Will MAG have the last laugh?

What was the the biggest joke in Sony's E3 press conference last year? MAG. An FPS with 256 players and a terrible name. Game journalists scoffed at it as "another Sony fail." I'll admit that I thought that Zipper would have changed the name by now to SOCOM something. But at this point, if the game turns out the be a success, they can rub it in everyone's face. But I'm getting off track......

Jump ahead to this year's Sony press con and MAG isn't looking like a joke. It's looking and sounding really cool. It's like some of the best parts of COD4 and (of all games) Warhawk, competitive/Co-Op gameplay with a huge amount of players. Now, I'll admit that the player count does worry me. While in some cases, (like the smaller Headquarters maps on COD4) chaos can be really fun. But a whole game based around possibly hundreds of people shooting at each other could run very thin quickly. But, in an interview with IGN via Podcast Beyond, (interview starts at 28:00) lead designer Andy Bodwin talked about how the action would ramp up. Starting you out in a smaller group of 4 to 8 to let you get the feel of the tactical side of the game and working as a team, battles and objectives soon escalate to larger and larger scale until you end up in a 128 vs. 128, 300-style showdown. If pulled off correctly, the tension and feel of being in a full scale war should be as real as you could get on a console.

The real test is going to be that feeling that at anytime, a group from the other team could show up and the fight would be on. Maybe your support will be able to help you and maybe you'll have to go it alone and hope for the best. It's a difficult feeling to convey in a game. The most resent attempt would be the final battle in Killzone 2. (link contains spollers)

In an interview with Gamespot @ E3, Andy and CJ from Zipper talk about the "Dangling the Carrot" gameplay that is going to play into your progression in the game and how the world will continue whether or not you are playing. Sounds like the near perfect COD4 Perk system will be used here as well. Also sounds very MMO inspired. DLC and expanded locations and scenarios are very interesting if done correctly.

After watching the latest MAG Monday video via Gametrailers.com, I'm thinking that this is game is going to be a bigger deal than people might be giving it credit for. Granted that it's still early, but I trying to keep an open mind about things. It's a flaw. Check the all the MAG Monday vids below.

Video Games | MAG | Exclusive Shadow War Dev Diary

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Video Games | MAG | Exclusive 256 Dev Diary

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Video Games | MAG | Exclusive PMCS Dev Diary

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

J.

The Smackdown: The return of the Product

It's been a while since the last SD I posted. Figured that it's a little quiet on the home front, so here you go. Note that this why I'm not looking forward to cross game chat on PS3 any time soon. It could lead to a stroke or at the very least, blown out speakers.


E3 thoughts coming soon, I promise.

J.

Project Natal Puts the Pedal to the Metal on Jimmy Fallon Show

WOAH! This video kinda squelched some of my doubts about Projecy Natal being a rigged demo at E3. The shit where they hot swap with Burnout Paradise kinda "drove the point home" so to speak.

Mike Tyson’s Brunch-Out!

Although school is running me ragged, I’ve still found time to play the new Wii Punch-Out!! in my spare time and actually made it to the end of the first round of career mode. I have lots of thoughts and impressions I’d like to share, but unfortunately I don’t have the time at this point to do so. Plus, I want to try out playing the game with the Wii Remote used as a NES style controller and the motion boxing while using the balance board before I post. I also need to play a bit more of Head-To-Head too (because from my limited experience from it, it plays differently than the main game somehow; either that or I suck!).

In the meantime, I thought I’d post a little video featuring “Iron” Mike Tyson. Yes, he’s not in the new game; moreover, he’s completely unaware of the latest Punch-Out!!even existing. Still, I couldn’t resist posting a little ditty called “Mike Tyson’s Brunch Out.” It’s episode 5 of the series “Meth Minute” by animator Dan Meth. Enjoy!

Max

That’s Right: Two Final Fantasies in 2010

It’s old news by now (it's even our new header), but I had to comment on it. Last week I caught about fifteen minutes of Sony’s press conference before a rainstorm knocked my satellite’s signal out of commission. Lucky for me, I tuned in just in time to see them show a preview of Final Fantasy XIII, and then follow that up by saying “but Square Enix isn’t done yet, they’ve got another thing to follow it up,” and proceeded to show a trailer for Final Fantasy XIV, which was followed up with the statement “that one didn’t leak out, huh?” and a promise that it would be out by 2010, exclusively for PS3. Pretty shocking, considering that FF games are usually spread out with huge gaps because of massive development time.

But doing some digging, it starts to make sense. FFXIV will be a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), setting it apart from FFXIII’s story based play. Square already has ventured into MMORPG territory with Final Fantasy XI, and probably want to get a new online game out to compete with WoW. It’s great news for console gamers, and especially PS3 owners. And maybe with all the other Final Fantasy stuff coming out now and in the near future (FF games on Wii’s Virtual Console including the recent release of FFIV The After Years, FFXIII, FFXIII Versus and the FF Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers) two FF games for one console in a year isn’t that surprising. But is Square Enix giving the fans what they want or flogging a dead horse?

Max

Max Gives Brief E3 Thoughs, Excuses Why He's Not Posting...

E3 nearly passed me by. Almost. I only found out it was E3 last week when I saw a news story about Nintendo’s press conference on Newsarama (which goes to show how I’m way more into comics than games these days). Since then, I’ve been playing catch up. I caught a little bit of Sony’s press conference, and thanks to the Nintendo Channel, have been able to get a dose of Nintendo’s videos. This week, they’ve even put the press conference up this week, so I’ll be digging into that soon. And I gotta say, I was pretty (pleasantly) surprised that Nintendo is actually utilizing the Nintendo Channel for this stuff. I'm just used to them not doing anything like this, while Sony & Microsoft have done it for awhile!

Unfortunately, this is final’s week at my University, and I have a ton of stuff to do to wrap up the quarter this week. No tests, but lots of papers to write and short stories to revise. Therefore, I can’t delve into blogging just yet. After Thursday though, expect a ton of reactions from me, which will (of course) be a Nintendo-centric response. I will say now (without trying to be a fanboy) that it seems pretty funny both Sony & Microsoft are trying to cash in on the motion control introduced by Wii. Granted, each do it their own way, but too bad Microsoft’s super-de-duper motion/voice controlled “controller” NATAL costs about $200. I don’t see legions of non-gamers signing on for that.

I’ll post a couple quick things though before delving study time!

Max

Holy Shit...........someone is going to be pissed.

God of War, as a series, has always been pretty brutally violent. But this is almost too far. Someone is going to be really, really pissed off. Pulling the eye out of the gorgan looking thing was the icing on the cake. Oh, and I'm totally preordering this business as so as I get the chance.

J.

Mario Protests Commence Amidst E3 Happenings

Angry Italians are pissed off at being purveyed as a bunch of plumbing, turtle stomping, mushroom eating buffoons that aren't responsible enough to drive around giant ? blocks in the middle of the road. Hear what these guys had to say about it.

Wii Bowling Ball + Punch-Out = Perfect Combination!

Don't believe me though, just watch the video!

The best E3 trailers: Uncharted 2

Holy shit again!!! I don't think anyone thinks this game is going to be anything but awesome. This demo had me ducking and dodging like a really good action movie. Which is what they were going for. The collapsing building was the capper for me. I'm going to get this one day one. And the online stuff could be cool as well. More about this later today. (maybe)


J.

The best E3 trailers: Metal Gear Solid: Rising

Well, 360 owners finally have MGS on their console. But it's not MGS4 like people thought. It's the next MGS game starring our favorite cyber-ninja, Raiden. It didn't show alot, but come on. It's MGS. It'll be great. And in case you were wondering, yes, it IS coming out on PS3 as well. Don't get your hopes up on stealing any Sony's exclusives this year.

J.

The best E3 trailers: The Old Republic

Holy shit! A Star Wars MMO that doesn't look like it sucks. This game makes me want to try and upgrade my computer. I might have to break my self imposed ban on MMOs on myself. Hope it turns out ok. Check it out.


J.

The best E3 trailers: Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead is doing pretty good for 360/PC zombie killers. So Valve is dropping another one this Fall. It's odd that Valve would make a whole new L4D rather then make more DLC for the game they have out already. Guess we're going to have to wait longer Half-Life 2:Ep 3.......

J.

I'm in the Uncharted 2 beta.....

With me taking the State Medical board test, I missed Nintendo's press conference and almost missed Sony's, but I got done early and caught the whole thing. It was awesome! I'll follow up on the cons later. One of the highlights was Uncharted 2. The demo was really cool and made me hyped to get the game. One of the things that Jack Trentton mentioned was that the Uncharted 2 online beta was starting tonight at midnight. Sweet deal. And guess who's in?

More on the beta when I get home.


J.