Zipper’s huge, Move-enabled online shooter, MAG, is coming to the PlayStation Store this week at the low low price of $29.99. That’s half the price of when it launched back in January; not bad.

Not convinced? If you’re a PS Plus member you can play the game, free of charge all the way up to level 8 (which takes a fair while). You’ll stop levelling after that but you can keep playing, and all the experience you earn will carry over to when/if you buy the full game.

So basically PS Plus members get the game for free.

Hot off the official MAG blog is word of a new patch (v 2.10) coming sometime next week. The post doesn’t get into specifics, but says the update will include “gameplay and technical amendments along with new game-queue functionality that MAG fans should definitely appreciate.”

Zipper Interactive has certainly been busy on the MAG support front. In Oct. it dropped a patch bomb including Move support along with many other technical and gameplay updates.

Zipper indicates that official details on the update will come next week prior to the release of the download.

After a brief delay, MAG‘s Escalation add-on is now ready to go. PlayStation.Blog brings news of its imminent arrival.

The content was first expected this Tuesday but will instead arrive today, with all its new weapons, maps, and of course the titular gamemode.

It’ll be available via PSN later today for $9.99 ($7.99 to those who picked up the Interdiction add-on before Oct 28).

The content’s arrival also kicks off a few deals: Interdiction is now available for $4.99, the MAG Starter Kit for $14.99, and PS Plus subscribers will be able to pick up Escalation for $7.99 and Interdiction for $2.50 (through Dec 14).

In an update on the PlayStation.Blog, community manager of Zipper Interactive Jeremy Dunham informed that the Escalation DLC for their massive online shooter MAG will be released onto the PlayStation Store on November 2nd for the small price of $9.99 (US).

As informed by Dunham, the MAG 2.0 patch has been available since late September, but the DLC has remained restrained. But come November 2nd, it’ll roam free and not only that, Zipper is coming with some great deals in celebration of its release.

In addition to Escalation – a mode based on getting as many points as possible in order to win the map – you can also purchase the Interdiction game mode, which sports 128 players and 16 APCs at once trying to gain control of three crucial locations in a capture the flag sort of gameplay. Normally, it goes for $9.99 as well, but will be lowered to $4.99.

If you’re completely new to the game, then you probably want to do what we usually do on these occasions and go for broke by purchasing the MAG Starter Kit which includes both DLCs as well as a range of little digital goodies such as a 30-day trial for MAG character slots B and C, six official MAG PS3 avatars that sport Raven, SVER, and Valor characters and badges, and three dynamic PS3 themes (one for each PMC).

November will be a busy, busy month.

One of the best things about PlayStation Move is that even before picking one up you’ve probably got one or two games that support the device, as certain titles already have patches for the controller. I spent the weekend rummaging through my library of PS3 titles and pulling out games that patched in Move support.

The first title I was eager to try out was Heavy Rain, which was not only patched but received a whole new retail edition for those that missed out on the murder mystery the first time around. I reviewed Quantic Dream’s adventure way back in February and really enjoyed it, but I had a few issues, one of which being the controls. I since went on to platinum the game, vowing never to put the disc in again after endlessly replaying scene after scene for my trophy addiction.

It turns out that the Move controls may just pull me through the experience one more time though. While a lot of the simpler motions built into the game like opening doors come off a little cheap, during the more intense action scenes it’s a lot more fun and (more importantly) challenging to whip the controller around in time. Mundane tasks like brushing your teeth feel even more ridiculous now that you have to wave your arms around to do them, but once you settle in you find it helps the game flow a lot more than with a DualShock. It still manages to make an amazingly complex mini-game for sitting down though; can’t I just push X?

Moving on I dug up my copy of EyePet, which also got the retail treatment. In fact, getting the disc may well be the better option over a patch seeing as it comes with a hefty download, weighing in at over 2GB. Plus it now sits on my XMB all the time, creating an awkward moment of silence when I turn on the PS3 to play Fifa with my mates and they all see the cutesy EyePet logo: “It’s for my little sister guys… honest.”

Still, at least early adopters can throw out that silly magic card now; EyePet has improved tenfold with the Move update. No longer do you have to have to wave a flimsy bit of plastic directly at the PlayStation Eye to awkwardly hover a cookie jar over your little friend. The camera recognises the Move with ease, letting you hold it pretty much any way you want as long as it can see the glowing light.

You’ll have to get conditions just right for the Eye though; it still struggles with the initial setup but it’s a pain-free experience once that’s out of the way. It’s turned what was initially a fun gimmick that wore off quickly into a much more reliable, fun game. Still, you won’t catch me saying that anywhere past this feature.

The final game I tried was MAG, perhaps the most unexpected of all games to receive a patch, even with Zipper’s SOCOM 4 being compatible. Again, I reviewed MAG earlier this year and enjoyed it despite its strictly hardcore focus. This is the first taste of a Move FPS for PS3 owners and it holds up pretty well, though mastering the controls will set you back a few days. It took a while for me to get the calibration just right and even then other players were running circles round me. Sure, that happened to me when I was playing MAG with a DualShock too, but I can’t see Move giving the more competitive players the edge. The game handles pretty much like any good Wii shooter, although I found it to be a tad more sensitive.

For us less serious types it’s a fun, new, and accessible way into what feels like a “Pros only” game. If you need your FPS fix, you may find it here until Killzone 3 launches early next year.

So for the most part the Move offers a fun alternative to some of the games you already know and love. Is it the DualShock replacement? Not quite, but that’s the beauty of Sony’s approach to the controller: choice. It really is up to you what you use to play and we’re willing to bet a lot of people start to warm up to waggling soon.

It’s always nice to see a game developer actually offer the continued support so often touted for multiplayer releases; Zipper Interactive has released a huge patch for their current title MAG. The biggest feature brought forth with the patch is support for Playstation Move controllers, offering a drastically new means of playing the game.

In addition to that, the patch also adds in an increased level cap, an updated skill tree, a new economy system, and a clan deploy feature. The full list of updates is listed below. The game also just earned Greatest Hits status, and thus can now be had for around $30, in case these changes sound intriguing to those who don’t own it.

Gameplay (General)

• Character level cap has been increased from level 60 to level 70
• Added new “Supply Depot” menu and in-game economy system (see “Gameplay – Economy” section for details)
• Implemented new “Clan Deploy” feature that allows Clan Leaders and Officers to deploy into group queues of up to 128 players
• Characters moving from MAG v1.XX to MAG 2.0 will receive an immediate and automatic Respec the first time they log in
• Repair Kits can now inflict damage on enemy soldiers, vehicles and objectives
• XP rate for “Repair” has been increased from 1.5XP/ 10pts to 3XP/ 10pts
• Players can now track all “sprinting” enemies on the mini-map without the need for equipment
• All “Damage Bar” rates for “Domination” maps have reverted back to their original (and identical) values
• Tuned the frequency in which a player can jump to eliminate “bunny hopper” techniques
• Reduced helicopter settle time, widened turret rotation and significantly increased health to strengthen their use as a forward spawn point
• The “Silent Step” OIC Leadership ability now works as intended by allowing nearby squadmates to move at both regular and running speeds without detection from the motion sensor — does not stack with any related skills or modifiers

Gameplay – (Economy)

• Added in-game currency known as “Credit Points (CP)” that is awarded for by completing objectives, earning ribbons, finishing missions, and killing enemies
• All gear and weapons are now located by default or can be sold or purchased in the “Supply Depot” menu

Gameplay – Skills (Overall)

• All Skills cost only one point per unlock, allowing players to purchase new skills with every level increase
• Removed all gear and weapon attainment from the “Skills” menu, they now reside in the separate “Supply Depot”
• Added “Engineering, Medical, Resistances, Special Ops,” and ‘Vehicles” meta-categories to the “Skills” menu
• Removed “Electronics, Explosives, Heavy, Personal Defense,” and “Support” meta-categories from the “Skills” menu
• Each meta-category in the “Skills” menu now has multi-branching paths
• The “Advanced Grenades, Improved Resuscitation, Improved Shot Detection, Improved Stealth,” and “Knives Expanded Reach” skills have all been eliminated or rolled into other skills (see Skills sub-sections below for details)
• Respec Points progression has been changed from 1K, 2K, 3K, 3K-Repeat to 1K, 3K, 5K, 5K-Repeat
• Respec Points can no longer be “banked” and are capped at the amount needed for the next Respec

Gameplay – Skills (Assault)

• Added the following skills to the “Assault” menu: “Assault Swap Speed” and “Rocket Launcher Reload Speed”
• Added three upgrade tiers to the following “Assault” skills: “Assault Reload Speed, Assault Rifle Steady Aim, Assault Swap Speed, Grenade Launcher Reload Speed,” and “Rocket Launcher Reload Speed”
• “Assault Reload Speed” skill has changed and now decreases the reload time for all assault rifles and machine guns
• “Assault Rifle Improved Stability” skill has been renamed to “Assault Recoil Stability” and has been changed to reduce the recoil on all assault rifles and machine guns
• “Assault Swap Speed” skill has been changed and now decreases the amount of time it takes to swap assault rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers and grenade launchers

Gameplay – Skills (Marksman)

• Added the following skills to the “Marksman” menu: “Increased Scope Magnification, Marksman Fire Rate, Marksman Recoil Stability” and “Marksman Swap Speed”
• Added three upgrade tiers to the following “Marksman” skills: “Increased Scope Magnification, Marksman Fire Rate, Marksman Reload Speed, Marksman Recoil Stability, Marksman Steady Aim,” and “Marksman Swap Speed”
• New “Increased Scope Magnification” skill increases the level of zoom when using a scope on a sniper rifle
• New “Marksman Fire Rate” skill increases the rate of fire for all sniper rifles
• New “Marksman Recoil Stability” skill reduces the amount of recoil on sniper rifles
• New “Marksman Swap Speed” skill decreases the amount of time it takes to swap sniper rifles

Gameplay – Skills (Close Quarters)

• Added the following skills to the “Close Quarters” menu: “Close Quarters Fire Rate, Close Quarters Swap Speed, Improved Knife Damage,” and “Knife Frequency”
• Added three upgrade tiers to the following “Close Quarters” skills: “Close Quarters Fire Rate, Close Quarters Recoil Stability, Close Quarters Reload Speed, Close Quarters Swap Speed, Improved Knife Damage,” and “Knife Frequency”
• “Close Quarters Improved Stability” skill has been renamed to “Close Quarters Recoil” stability and has been changed to reduced recoil on all pistols, personal defense weapons, submachine guns and shotguns
• New “Close Quarters Fire Rate” skill increases the fire rate of all pistols, personal defense weapons, submachine guns and shotguns
• New “Close Quarters Swap Speed” skill decreases the amount of time it takes to swap all pistols, personal defense weapons, submachine guns and shotguns
• New “Improved Knife Damage” skill increases the amount of damage knife attacks do to enemy soldiers
• “Knives Improved Swipe Speed” Skill has been renamed to Knife Frequency” skill, which decreases the time between knife attacks

Gameplay – Skills (Special Ops)

• Added the following skills, all with three-tiered upgrades, to the “Special Ops” menu: “Extended Tracking Duration, Improved Acoustic Locator, Improved Explosive Detector, Improved Motion Tracker, Improved Sensor Jammer” and “Improved Suppressors”
• New “Extended Tracking Duration” skill increases the amount of time a detected enemy is tracked on the mini-map and CNI
• New “Improved Acoustic Locator” skill increases the effective range of an equipped Acoustic Locator gear item
• New “Improved Explosive Detector” skill allows a soldier with an Explosives Detector gear item equipped to approach enemy mines while prone without triggering them
• New “Improved Motion Tracker” skill increases the range an equipped Motion Tracker gear item detects enemy movement
• New “Improved Sensor Jammer” skill allows a soldier with Sensor Jammer gear items to move at a faster rate before being spotted by enemy Motion Trackers, as well as masking nearby squadmates
• New “Improved Suppressors” skill increases the effectiveness of any suppressor when mounted on a weapon

Gameplay – Skills (Medical)

• Added the following skills, all with three-tiered upgrades, to the “Medical” menu: “Heal Recharge Rate, Improved Healing, Improved Resupply Rate, Medical Kit Heal Range, Self Heal Speed,” and “Resuscitation”
• New “Heal Recharge Rate” skill reduces the time between medical kit and first aid kit applications
• New “Improved Resupply Rate” skill reduces the time it takes to refill your gear and ammo at supply points
• New “Medical Kit Heal Range” skill increases the range a medical kit can heal wounded teammates
• New “Self Heal Speed” skill decreases the time it takes to apply a first aid kit or medical kit when self-healing

Gameplay – Skills (Engineering)

• Added the following skills, all with three-tiered upgrades, to the “Engineering” menu: “Advanced Electronics, Advanced Explosives, Improved Repair Kit Damage, Improved Repairing,” and “Mine Deploy Speed”
• New “Advanced Electronics” skill decreases the amount of time it takes to take control of battlefield electronics-based objectives
• New “Improved Repair Kit Damage” skill increases the amount of damage the repair kit does to enemy soldiers, vehicles and objective assets
• New “Mine Deploy Speed” skill reduces the amount of time it takes to deploy anti-personnel and anti-tank mines

Gameplay – Skills (Athleticism)

• Added the following skills to the “Athleticism” menu: “Increased Launcher Move Speed, Increased Move Speed,” and “Improved Sprint Speed”
• Added three upgrade tiers to the following “Athleticism” skills: “Advanced Paratrooper, Increased Endurance, Increased Launcher Move Speed, Increased Move Speed, Improved Sprint Recovery,” and “Improved Sprint Speed”
• New “Increased Launcher Move Speed” skill increases the top speed a soldier moves and aims while holding a rocket launcher
• New “Increased Move Speed” skill increases the top speed a soldier moves normally
• New “Improved Sprint Speed” skill increases the top speed a soldier moves while sprinting

Gameplay – Skills (Vehicles)

• Added the following skills, all with three-tiered upgrades, to the “Vehicles” menu: “Improved Smoke Screen Rate, Improved Turret Cooldown, Improved Vehicle Awareness, Improved Vehicle Impact Damage, Increased Vehicle Speed,” and “Vehicle Mine Resistance”
• New “Improved Smoke Screen Rate” skill reduces the amount of time between smoke screens activated by the driver of the vehicle
• New “Improved Turret Cooldown” skill reduces the time it takes for the soldier’s turret weapon to cool down after it has overheated
• New “Improved Vehicle Awareness” skill makes the mini-map visible while a soldier is manning a vehicle or bunker turret and can be upgraded to add base Acoustic Locator and Motion Tracker functionality
• New “Improved Vehicle Impact Damage” skill increases the amount of damage inflicted on enemy soldiers when impacted by the driver’s vehicle
• New “Increased Vehicle Speed” skill increases the top speed of the vehicle the soldier is driving
• New “Vehicle Mine Resistance” skill decreases the amount of damage a vehicle the soldier is driving takes from enemy anti-vehicle mines

Gameplay – Skills (Resistances)

• Added the following skills, all with three-tiered upgrades, to the “Resistances” menu: “Chemical Damage Resistance, Extended Bleedout, Explosive Damage Resistance Flashbang Resistance, Impact Damage Resistance,” and “Increased Health”
• New “Extended Bleedout” skill increases the time a soldier can remain incapacitated before he bleeds out
• New “Flashbang Resistance” skill decreases the duration a soldier is affected by flashbang grenades

Weapons

• Increased base damage on most automatic weapons by an average of 15%
• Improved the spread rate of Assault Rifles and Submachine guns when auto-firing so that they remain accurate longer
• All suppressors now reduce shooting detection range by half of their old default value
• Knife tuning: Reduced range by roughly 30 centimeters and decreased default “facing” damage bonuses
• Knife tuning: Changed knife attack angle so that a hit requires target to be closer to the center of the screen
• Shotgun tuning: Corrected issue that prevented all shotguns from reloading when the player was still holding the “fire” button
• Explosive tuning: Anti-personnel Mines now have a “line of sight” check for detonation and have been given a more realistic damage cone
• Explosive tuning: Increased “Anti-tank Mine” damage to vehicles by 50%

Gear and Apparel

• Explosives Detector no longer beeps when in proximity of a teammate’s mines — only when near an enemy’s; beep frequency has also been adjusted
• Motion Tracker has been updated so that it is no longer based on an enemy’s speed and is now based on an enemy’s stance, detecting movement for all un-jammed players
• The Sensor Jammer had been updated so that all prone movement by the equipped player is masked; can be enhanced with “Improved Sensor Jammer” skill to mask crouched movement at level 1, walking at level 2 and sprinting at level 3
• Light/ Improved Light Armor base speed has been reduced by nearly 3%
• Heavy/ Improved Heavy Armor base speed has been increased by nearly 3%
• Light and Heavy Armor types have been given “bonus” modifiers when used in conjunction with “Speed” skills so that Light Armors receive greater benefits and Heavy Armors receive lesser benefits

Interface

• Added “Community News” page to better inform players in-game of all MAG-related events or promotions
• Different grenade types now show specific in-game icons when thrown
• Repaired bug that would sometimes result in the post-game results screen displaying the incorrect amount of earned XP
• Added “Total Awarded Currency Points” to “Bonuses” section of the character “Stats” page
• Added Interdiction and Escalation Concept Art to “Extras” menu

Audio/ Visual

• Thrown or launched grenades now have a “trail” effect as well as an updated overall appearance to make them more visible on the battlefield
• Solved issue that prevented equipped grenades to appear in the player’s hand prior to throwing them
• An assortment of camera and animation optimizations for various scenarios including but not limited to iron sight/ laser sight zoom, ladder climbing, mine placement, self-healing, and weapon swapping
• Improved presentation of the character “jump” animation
• Updated various pieces of artwork with newer versions for better performance
• Fixed issue that sometimes prevented medical device appearance and/ or animations from displaying properly
• Increased the Sensor Array’s animation time to match the duration of its usage
• Repaired bug that prevented the “Alarm” audio from being played when charges were planted at “Objective C” in the “Syr Daria Uplink” and “Darrien Network” maps
• Slightly lowered the amount of camera shake from air strikes, explosions, and when firing weapons
• Repaired camera “pop” problem that would sometimes occur when sprinting out of a parachute drop
• Removed “shiny” graphics that would randomly appear on bridges for all maps in which a bridge is present
• Fixed issue that prevented win/ loss voice-over from being played when game clock expires in “Interdiction” mode
• Improved visual appearance of the Ribbon awards

Technical

• MAG now fully supports the PlayStation Move peripheral
• Fixed “Spooning Elevator” bug that allowed players who revived downed teammates while laying on top of them to float upwards and reach areas not intended to be accessed
• “MVP” criteria no longer considers bonus XP modifiers in its equation
• Repaired issue that disconnected some members of large-sized clans from the MAG game environment when logging in
• Fixed issue that would sometimes halt the patching process at 99% of the install period
• Resupply Depots have been optimized so that the meter accurately reflects what is being resupplied and the resupply process itself is more efficient
• Players can no longer take the driver’s seat in vehicles that are not their squad’s “spawn” APC, but can take any other seat in the vehicle regardless if their squad “owns” the APC or not
• Repaired issue with “Happy Hour” timer that would sometimes shave a few minutes off the correct total
• Solved problem that sometimes caused incapacitated players to rotate and move around
• Players are now prevented from spawning inside a helicopter that is headed out of the map
• Mended problem that caused the “Primary Objectives Completed” stat to sometimes double for various game types
• Made additional fixes for rare “game crash” scenarios
• Various localization updates and changes

Good news for PS3 gamers with itchy trigger fingers – details for MAG 2.0 have been released. No, no, this isn’t exactly a sequel to the massive online shooting game. MAG developer Zipper Interactive is calling it an “update” to the game. So, what can we expect in the coming update?

• PlayStation Move support
• An increased level cap that goes to level 70
• A revamped Skill Tree that allows for the deepest character customization and specialization ever found in a first-person shooter
• A brand-new in-game economy that lets you earn credits to spend on weapons and items from the also-new “Supply Depot”
• Our useful “Clan Deploy” feature that enables clan leaders and officers to queue up to 128 of their fellow clan members into a single game
• A “MAG News” page that brings players up to date on all the latest happenings the moment they log in
• A multitude of updates that refine existing weapons, maps, and vehicles
• Important bug fixes and other enhancements that streamline the overall experience

All of that in itself seems like pretty significant upgrades to an already impressive game. But wait, there’s more! The sharpshooters at Zipper are promising even more details on the game’s update before its release a month from now. Stay tuned for more..

Zipper Interactive’s large scale shooter MAG is getting a sequel, Walmart believes. And rather soon; the retailer’s website carries a listing (via) for MAG 2, which is said to be released on January 25, 2011.

The first game was released earlier this year, also in January.

When contacted for comment, Sony didn’t outright deny a sequel but does call any MAG 2 information the retail’s posted “pure speculation.” Walmart’s own reps are yet to weight in.

If not a full-blown sequel, a DLC-enhanced re-release perhaps? Seems to be all the rage lately.

We all thought Call of Duty would be the first to do it, but MAG now offers a monthly fee to get the most out of the game. Granted this fee isn’t mandatory and you’re not getting much less than “the most” without it. For 0.99 a piece, you can now get two extra character slots to use. Character slots don’t mean you’re able to pick a new faction from the original three, rather you can store new setups for your character including weapons and abilities.

Before you spit out your drink and cry to the gaming gods “Have they gone mad?” consider this; the type of gamer that still plays MAG is probably so committed to the game by now that they’ll gladly hand over less than 2 bucks a month to add further strategy to the game.

Zipper Interactive’s ambitious shooter MAG is destined to become playable with Sony’s upcoming PlayStation Move add-on; the platform holder’s gamescom press gathering delivered the news today.

Zipper’s also spreading the word on their official site, promising “full compatibility…pinpoint accuracy and easy access to all of the game’s mechanics.”

Do dates beyond ‘later this fall’ just yet.

MAG players are in for more downloadable content later this month, of the paid kind.

Attached to a $9.99 price tag is a new “Interdiction” game mode (also the name of the DLC itself), three new 128-player maps (Lake Bayano Spur, Sovot Motorway, Iron Cree Quarry), the Heavy Improved armor set, plus in-game medals, ribbons and trophies.

According to developer Zipper Interactive’s senior community manager Jeremy Dunham, who took to the official PlayStation blog to announce the news, the new mode is “crazy battlefield mayhem”.

Here’s what led the man to such a conclusion: “Interdiction challenges two rival factions to be attackers and seize control of three command posts with the aid of several heavily-armed convoys on three brand new maps. To make it even more interesting, we’ve made all three maps completely faction neutral – allowing all sides to play any map whenever they want – in addition to supplying every squad with their own APC vehicle (that’s 16 APCs on the map at once!).”

“To win, players must capture and hold as many objectives as possible to increase their score while concurrently depleting their enemy’s. In short, Interdiction mode = crazy battlefield mayhem.”

The content’s out on PSN starting June 22. Find a trailer detailing the new mode below.

Anything Zipper Interactive puts out after the 256-player madness that is MAG has got to be at least good. Not just good though; according to the company’s Twitter account there is something ‘exciting’ coming from the developer.

“Wait until you see what we have coming down the pipeline over the next few months,” they write in response to a fan praising the online shooter. “Very excited about it.”

After releasing the Trooper Gear Pack, MAG’s first round of downloadable content, in March, chances are this is another batch of new content. Or a new addition to the MAG platform, perhaps?

MAG will be getting its first piece of downloadable content next Thursday, on March 25, developer Zipper Interactive’s senior community manager Jeremy Dunham has announced on PlayStation’s official blog.

Going under the Trooper Gear Pack name, the content will include the apparently oft-requested flashbang grenade as well as new machine guns and uniforms; not the most ambitious DLC release, but a free one.

On the other hand, this is only the beginning of Zipper’s “ongoing commitment” to the title.

“In the coming months,” Dunham assures, “you can expect to see plenty of other add-ons and goodies that we can’t quite tell you about yet (but know you’ll enjoy).”

It’s not easy making an online shooter that supports 256 players, so it makes sense that Zipper Interactive wouldn’t just leave their recently released MAG, to rot in the streets of games that lack post-launch support. Zipper’s producer Alan Van Slyke says that the studio views their latest as more than just a game but rather a platform ready for new content to be added to well beyond the launch.

“We made a big investment, we had a lot of learning, we built a lot of tech, and we have this awesome multiplayer platform that we can build upon and add new gametypes to,” Van Slyke said to Joystiq, later adding, “the possibilities are endless for us, and in many ways, even though we just released the game, looking forward for us is super exciting, knowing what we can do with the engine we have today.” The 500,000 players who have already chosen their factions would probably agree.

MAG, the experimental new multiplayer FPS with massive, 256-player matches (our review here), has been gaining traction in the world of PlayStation 3 gaming. In a recent post in which he thanks fans for making 2009 a flagship year for the PS3, Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton revealed some key details pertaining to MAG’s growing popularity. As Tretton writes, “Over half a million of you have already chosen your allegiance in MAG, and have played over 270,000 games in the Shadow War.” According to sales figures, the shooting game is faring better in the UK than it is in the Americas. The game failed to break the top 10 last month in the US, while it has remained a top 10 game since its launch in Britain.

BioWare’s newcomer Mass Effect 2 has overtaken the crown from Just Dance in last week’s UK sales charts, despite the Ubisoft title enjoying a 16 percent increase in sales. The sci-fi epic was released on Friday, meaning it managed to topple the dance-o-rama title with just two days worth of sales. According to GFK Chart-Track, the Xbox 360 version of the role-playing shooter has had double the sales of its predecessor, while the PC version has tripled the sales of its counterpart.

Modern Warfare 2 saw a 3 percent drop in sales and dropped to third place while the second newcomer for the week, MAG (read our review here), debuts at number four. Top 20 follows.

1. MASS EFFECT 2
2. JUST DANCE
3. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2
4. MAG
5. WII SPORTS RESORT
6. WII FIT PLUS
7. FIFA 10
8. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII
9. ARMY OF TWO: THE 40TH DAY
10. JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR: THE GAME
11. ASSASSIN’S CREED II
12. MARIO KART WII
13. LEGO BATMAN: THE VIDEOGAME
14. FORZA MOTORSPORT 3
15. MARIO & SONIC AT OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
16. FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010
17. BORDERLANDS
18. DARKSIDERS
19. WII PLAY
20. GRAND THEFT AUTO IV

A successful shooter should not only provide a great campaign, but worthwhile multiplayer options too. It’s a big risk then, to focus solely on just one mode. Regardless, MAG, an online only FPS has stepped up to the task. It makes up for the lack of a campaign with the number of players on the battlefield. That number, if you didn’t know by now, is 256. The real question about MAG though, once you get over its impressive scale, is if bigger is better.

So once again the world is screwed up, and we’re fighting for what’s left of our resources. You sign up to one of three PMC’s: Valor, S.V.E.R., or Raven, and then spend your time waging war on the other two. Sound like something you once saw/played? You can probably think of a fair few titles that share a similar setup. MAG hasn’t got a fresh story, but it doesn’t really need to. An actual reason for you to fight is more than you get with most multiplayer titles, although when it has been done, it’s been done better.

The only real problem with this lack of originality is that it affects the gameplay. We’ve played thousands of modern FPSs before, so the weapons and vehicles etc aren’t going to be anything you haven’t seen before. As a result, the game lacks character, something hard to establish in the online world without the distinctive looks of a game like Team Fortress 2.

Each PMC offers a slight variation in gameplay; Raven have high-tech kit, S.V.E.R believe in courage and determination, and Valor use a well-rounded approach that balances out. No one side drastically differs from the other, but it’s worth taking a moment to think about who you’re going to fight as. For example, I consider myself to be a scrappy fighter, so I went with S.V.E.R., grabbed a dingy little AK-47U, and got in up close.

That got me dead pretty fast. Luckily MAG’s character customization is deep enough to let me go back and make my guy stronger. This shows that player size isn’t the only way that this is a big game; there are a wealth of upgrades to choose from, which you buy with points from leveling up. To level up, you gather XP from completing objectives and killing enemies. Again, nothing new, but there’s clearly been a lot of attention paid to this part of the game, making it a developed and at times addictive aspect. The “one more game” affect certainly settles in you’re close to the next level.

Now fully prepared, it’s time to head back into battle. It takes a few hours of leveling up to earn a spot in the big 256 player battles, but before there are a fair few game modes to keep you entertained during. Suppression, sabotage, and acquisition are the first 3 match types. Suppression and sabotage are essentially 64 player deathmatch and capture/hold missions, while acquisition is like a vehicle capture the flag as both teams have vehicles that they must protect or destroy.

The 256 player game type is domination, unlocked at level 8. This plays much like sabotage, just bigger. Things don’t get too messy despite the amount of people fighting, as you’re split into squads of eight men to control the chaos. Each squad has an objective; a structure to defend/attack. As you complete or fail objectives, you’ll push further into the map, where everyone meets up for the final showdown. It might sound daunting, but it’s perhaps the best way to put some kind of a leash on the battle. There is a strong learning curve though; it seems like a mammoth task getting to know all the maps etc.

To make the game something more than a Call of Duty clone, get a sense of the scale. For me, this happened a short time into a domination game, where I was struggling against a tank with my squad. I took a quick glance over to the far side of the map and, to my amazement, caught site of another squad having a similar encounter. It really impressed me that there was this whole other side, practically fighting a different match to my squad, and that in a few minutes we’d all meet up to take on a more challenging objective. It’s times like this I felt most that MAG had an identity of its own.

Despite the game living up to this promise, it’s taken me a long time to figure out if I like MAG. Throughout three solid days of playing I’ve changed my opinion a lot. It works well enough though the buttons differ from standard FPS (why is triangle crouch?) but you get used to them eventually. There are a few other niggles, like assigning so much equipment to the L2 button I throw a grenade when I mean to heal myself. You’ll never be able to control smoothly as Modern Warfare 2, but it does work.

The funniest thing about this game is that its real problems aren’t necessarily its own fault. Developers Zipper Interactive worked on the SOCOM games for PS2, which were the only titles worth playing online on the system. They focused on teamwork and communication. The same applies here, only it’s a lot harder to ask for these things when you increase the player size this much. You need a headset for the best experience, but the device doesn’t come with a PS3. I’ve yet to play a game with a good amount of players talking, or really working together.

This means that if you did play SOCOM, then you’ll fit right in with MAG’s harsh restrictions on respawn counts etc and come prepared with a headset. For these players, this is an incredible game, a true evolution of a PS2 classic.

There aren’t many people like that though, the rest of us getting lost in the maps and being served up for sniper bait. When I realised this, the real fact about MAG struck me, this is a niche game, one that’s trying to make it into the mainstream, but won’t get there. It looks like your standard shooter, but the potential is there for so much more. If you don’t play how the game wants you to play however, you’ll be punished.

Probably the best, most decisive thing I can say about MAG is that it is never a bad game. You can have a bad match, or just suck all the time, but it’s up to how you play. To say “it’s not as good as Modern Warfare 2” is simply irrelevant. It asks for too much to make a perfect game, and you’ll only get that once in a while.

Graphically, we’re not talking much. It’s not bad looking, but the settings don’t exactly allow for eye watering visuals. It’s all train yards and industrial estates, with a complete lack of anything interesting to look at. The best word to describe everything in this department is ‘fine’, and the game never exceeds that. This does help it to run without a hitch 90% of the time, rarely giving you trouble finding a game or suffering lag.

The sounds can really help the atmosphere though. When you’ve got a full squad letting their guns loose, with RPGs flying and tanks storming through, it’s truly an assault on the ears and as a result is the game’s best presentational feature.

MAG is a hard game to review, because your opinion will differ from a lot of people, so giving a definitive verdict is a difficult task. The game mainly appeals to a small fan base, but asks for a lot more players. If you liked/could have liked SOCOM, then you’ll probably love it. If not, you’ll have to put in a massive effort to appreciate this action game.

+ Delivers on its 256 player promise with ease
+ Despite first glance, offers a lot more than a standard CoD clone, offering deep strategic gameplay
+ Game engine holds up well even in the bigger matches

- You need teamwork, you need a headset. You won’t find either very often
- Doesn’t appeal to a mass audience but at the same time requires it
- Lack of originality makes for uninspired weapons, equipment, setting etc

The PlayStation 3 exclusive MAG, the tactical shooter fan’s potential wildest dream is out, and here to give it that final push is a launch trailer once more reminding us of its unique 256-player battles that developer Zipper would be surprised to see done elsewhere.

There’s also a day one patch waiting and ready to go in-game, one that apparently makes the final game better than the beta. “Believe it,” they say.

The servers for the game went online just yesterday, meaning our review copy was sadly collecting dust over the weekend but, after giving it a fair shake, expect our thoughts on it later this week or early next week at the very latest.

Patch notes below.

Gameplay
- Added ability for player to use knife during a reload animation.
- Applied significant tuning adjustments for all weapons and armor.
- Increased sprint duration before tiring by 30%.
- Lowered XP requirements for levels 2 thru 4.
- Lowered level-entry restrictions for Sabotage from Level 3 to Level 2.
- Lowered level-entry restrictions for Acquisition from Level 5 to Level 4.
- Lowered level-entry restrictions for Domination from Level 10 to Level 8.
- Enabled proper level requirements for unlocking headgear, facegear, and uniforms.
- Fixed problem with recoil/firing animation that kept playing for a few seconds after the player fires an automatic gun and uses knife swipe simultaneously.

Interface
- Fixed bug where incapacitated players’ nametags would occasionally disappear.
- Repositioned onscreen weapons for improved field of view.
- Armory items (facegear/ headgear/ uniforms) reordered.
- Removed helmets from “Loadout 3” for all factions.

Graphics
- Made significant increase in framerate during player-heavy games.
- Changed light settings for all environments.
- Polished recoil effect for better realism.
- Fixed offset muzzle flash effect.
- Tuned camera to shake more realistically when hit by bullets.
- Adjusted “blur” effect for both normal sights and iron sights.
- Added alternate reload animation.
- New “light scatter” treatment for all skies.
- Repaired various “weapon clipping” issues.
- Enacted several particle fogging adjustments.

Audio
- Switched first-person weapon sounds to true stereo.
- Moved first-person character interactions and weapon switches to true stereo.
- Tweaked sounds effects relating to landing on surfaces.

Technical
- Added error display and queue panel updates to notify player when they’ve encountered a “join game” failure.
- Made various server stability fixes and tweaks.

With the arrival of MAG on PS3 next week, Sony will have three FPS titles exclusive to their console. Resistance 2 and Killzone 2 sparked a friendly rivalry last year, and now Zipper’s huge online shooter has entered the fray. We asked Scott Rudi, senior designer on the game how he saw it stacking up against the other two at the MAG 256 event in London yesterday.

“I hope we all do well, I think we kinda cater for different audiences. There are different reasons for people to like different things about each game. I think we’ll stack up well against anyone on the market.” Both Resistance 2 and Killzone 2 received critical acclaim when they released a while back, so Zipper are obviously confident about obtaining similar praise.

But does Zipper share a good relationship with fellow devs Insomniac and Guerrilla? “I would call it an excellent relationship, yes.” Good to see everyone can play nice, then.

Sony threw quite the shindig to celebrate MAG‘s launch today, gathering 128 players in London to play the game at the same time, rounding off with a full 256 player match against Zipper Interactive in the US. TVGB played a few quick rounds, then ran upstairs to interview senior designer Scott Rudi before the big match. With the number of players in standard online shooters ever increasing, we asked if Rudi could ever see the magical 256 ever becoming the standard number for an online game, or if MAG was set to keep the record for a long time.

“I really can’t say for other products,” he began, “but MAG is possible because the PS3 is unique and rather aggressive architecture. I mean we are really using every available bit on that thing to get what we’re getting out of it.” MAG of course isn’t the first game to claim the PS3 is the only console to achieve such feats; many other PS3 exclusives have been said to only be possible on Sony’s device.

“We wrote our network code from scratch specifically for this, so if other people are capable of this I’ll be surprised.”

The release dates for Zipper Interactive’s ambitious MAG have been confirmed. The large scale shooter will be out in the UK on January 29, the rest of Europe on January 27, and Australia & New Zealand on January 28. If you’re experiencing a little deja vu right about now then that’s probably because the January 29 UK date was already confirmed in December, but the rest should be fresh news.

The North American release will happen on January 26.

The open MAG beta is a go. The massive shooter is now available for testing globally and getting to the action requires three steps; First, head to the PlayStation Store and download the 37MB beta application like you would anything else from the service. Then execute it to download an update for it (also 37MB). And finally, use the updated package to download the actual contents of the beta which can be anywhere between 1.8 GB – 2.3 GB depending on where you’re located.

Better get in on this sooner rather than later though — the open beta will last for a week only and will end this Sunday at 11:59 PM.

The PlayStation 3 exclusive MAG has gone gold, PlayStation.Blog informs. The game’s due on January 26 in North America and Asia, January 28 in Japan, and January 29 in Korea. The European version is currently undergoing “final quality assurance rounds” and is expected to go gold in the coming weeks.

The dates for the worldwide open beta have also been announced — it’ll be available in the US starting tomorrow, followed by Asia on the 25th and Europe in two weeks, on January 4th, and offers access to the 64-player sabotage as well as the ever-impressive 256-player Domination mode.

Having simply demolished Uncharted 2: Among Thieves over the past few weeks (I’m talking platinum trophy, baby), there’s three big PS3 exclusives that I’m anticipating as we head into the new year. In March, there’s God of War III, and before that there’s Heavy Rain in February, but first up is MAG, which has now been given an official release date of Jan. 29. Created by SOCOM devs Zipper Interactive, MAG is the ambitious 256-player shooter that aims to take down Modern Warfare 2 with its strength in numbers…not that they’ve made any such John Riccitiello-esque claims, I just love writing in puns.

MAG went through a whole series of beta-testing from August through the beginning of this month, so some of you out there might’ve actually had a go at it already. If that’s the case, do tell what it was like.

As part of a MAG community competition, Sony’s European PlayStation blog asked its visitors to send in audio of a self-created “inspirational battlefield speech” about a month ago that would then get worked into a trailer they were working on at the time. That trailer is now finished, released, and ten of the contributors’ voices can be heard complementing the very dramatic tone of the two minute video that once again emphasizes the ambitiously massive 128 vs. 128 player battles Zipper Interactive is trying to pull off.

The game’s out in late-January.

We already knew that Massive Action Game aka MAG got bumped back to January of 2010 but a hard release date wasn’t given. Today however we’re pleased to inform you that we now have that hard release date and it’s Jan 26th 2010. So in a mere five months we’ll be able to dive in with 255 other players in a chaotic massive battle. We can’t wait.

If you’re inpatient like myself you’ll be able to get your grubby hands on MAG and try it for yourself at PAX on Sept 4th. But if you can’t make it out to PAX you’ll just have to wait until the end of January to get acquainted with the giant action game so be sure to hold on to any Christmas money you get.

2008 saw a myriad of triple A titles fighting for attention and in looked like 2009 would be no different. But all wars suffer causalities, the first was BioShock 2, and now MAG might join the ranks of delayed titles with retailers saying the title won’t hit until January, 2010. The title is listed on GameFly and GameStop‘s sites with a much different release date than the previously specified November 24, 2009.

Despite the retailers specifying the respective release dates, Sony have only ever confirmed that the title would hit “Fall 2009.”

The final video in the series of developer diaries for the upcoming massively multiplayer first-person shooter MAG looks beyond the spectacle of having 256 participants on one battlefield and into the nitty-gritty of tactical squad-based combat. Using the game’s command and control system, players will be able to direct their teammates toward completing specific mission objectives. With each successful objective, players can earn experience points to move up the military ranks, which gives them more leadership responsibilities and more influence in making key decisions in battle. Seeing as how developer Zipper Interactive has been successful before with the SOCOM series, we think MAG has the potential to be really fricken sweet when it comes out later in the year. And yes, that is the technical term.

MAG is an ambitious game by any gamer’s rubric. The smart and terrifyingly ballsy guys over at Zipper Interactive have decided to make a 256 player multiplayer-only experiences for console. In real life.

A new developer diary has one promise every fan of games and tech snobs will enjoy. No matter what is going on in-game, MAG is optimized to keep the frame rate at 30fps. Now that’s not too great — 60fps is what real life uses — but when you have 256 players all converging on the final capture point, with helicopters dropping in reinforcements and grenades going off left and right and the PS3 is still chugging out a lag-less 30fps you gotta show some respect.

MAG is a PS3 exclusive scheduled to come out some time this year.

MAG, or Massive Action Game for those with an acronym aversion, is coming this year to the Playstation 3 and if this trailer is any an indication it’s going to be big. 256 man teams big. You looking for some squad-based action? They’ve got that. How about tanks, SAM (surface-to-air missiles, sorry again microphobes) sites, air strikes and all other forms of wartime epicness all controlled by real live humans? Well they’ve got that too. This trailer coupled with these 15 new screens below are just enough for you to actually envision what it will be like to play a MMOFPS. And on a console no less!

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?

We know jack squat about Sony’s upcoming gigantic multiplayer game Massive Action Game, and jack just left town. All we’ve seen is E3′s trailer and a bunch of people talking about it. There are plenty of claims out there about how it will have 256 people playing at the same time and will also be insanely good looking, but it won’t be doing any of these claims on the 360, that’s for sure. See, MAG is one of those games the 360 just couldn’t even dream of handling.

“MAG is a 256 online-player game which is spectacular,” said John Koller SECA’s hardware marketing boos when talking to VG247 at GDC last week. “If you look at that competitively, it’s something that’s only possible on PS3. The processor speed, the ability of PS3 to showcase 256 players at any given time, and their actions.”

It’s great to hear all this stuff the PS3 can do that the 360 supposedly can’t, but does anyone actually care? So far it looks like those games that only the PS3 could handle haven’t really been moving the system any faster. This also comes on the tail of plenty of claims that the PS3 is not actually that much more insanely powerful than the 360. As a final point to how dumb the “it can’t be done on the other systems” argument is, let us all take note of which system is leading the market. Yea, it’s the one that can barely do next-gen.

Last week, Sony made the proclamation that Killzone 2, due out Feb. 27, would begin an “unprecedented year” of PlayStation titles to hit the console. In another unprecedented event, it appears they have altered the space-time continuum as well, bringing the first part of 2010 into 2009.

Sony today issued a press release to clarify their previous statement, saying that the aforementioned “year” really referred to the company’s “fiscal year,” which ends in March 2010. This means that those games with tentative release dates of 2009 could be available as late as the last day of March next year and the company would still be technically keeping its word. God of War III, M.A.G. and Heavy Rain are three of the big names without firm release dates and could be affected by this twist in terminology.

Sony’s E3 press conference didn’t bring with it many brand new announcements but still, there were a few, and one of those few was a new PS3-exclusive title called Massive Action Game, or MAG. Coming from Socom-developer Zipper Interactive, MAG’s biggest selling point — mainly because we don’t know much else about it — at the moment certainly seems to be the 256-player online matches. “What the hell?”, you might think. And indeed, that sounds pretty insane if any kind of order is to be expected. Andy Beaudoin, who talked shortly about the game during the press conference, said that Zipper’s plans include focusing the mayhem by splitting the game patricipants into 8-player squads. We’ll also see character advancements and “ongoing faction-based campaigns,” something we’ll no doubt hear more about in the future. But for now, all we have is left is the pre-rendered trailer above.