The Problem with Reviewing MAG

When it comes to game reviews, there's at least one rule that should always be followed. Get the review out as quickly as possible. The sooner you've got a review out, the more likely people will read it. That's just one of the fundamentals of game reviews.

Now, As far as I can recall, MAG is the first only online multiplayer shooter on the PS3. And if it's not the first, it's certainly the largest. But that provides some issues with penning a review. I ordered the game on impulse a few hours before before midnight, the day before it was released. But, as I started thumbing through various reviews the next day, and thought about writing my own, a certain thought occurred to me.

MAG breaks the rules.

This game is fairly light on plot. Granted, the story's not exactly the reason people will play this game, so it's near absence is forgiven. But some of the things that MAG does, aside from the groundbreaking 256-player battles, are very unique. The game pits three factions against one another in what can be considered a "real-time" war. When you make your character for the game, you decide what faction you will be in. From then on, you represent that faction in the "Shadow War." Now, within the game world, every battle determines progress in the "Shadow War." I've supposed that one of the factions must eventually win the war. This will, of course, usher in a sequel.

But, it is these factors that make MAG unreviewable, for now. One must spend a lot of time to get a feel for this game. Spend time leveling up your character (the game uses a system much like Call of Duty: MW2, but more involved, from what I can see), experiencing the three different gameplay modes, and finding squads that you really work well with.

That is why, once I receive MAG, the review will not come within a few days, or maybe even within a few weeks. I'm not going to write a real review until I've felt I've had the true experience. My first impressions, however, will be posted on day one.

Look for the review of MAG (hopefully) sometime around mid-February. And, for another week or so, I'd recommend you take all reviews with a grain of salt. Until some time has passed, this game just can't properly be reviewed.