Last week, SCEA Social Media Manager Jeff Rubenstein stated that reviews didn't come out early for MAG because of the inability for reviewers to test out the game's major selling feature: namely, 256 simultaneous player combat. Well, now the game has finally been out for a week, and the reviews for it have come back mixed.
On the positive side, there's 1UP, who gave the game an “A-” and said, “MAG is unlike anything else on PS3. In fact, it's unlike anything else on any console system.” Destructoid gave the game an 8.0 and said, “Massive Action Game delivers on the promise of its name. It's certainly massive, and there is more than enough action to go around. MAG's biggest draw, however, is that it's perfect for both hardcore multiplayer FPS fans and newcomers alike.”
Less charitable was IGN, who gave it a 70 and said, “Unfortunately, it didn't show that more players means more fun. Bugs, imbalances, and a lack of content for the price make what could have been an excellent game just decent.” Edge gave the game its lowest score with a 6 and said, “With its robust clan support MAG still offers a cooperative experience on a rare scale for bands of dedicated players willing to weather the unnecessary confusions and ungenerous structure of the early game. For the rest, MAG rarely deals out the empowerment and clarity of purpose that other team shooters, like the forthcoming Battlefield: Bad Company 2, offer from the get go. It’s not quite ‘welcome to the suck’, but gamers may wonder if MAG’s a battle worth fighting.”
Because of the nature of MAG as an online only title, it can certainly be improved and refined from its present state. It remains to be seen if the game and its massive scale will manage to find a core audience like Zipper's SOCOM entries on PS2 or whether it will wilt in the face of competition with games featuring both on and offline components, like the PS3 title SOCOM: Confrontation did (notably, not developed by Zipper Interactive).
3 Comments
February 4, 2010
Um, SOCOM was online only. That offline stuff didn't kick in as expected.
February 4, 2010
I implied it, but yes, SOCOM: Confrontation is online only and never did as well as its predecessors. MAG has more potential than it, but as I wrote, it will have to compete with online titles that also have offline components.
March 11, 2010
MAG has more potential than it, but as I wrote, it will have to compete with online titles that also have offline components.
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