The game’s biggest (and most publicised) failing is in how it sets about managing the ebb and flow of battles. Coordinating an army of 128 troops is a dizzying prospect, and unfortunately the tools supplied feel insufficient to competently aid such coordination. While a command structure is in place (with higher ranked players being able to assume squad leadership or command of the whole army), the stark reality is that many players don’t have headsets/mics, and just as many simply do not want to take orders. It would seem then, that chaos is the inevitable outcome. This isn’t entirely the case however; while we would find it very difficult to argue that any of the games we played had any kind of structured, coordinated plans being followed, there does generally seem to be a more organic ebb and flow to conflicts, guided (albeit it vaguely) by the various objectives presented on the maps. Unfortunately, there is no hiding the fact that much of the vagueness is a result of how poorly MAG conveys information as to what is happening in the battle at large.

The most frustrating aspect of MAG however isn’t in its wobbly communication set-up, but in other areas. Playing MAG can be a real test of patience, mainly due to age that you often have to wait to respawn. Waiting 20 seconds to re-enter the fray after dying might not sound like a long time, but when the 20 seconds prior to your death were spent traversing the battlefield only to be gunned down by an unseen enemy…well…40 seconds of fun it ain’t! This is apparently due to technical reason, but regardless of this it remains a significant frustration that Zipper should try resolve as a matter of priority.

This problem is exasperated by an undernourished spawn point system. While advance spawn points can be established (by capturing helicopter landing pads and in obtaining mobile armoured personnel carriers), there is no permanent squad-level system enabling you to spawn with (or at least near) the rest of your squad. The upshot of this is you can spend a large amount of time simply running to the action and then dying. Then it’s back to the 20 second respawn! While this may merely be a reflection of our combat abilities, it is something that is likely to be big turn off for many players.

MAG also struggles in providing a decent sense of purpose. The three Private Military Companies (PMCs) from which you can choose – S.V.E.R, Raven Industries and Valor Company – lack individuality, with only their outfits to separate them. Back-stories are provided but the factions ultimately feel interchangeable. Once you have chosen you are locked into the PMC for the long-haul until you reach a high enough level which allows you to change, or if you choose to create another save file. This does go some way to instilling a sense of loyalty and the feeling of ‘us versus them’, it is just a shame that your initial choice is driven mainly by which outfits you prefer!

So where does that leave us? On one hand, MAG is an ambitious experiment that has delivered on many of its promises – it genuinely offers lag-free 256 player online battles with a huge potential for team work. On the other hand, it is a game that struggles to find a sense of purpose beyond this, or a real sense of identity. Most damning is the amount of the work that remains to be done before the game realises the full potential of the massive action game concept – MAG presently stands as evidence that more players doesn’t automatically equal more fun. There is every chance this could be resolved over time, but in it’s current form those seeking militaristic thrills are far better served by the likes of Modern Warfare 2; a game which is far smaller in scale but that offers a much greater sense of immersion, tension and satisfaction in knowing that you have had a real impact on the outcome of a game. In MAG, far too often you feel like a nobody merely struggling to survive in a poorly justified conflict… So, maybe it has nailed the reality of war after all!

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