MAG

First published on 3 Mar 2010. Updated on 23 Nov 2010.

MAG MAG stands for Massive Action Game. Set in the near future where war between nations has ended due a peace accord, Private Military Companies (PMCs) essentially outsource war to the highest bidder. That's the depth of the story, but that's irrelevant as the real point is to jump online with 255 other people and shoot the living shit out of one another. This is quite the feat, especially for a console, and makes for a fast and chaotically fun time.

There's an overall world map that plays a bit like the Battlefields in World of Warcraft. Factions constantly fight each other in different maps, aiming to win a range of king of the hill-style objectives, getting bonuses for controlling more maps than the other team.

You join one of the game's three factions – SVER, Raven Industries or Valor Company – and you're locked into that faction until you reach 60, when you start from scratch on another faction. Like Modern Warfare 2, it has an RPG-lite functionality to it where you can level up your soldier and weaponry, gaining perks and gadgets. You're told you can level up, can change kits, told certain things give you bonuses, but not shown how to apply them to your soldier or how much of a gain you'll get for that bonus. That wouldn't be so bad if you could easily modify your soldier or swap teams to try out different kits, but because the game locks you into one faction and gaining levels occurs at such a sluggish pace you simply don't have the option to experiment. If you make the wrong decisions early, the game can be less enjoyable later on.

Another big issue is balancing. There are differences in the factions' armaments that favour one side, as well as silly things like even though you've got a big-ass machine gun and shoot someone multiple times, they can kill you with one hit with a knife. Also, there's no offline component: don't bother if you're not online with your PS3.

If you like shooters and are comfortable in virtual warzones,MAG is a fantastically fun game. However, if you haven't played a shooter in a while or have the patience to learn the nuances of the game, you may find it overwhelming.