This game is certainly looking like a beast. One of the most promising upcoming PS3 exclusives, MAG (massive action game) is working to build upon everything we know about war games, FPS and online play.

For a long time, nobody knew anything about MAG. Last week, at Zipper Interactive’s HQ during Sony’s Seattle Game Days Summit, that changed. Writers and journalists from all over were invited to play one of MAG’s 256-person online battles, be guided through the game by its developers and experience first-hand everything that had been rumored and speculated over the past year. The information, videos and pictures that came back from the event are sure lookin’ something special. Next year, they can invite me so I can give you a first-hand account

Right? RIGHT?

256-person battles. That’s quite a few folks. You’d better make some more friends.

A game of that magnitude is almost inconceivable for online play, but if any development team has the potential to pull it off, it’s Zipper. They first handled SOCOM, which announced online gaming for the PS2 and did it fairly well for the time. They’ve been testing these 256-person battles for months now, and claim to have very fluid play. The idea is to recreate huge, epic battles, with different squads fighting collectively towards the goal.

The setup is based on groups of eight. Every eight people has a command leader for their eight. Each group is in a platoon of three groups of eight, and there is a platoon leader for each platoon. Then, the platoons are members of the overall army, which also has a leader. Thus, you eventually get two teams of 128 soldiers battling it out while the leaders give orders and the smaller factions strive towards particular tasks. Say it – “fantastic.”

Each map has its own objectives, but also contains ‘on the fly’ missions that will change depending on how the game ends up being played. This is great for team play and ensures that the experience can be different every time you play. One thing that sources did mention, however, is that if you’re one of those people who prefers to do everything alone, you can. You won’t reap the same rewards you would if you choose to stick with the team and do as you’re told, but you won’t be penalized like heck if you want to be a solo ranger.

The team had a lot of military input on the title, as they employ all sorts of consultants. If you remember SOCOM, particularly the first one for PS2, you’ll recall what a marvel it was for the time both as PS2’s first online game and as a very realistic war sim. Years and lots of technological evolution later, we have MAG, and so you can expect that same dedication to the honesty of battle to parlay into this modern title.

The graphics look brilliant – all things considered. Sure, it’s not Killzone 2, but Killzone 2 isn’t trying to handle 256 people at once, bucko. It runs at native 720p and upscales to 1080i. One of the coolest features, in my opinion, is the character designs. With over 70 factions involved, each one has their own unique characteristics regarding their clothing and personal appearance, depending on what the factions look like in real life. It’s an awesome touch and will keep that realism factor at its peak.

So what was the overall response from those who played? The game was super fun on both sides of the battle, it ran smoothly without lag, and the controls were easy to pick up for anyone who is familiar with FPS games (and who isn’t?) That’s very promising for a game that still has an unknown number of months until its release, implying it will only continue to improve before launch. A launch that will be late 2009 at best.

There’s a lot more to MAG, and likely a lot we haven’t heard yet. Expect more news on the subject as it emerges over the coming months, and of course we’ll be moving right quick to put our hands on a demo as soon as possible.

So how interested in this title are you? Are you into the idea of a huge Battlefield-esque game full of teams and leaders and multiple objectives? Or does it not thrill you?

Tags: mag