingly quick at getting you a full 256 player match. There was also a 128 player mode if I remember right. I don't remember waiting a long time for games at all.

It also had support for the Move controller. If you could get your head around the funkiness of the aiming with it, it was almost like having mouse accuracy against controller players, so that was fun.
 
Right idea, wrong time. Personally I believe it was a game suited more to this generation and could of been suited more to the launch period of PS4.
 

WaterAstro

Member
Of course. It was a pretty good game.

Shooting felt great since it was done by the SOCOM team, Zipper Interactive (RIP).
 

DrCheese

Member
I think it was a big deal back then as it was during the early baren years of PS3 games, so you'd jump on anything that looked remotely good. But I agree with the above about the controls being cluncky so I switched off quickly when better games came out.
 
Loved MAG. The "choose a faction" element of it was really cool because a lot of my friends had the game too, and we were all in different armies. The gameplay was fun, and the graphics were decent. It got criticized for bad audio, but I think that was just a casualty of having so many players in a round at a time.
 

RavageX

Member
It was probably the last online multiplayer game I actually invested time in.

It was great while it lasted, though eventually one faction had most of the players if I recall right.

Was definitely unique, and had a decent community.

Haven't really bothered with online play since, not my thing these days....too many nasty ppl.
 
It was probably the last online multiplayer game I actually invested time in.

It was great while it lasted, though eventually one faction had most of the players if I recall right.

Was definitely unique, and had a decent community.

Haven't really bothered with online play since, not my thing these days....too many nasty ppl.

This is the same with me. I really enjoyed it (MAG forums!)
 

AlphaMale

Member
MAG was amazing! Considering the amount of time I put into it and fun I had, it probably stands as my all-time favourite FPS to date!
The controls were great, and maps were great, the upgrade tree and mods worked really well.
I think the only gripe I had was the grenade throwing... I recall you had to cycle the L1/R1 buttons to choose the grenade, then R2 to throw. Was really clumsy, and took a bit of getting used to.
 

mtodavk

Member
I absolutely loved that game and was incredibly sad that it didn't get the attention it deserved. I was also a huge Zipper/socom fan so that probably had something to do with it.

Still remember playing that beta competition where the player with the highest score won a new TV and PS3. We boosted my buddy all the way to the top of the leaderboard lol
 

Superkewl

Member
I used to play that game and it was pretty fun, but it had serious balancing issues, which killed it for me.
 

Bolivar687

Banned
MAG was incredible, way ahead of its time for consoles. The commander options that each Squad and Platoon leader got were amazing. The map design was very strong, where it felt like every inch of the map was crafted for an awesome shootout. The outskirts at the start of a match were set up for awesome 8v8 skirmishes, that got incrementally bigger as squads converged at the ptimaty objectives at the center of the map.

The problem was the framerate. It was very clearly sub-30fps and that killed the mass appeal it could have at the height of CoD's popularity. I agree that it could be a bigger hit today, if you could design a game with the same player counts but with better framerates and animations. That extra smoothness would really bring it all together for something unique that could be a big hit.
 

Trogdor1123

Member
I loved it but I wasn't very good at it. Being in an organized team really did make a difference though wow. It would probably work even better now days.
 

JordanN

Banned
In retrospect, it's a game I wish came out today. I do crave if a FPS just had an absurd amount of people all fighting at once.

Watching Battlefront 2 streams, I instantly get bored when there's less than 8 people playing. I want to see non-stop action.
 
ロキー;253078012 said:
I remember the controls and animations being very clunky when I tried the beta out.
This. It was a rather clunky game. They sacrificed a lot to get the high player count, and tbh I'm not sure it was really worth it.

MAG was actually the first (and last) game to make me puke. Maybe it was due to its low framerate, but I got quite dizzy while playing the beta. I tried to just ignore it (thought it couldn't possible be because of the game) but after playing for a while I had to rush to the bathroom, and let's just say I remained there for some time.
 

GodofWine

Member
It was ahead of its time, and ran and looked bad (though it was wizardry that is actually ran as 'well' as it did).

Gun Play was wretched, sound was weak.

But it was also amazing in what it did. I remember one match were the team actually coordinated to all wait outside the mine shaft (or whatever it was) hiding behind the train cars so as to not be shot, and someone said ATTACCCCKKKK and we all charged and ran through the base like a bunch of plundering vikings.

I never saw that level of coordination ever again in MAG or any game.
 
It seemed like alot of hype and not much follow through after the release from what I remember. I did try it and it was alright, again just kinda lost traction between the time of the announcement and the actual release date.
 

J-Rzez

Member
MAG was highly, highly underrated. Great game.

I get my fix from Planetside 2 now though, thats also a great game. I hope we get Planetside 3.
 

xBigBeaz

Neo Member
I really miss MAG. Kinda gets me depressed about how much I loved it and how there is nothing else like it. Playing with my clan (TBA) was some of my fondest gaming memories.
 

wipeout364

Member
I only played a few hours of it but I remember being intrigued by the concept but very underwhelmed by the execution. It didn’t smooth and fluid and the 256 people playing never really felt meaningful. I am trying to remember how it worked but didn’t you load into small areas with a small group and fight there then moving on, but maybe I just never played the large modes. I remember never liking the feel of movement aiming and shooting though which was why it didn’t stick with me.
 

J-Rzez

Member
If you guys are looking for the MAG experience of massive battles, give Planetside 2 a chance, seriously, its a good game. It's not as taxing on PC hardware these days. Its a good time.

That said, I really hoped for MAG 2.
 

Used-ID

Member
I miss MAG. Was just telling one of the young LVNs about it last night. I wish there was a similar massive team based fps out now. Those 256 player matches could be a lot of fun. I didn't like the 32 or 64 matches too much.

Tried planet side 2 for a bit and it just didn't click.
 

Gen X

Trust no one. Eat steaks.
I had a blast with it, jumped in on launch week after enjoying the beta/demo but then all the gaffers I crewed up with shifted to Bad Company 2 a few months later and I never found the same vibe with randoms so I shifted to BC2 as well.
 

mad597

Banned
So this game came out on the PS3 in 2010 and was developed by Zipper Interactive. The servers for the game closed just four years after the release.

I still wonder why MAG was so poorly received. It really seemed like a big deal back then. I mean we were playing with 256 players in one map and it felt amazing.

For those who have not heard about MAG yet:


Would love to see a game like MAG returning to this or next gen.

Another over hyped sony game where sony illed it and people made ezcuses for why that is ok
 

Used-ID

Member
Another over hyped sony game where sony illed it and people made ezcuses for why that is ok

I'm not quite understanding why you posted this on a thread where people speak of memories they had playing a game. Could you elaborate?

Did you enjoy the backstory of the 3 factions in the game?

Did you dislike the bunker placement on the 256 player map of the SVER faction?

Did the single player tutorial not prepare you adequately for the game?

Did you even play the game?
 

Sybrix

Member
remember playing this and at the time i had a gaming PC too

God MAG was so horrible, ugly looking and playing an FPS with a controller with the horrible hud and ugly graphics made this game so bad.
 
I didn't have a Playstation but wanted to try this so bad. Shame it never got a sequel--sounds like it had a ton of potential.
 

MaKTaiL

Member
It's the only game that made me sick trying to play it. The framerate + screen tearing at the time was too much for me. I was never able to fully enjoy it. It would be a perfect game for PS4 though.
 
I remember when I bought a PS3 I asked about this game and the guy said “it’s pretty cool but at this point new players don’t stand a chance.” So I never played it
 

Aztorian

Member
I remember when I bought a PS3 I asked about this game and the guy said “it’s pretty cool but at this point new players don’t stand a chance.” So I never played it

I kinda forgot how the progression system worked in the game and if veterans indeed had a significant advantage over new players.
 
I remember playing the demo of it, thought it was awesome but never actually picked up the final release. If you want a MMO FPS then check out Planetside 2 it's out on PC and I believe PS4 as well. Free to play as well.
 

SAiLO

Member
Got the game at release with steelbook.
Enjoyed it until the servers went offline.
Great fun from what I remember.
 

Aztorian

Member
I remember playing the demo of it, thought it was awesome but never actually picked up the final release. If you want a MMO FPS then check out Planetside 2 it's out on PC and I believe PS4 as well. Free to play as well.

I tried out Planetside once, but it doens't live up to the experience I've had in MAG sadly.
 
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