MAG: First Impressions [Updated]

Sure, some might find it a little late to be posting the first impressions for this one, but I wasn't able to get my hands on a copy until this past Friday. When I booted up MAG, created my first character, joined up with Raven and hopped into battle, it was an interesting first experience. So many things about MAG are different from what I've become used to in online shooters, and that was a little off-putting at first. However, despite a few problems, I've been having quite a bit of fun.

Let's start with those differences. The most notable of these is the scale of battle in MAG. It doesn't really sink in right away, but you soon realize just how much more is happening on the battlefield in this compared to other shooters, and it really enhances the experience. There have been times when I would play Modern Warfare 2 online, or Halo 3, or even Battlefield: Bad Company, and I could go more than a minute without encountering anyone besides my teammates. In MAG, that's just not the case. Huge maps with plenty of flanking opportunities, and the battle (in suppression mode, anyway) flares up right in the middle.

Another difference that isn't as big is the health system. I've become so acclimated to regeneration in shooters that the health concept threw me off at first. Once I got used to it, though, I was able to learn how to work with it. It's nice to just be able to hide from the gunfire long enough to recover back to full health, but the same can be done in MAG, so long as you carry a first aid kit with you.

Now despite these differences, whether you like them or not, MAG is not without its regular problems. I've encountered more than a few glitches, some more problematic than others. Once, when I was down next to a trailer, one of my team's medics revived me and my character revived in the trailer. My first thought was that I could use it to my advantage, but my gunfire wouldn't pass through the walls (as it shouldn't). So, I was stuck inside a piece of the map, unable to leave. I ended up having to kill myself through the menu and respawning in order to get back into battle.

Aside from the glitches, lag can be a problem, too. I played my first Domination match (256-player mode) yesterday and the lag was unbearable. That said, I'm also inclined to believe that it's my horrible internet speed (curse my school's lack of interest in speedy connections for our dorms). Handling the input and outputting what is needed to tackle as much information as MAG is putting out can be quite a strain on a lowly 200-300 k/s (realistically) connection. I'll admit, though, that I don't know a lot about how online play should function in that respect, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm starting to realize the scale of this post could be as long as a traditional review. I think I'm going to cut things short for now, and talk about the rest in my review. I'm going to spend another week with the game, now that my character's up to level 8 and I can participate in every game mode. Once I've gotten enough playtime out of the way, I'll pen my review. So look for it, hopefully, sometime next week.

Update: I've realized that the aforementioned lag was because I was running uTorrent while playing. Ran into similar problems playing online in the past, but it'd been so long since I'd used the program, I completely forgot. Haven't had any problems playing without the program running, so my experience can be considered lag free. A good sign.