MAG review

MAG- PS3 Review

Presentation:

MAG (or Massive Action Game.  But MAG sounds better) is an online only first person shooter developed by Zipper, the guys known for the SOCOM franchise on the PS2.  The game thrusts you into a real-time global war as one of three factions.  Raven, SVER or Valor.  Each faction operates differently and has it’s own unique load out.  There isn’t much of a story past this due to the online only nature.  Rest assured though, MAG still is worth your cash. 

The war (dubbed the Shadow War) changes with each match the players complete.  Each win is recorded and you are presented with the numbers of who is currently “winning” the Shadow War. 

The matches themselves are what set MAG apart.  Up to 256 players can compete at the same time.  This is the largest number of players possible to play in the same match on the PS3 yet.  And it runs without a problem. 

8/10

 

Graphics:

As one might expect, for such huge battles the graphics are not exactly Uncharted 2: Among Thieves quality.  However, they do their job, and the game does look very good.  Textures are, for the most part, acceptable, and there are no problems such as screen tearing. 

8/10

 

Sound:

MAG has exceptional sound design.  The huge battles are accompanied with bullets zipping across the speaker channels.  Explosions pack a decent exceptional punch.  The Voice acting in the menus is good as well.  Valor’s menu is the most rough around the edges, with it’s gruff drill sergeant, but it still works. 

The only problem that I have is that some of the guns sound underpowered.  It’s a minor complaint, but it’s noticeable after many hours of play. 

8.5/10

 

Gameplay:

MAG plays like every other first person shooter out there in terms of controls.  It most resembles Battlefield in terms of play style.  Team work is a necessity.  As you rank up you unlock skill points that unlock new upgrades and bonuses for your character.  At rank 15 out of 60 you unlock the ability to become a squad leader.  As a squad leader, you control where your squad attacks, give out assignments and carry bonuses into battle.  After enough wins you unlock the ability to become a Platoon Leader and Officer in Charge. 

At rank 60, you are recruited to one of the two other factions, which let’s you switch up your play style. 

9/10

 

Lasting Value

MAG will last you a while if you try to go for every medal.  The only problem is that at the time of this review, there are not that many maps, and only four game modes.  With the promise of add on content, this is a null point. 

9/10

 

Overall:

MAG is another excellent entry into the Playstation 3’s exclusive library.  If you have some spare cash and time for a time sink multiplayer game pick it up. 

8.5/10

Cute girl of the month: February 2010- Alison Brie

Watching Community last night, and seeing Alison Brie as Annie reminded me so much of that ideal "girl next door".  Something about her gets to me.  Maybe it's those eyes?  Or the innocent look she has.  Either way, it works.  

Army of Two: The 40th Day- PS3 Review

Army of Two: the 40^th Day- PS3 review

 

Presentation:

 

A sequel to 2007’s Army of Two was inevitable.  It didn’t sell all that well but EA wants the franchise to become a big selling Gears of War clone.  The first game was very average, and the second follows the same path. 

 

Rios and Salem find themselves in the center of shanghai when shit begins to hit the fan.  Buildings blow up, innocents die and you shoot things.  You shoot a lot of things.  And it’s never clear why the mercs have more soldiers than the US army.  But they do. 

 

Anyways, the game follows the two buds as they shoot things, and… you know what, after two playthroughs, I’m still not sure what the game was about.  I didn’t even know who the bad guy was until the endgame cutscene.

 

However, Army of Two doesn’t care.  It knows it’s story is dumb.  It just wants you and a friend to have fun playing it.  And the game succeeds at that.  I often found myself with a grin on my face after killing Merc with Jason Vorhees mask number 30.  So the game did that well at least.

 

7/10

 

Graphics:

 

AoT:40^th D, looks rather decent.  It’s got the standard color scheme of shooters now a days.  Brown, and light brown.  Character models got an upgrade and overall it looks a lot better than part one. 

 

7.5/10

 

Sound:

 

I have to give credit to the game, it does sound nice.  Gunshots have an oomph, and explosions sound… explosiony.  Nolan North lends his voice again, and as usual he’s great.  The lines can still be awful, but at least North provides a wink and a grin style delivery to them, that makes the games ham fisted dialogue listenable. 

 

8.5/10

 

Gameplay:

 

Army of Two: The 40^th Day’s gameplay is exactly what you would expect.  You take cover.  You pop out of cover.  You shoot bad guy.  However, the Aggro system adds a bit of strategy to the game.  You fire more, you attract the attention of the enemy.  This allows your partner to become invisible and flank enemies.  The problem is, if you are playing single-player, your AI partner is too much of a dipshit to flank them.  It works if you are doing co-op with a friend though. 

 

Guns have upgrades that are actually a lot of fun to collect.  And the wide range of options is nice. 

 

You now also have morality choices in cutscenes.  They don’t change much, but it is nice to have them there. 

You can rescue scattered civilian hostages through out the game as well.  It’s a nice touch, but it can get annoying. 

 

8/10

 

Lasting Value:

 

The campaign is short, 6-8 hours in length.  However, if you and a buddy don’t get bored playing through it, it can last you a while.  The online modes are rather decent.  We have a horde mode knock off called Survivor, that pits four players against 16 rounds of enemies.  The standards are here as well, Deathmatch, TDM, CTF and what not.  It’s not that bad actually.  However, lag can get overbearing and ruin a match.  If you can handle that you might have some fun. 

 

7/10

 

Overall: 

Army of Two: The 40^th Day is a decent mind-numbing co-op affair that will please you if nothing better is available.  Hopefully, for Rios and Salems third outing, all the improvements that were made for the sequel will remain, and a good story can put the game into a higher category.  Give it a rent or purchase it on the cheap. 

7.5/10

Hello 2010!

I'm two months late but what the hey.  Gamma's Review is going to be updated more frequently this year.  I've got some good content planned.  

See ya soon!