For almost a year we have talked very little, as in only three stories little, about the upcoming FPS Massive Action Game for the PS3. This is due in small part to the fact that we have been trying out all the melee attacks you have been submitting, but mainly because most of the information about the game have been under tight wraps. That all has changed, thanks to user Corran Horn over at the NeoGAF forums who, apparently, got a copy of the newest Game Informer and let loose the information we have been wanting, nay needing, about MAG. Let’s turn some bullet points into paragraphs, shall we?

MAG is set 20 years in the future with three major private military companies bidding for war spoils. Only two of the three factions, called the Shadow War 3 Factions, have been announced as of yet. The Raven feature high tech weapons and well trained soldiers that will appeal to the Halo/Resistance fan base, while the Sver are simply classified as the most battle hardened warriors. Details on the third faction are not available as of yet, but if history has taught us anything then the last faction will rely mainly on science.

Zipper Interactive has been running closed 256-player tests since November 2008 with future plans for closed and open betas. The team hopes to have anywhere from 2 to 256 players simultaneously on dedicated servers with a constant 30fps, no matter the action on screen. The audio effects will be actual players in combat, or player triggered actions, not scripted noises. If a plane flies by or a siren sounds in another region of the map, you will be able to hear it in the distance, and if the person who caused that ruckus is cheating, the system will know it. MAG will utilize the PunkBuster detection system, which will keep an eye on things like rate of fire, erratic movement, and damage levels to keep things honest. No word on the TeaBagZapper, a technology that sends a million volts to anyone who crouches on a fallen enemy’s face more than twice, we have been hoping for.

Zipper says it wants the game to be approachable by the casual gamer, but still have some features for the hardcore. The game has no basic “soldier class” but instead uses a free-form creation kit, with customizable face, voice and armor, that lets the player save three different load outs and allows changes based on how the battle is going. Additionally, MAG utilizes a XP based ranking system that gives access to new weapons, perks, and leadership positions, positions which allow players to enlist in leadership roles, giving orders to squads, platoons, and eventually companies over officer only communication channels.

Gameplay will have at least four game modes: a domination mode where your faction gets XP bonuses and perks for consistent victories; an escort-style mode where players have to steal two transports and get them to an extraction zone; a sabotage mode that gives players two points to hold for a set amount of time after which an objective is revealed that must be destroyed; and the basic deathmatch mode. In each of these modes, each squad/platoon will have their own certain goal to attain, such as blowing up bridges which will provide additional XP.

MAG is sounding like a great game for us FPS lovers and is scheduled to be locked and loaded this fall. What say you, could this be a Killzone 2 or Modern Warfare 2 killer?