In the build up to MAG I was dubious as to the reason for the games existence. Was the point just to push the boundaries of the hardware and network with the creation of a really elaborate “tech demo” or was there more to MAG than that. The answer will be different to each person as it really depends on what you are looking for from the game. It ain’t no Gears of War or Call of Duty as you just don’t get a single player campaign to build the emotional buy in, but it certainly stands uniquely on its own and has certainly set the benchmark for massively online gaming.

Jumping into the game, there are very few choices to make to get you into the online chaos. Simply choose between the private armies of Raven, S.V.E.R or Valor and your rookie solider can start the process of learning how to survive in the MAG environment. You first few hours online are sure to see you become cannon fodder as you sass out the maps and learn the hard way. Standing still in the open for longer than a split second to contemplate your next move will see you dead. Snipers abound in MAG as do every other class of soldier and that’s the difference. Death or survival is literally around every corner and you can’t drop your guard for a second.

Starting off your private military career you’ll have to put in some training to learn the ropes and thereafter as your skill rises additional modes will be unlocked. In Suppression you “train” against 63 other players from your own army to hone your skills. It is loads of fun and it alone could keep me entertained for months without feeling the need to venture into the rest of the game. Sabotage mode is another 64 player mode, there for the more objective driven player who feels the need to have a purpose to the carnage. Here you need to steal or protect the three objectives in the round. Ramping up to 128 players in Acquisition mode, vehicles enter the fray and you’ll need to take or defend the vehicles. Still not enough for you? Okay, check out Domination for 256 player fighting to secure and hold eight targets. Organised…or rather, not so organized chaos. There really is something for everyone when it comes to game modes.

Loadouts!

Using the right tool for the job is oh so true in MAG. As your XP increases you will gain skill points which you can use to purchase upgrades to weapons or new weapons altogether. The armoury section in the menu allows you to pre-configure your gear in loadouts so you can quickly swap from being a run in guns blazing dude to a sneaky sniper lurking in the shadows. Through this feature you get to assign your primary and secondary weapons, select grenade types and optionally pack in repair or first aid kits, not to forget selecting your armour. You can only pack so much weight so you’ll have to compromise somewhere. The loadouts work really well and help you easily switch between respawns based on what you think is needed during a particular phase of combat.

Pop in the barracks option in the menu and here you get to tailor your soldier by choosing how to allocate the skill points you have secured through your killing sprees on the battlefields. With each kill, assist, heal and so on you earn experience which accumulates towards your overall rank. As your experience reaches predetermined points your rank increases and you are allocated another skill point. You can then use these skill points to fine tune your weapon or character attributes.

For instance, you can reduce the time it takes to reload, secure the ability to heal others or just upgrade to the uber sniper rifle. The system is well balanced and goes a long way to giving you a sense of ownership over your character and a desire to play more so you can upgrade more. There is a sensible feature that allows you to re-spec your character which basically wipes the slate clean of your prior purchases. So if you start off researching being a machine gunner and decide to rather specialize as a sniper you can do that without creating a new character.

Leadership

Squad leader, platoon leader or officer in charger are the three sought after leadership roles in MAG. You first need to put in the hours grinding past level 15 before even considering these. Each leadership role has different modifiers attached which aim to boost the attributes of those players immediately around the leader. So as a rookie you’ll want to hang around the leader and, depending on their leadership role, you could benefit from reduced reload time, take less damage from gas grenades or enjoy improved first aid.

In the complete chaos of MAG you are going to get shot as the odds are stacked against you between the snipers, hordes of rambo’s with guns and the ever so annoying punks flinging gas grenades everywhere. So my advice to you is to stick in a group so you improve your chances of surviving and so that when you get shot someone can revive you. Follow a leader or person with a + sign next to his name indicating that they have unlocked the heal other players ability. Fortunately MAG rewards those who heal generously with experience points so more often than not you’ll get healed provided you’re not surrounded by the enemy.

There are a ton of awards in MAG, as one would expect from a military based shooter. Meaningless to most but certain to keep some of you burning the midnight oil for months to come during your quest to secure them all! On a similar note there is a rundown of all your stats for your viewing pleasure. Perhaps some can use the information to improve their gameplay and others can glance now and again and muse how else they could have spent their time.

I really enjoyed MAG for the pick up and play shooter it is. There is always action to be found any time of the day or night, so you’ll never be left wanting when the need to shoot something calls. It is great that you can just jump into one of the different game types and continue leveling up your character to hone your skills. MAG is a solid online action shooter and one I’m sure to be coming back to from time to time.

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