Sony's 2008 E3 Conference was nothing short of amazing, and it had to be. Among the new games announced stood MAG. It seemed that Zipper Interactive wanted to push the idea of 256 players in one online multiplayer match in the face of viewers. Questions rapidly emerged. Will 256 players lead to lag? Will the servers sustain that amount of players? How will Zipper make it so that the online matches are organized instead of chaotic? The concept on paper seems nice, but we all know that turning it into a PS3 exclusive is easier said than done.
Now in 2009, MAG's launch is just a few months away. The beta recently came to a halt on December 5th. The reception was mixed, just to say the least. The concerns from critics range from awkward controls and unbalanced gameplay, to horrible sound and graphics. Are they right? No, they just need a break from all that Modern Warfare. As a beta tester, I can say the game is great, not amazing, not Call of Duty on steroids, just great in it's own unique way. Now you must be asking yourself, "then what's the deal with the title"? Well, I believe MAG might just be the next PS3 flop and not because the game might be poorly executed,(it's not) but actually due to the unprofessional and disgusting gaming media. So without further delay, here are a few parts of MAG that will be nitpicked in reviews.
-Graphics: How many times do you need to explain to someone the concept of 256-player online matches and the burden it places on graphics? Apparently, a lot of times. As a beta tester I can confirm that the graphics of this game are decent and at par with several FPS games which is stunning. For some reason, I think the media will quickly ignore this and resume to bashing the game for its graphics.
-Sound: An issue some have had with the MAG beta is the sound, stating that the guns sound more like popcorn. Is this true? I guess you could say that. The sound may need work, but it's completely negligible and nothing to bring the game down for. On the bright side, the game's music is really good and varies depending on what faction you choose.
-Controls: Seeing how Killzone 2 was quickly criticized for it's sluggish controls, I can only imagine MAG. Unless this game allows you to change the controls, some may find it a bit awkward or strange at first when playing. However, does it matter that I change weapons with R2 and shoot with R1? That I have to press L2 in order to access my grenade? Of course not.
So how can MAG escape the jaws of critics like Edge or that random blog that comes out of nowhere with a low score? Simple answer is, it can't. On the other hand, there are those of us that realize that Zipper has a great game on their hands with loads of potential. The game will be simply spectacular, assuming that the launch goes smoothly next year.
Monster taming RPG 'Monster Crown: Sin Eater' will be coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on April 30th, 2026.
SNK and PLAION have announced the Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System+. Launches November 12th, 2026.
Sadly when i try to checkout, it wont let me select United States. their site thinks i'm in another zone for some weird reason.
edit... it was my office internet being the issue. i did it on my phone through cellular and it worked. Got me a white one.
it lets me order from Canada.. only charges me $20 for shipping too.
That being said. Spending $533 (CDN) on the white unit for it to primarily just sit and collect dust would be a little foolish.
It's an awesome idea though.
I almost went for the ultimate edition... as that truly is the best deal. the games by themselves are $90 (US), that alone is $900 in value for all 10 titles. then add in the $250 for the console and wired stick. Another $120 for a wireless stick, $60 for a wireless pad and then $35 for the memory card. $1365 (US) if all bought separately.
I just had to... I already have an AES with a multi-cart. But this thing was just too good to pass up. Especially since the wireless controller works on regular AES and the game cart does as well. Plus it comes with a matching white memory card.
@darthv72 - I'm not a collector of games for these retro consoles (have the Analogue Super NT (SNES), Mega SG (Genesis) and 3D (N64). But I just use everdrives with each system as I only have a couple of SNES carts and only 2 N64 carts. A lot of these games are stupidly expensive so I'd rather just invest in a single everdrive and then I can just run every game. However the everdrive that works with the AES is $600! Crazy stuff.
^^...that is why i got one of those 160-1 carts off aliexpress. it works great. and yeah i use everdrives and ODE where available. i do like to buy PS4/5 games and Switch stuff though. I dont buy much in the way of physical XB anymore, I just use GPU to play what I like.
Had no idea SNK were still around tbh. What have they been working on for the last decade or two?
This brings back memories. I remember when I first saw Neo Geo back in 1991, it was $649.99 at launch, which would equal $1,575 today. I was thinking holy shit who is going to buy that when SNES was $200 and Genesis was $189. Well I was wrong, 😂 it sold for 14 yrs. My ringtone is the Neo Geo jingle https://www.youtube.com/wat... 😁
Engineer Hugh is sent from Earth to investigate a malfunctioning research station and meets a young android who helps him fend off murderous mechs.
Actually, concerning its graphics, the problem is not that MAG is ugly. There are much uglier games that have been praised by the critics for their online experience, such as Modern Warfare 2 or Left 4 Dead.
The real problem is that the game looks generic. I said it in the beta forums, I wished MAG would be original in its level-design or chara-design, something similar to Team Fortress, for example. But when you play the beta, you only play in gray places or orange places, some generic ruins of a town, nothing really catchy.
To be honest, since i'm beta-tester, MAG is the only game I didn't enjoy testing. I played it because I had to in order to report bugs and glitches, but I only felt like playing Socom on a big map with more players. And I believe this will be a crucial point in reviews.
Lol these days great games go past the industrys eyes and those who are lucky enough to have them open will enjoy it.
Killzone 2 is a fantastic game despite all its hate. I dont expect MAG to be any different.
MAG is pretty good. So much that after my final domination map with 200+ players, I feel the urge of playing this beast again, I'm really missing MAG.
I dont care about EDGe ridiculous pieces they use to label as "reviews". If something is clear is that those guys only care about innovation when games are not in the realm of MS interests. I dont know if it is fanboyism or MS paychecks but the result is the same.
BTW, if you look at VGchartz preorder chartz(just as a reference) MAG is sitting well above of Battelfield:BC2 (on any platform) and second to GoW3. I expect the game to sell pretty good and gather a huge and dedicated socom-like fanbase.
I hate the beta of MAG with the same passion that I hate Killzone 2. Generic, dull and boring games.