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10 years ago today, MAG was *also* released, and, I'll never forgive you for letting it die

Rosol

Rosol

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,397
It was great at the time, but I think many socom fans that bought it felt like it wasnt as good as zippers past socom 1 and 2 games. It's biggest flaw was that it came out in the time call of duty was dominating which was downright gorgeous and 60fps. This game ran at 30fps with like the third of the detail CoD had and most people saw it as just another military shooter. So most of the people that had it couldn't appreciate it for what it was. I'm skeptical the teamwork aspect would work as well as it did then, this game had a lot of socom vets playing it who were used to being chatty on a mic. There were some great memories I had playing where I as the one guy to break through the defenses and turn the tide of the whole battle. I also remember SVER being very unbalanced- though back then imbalance also brought variety which can be a good thing.
 
Oozer

Oozer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,832
I loved this game so much. I miss it a lot. MAG with a good squad was amazing.
 
TheBaldwin

TheBaldwin

Member
Feb 25, 2018
8,285
I just remember it being awful.

Those types of games where its 100 v 100 *cough planetside *cough* never feel like you are contributing and just become a grenade fest.
 
TheGhost

TheGhost

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,137
Long Island
Did you ignore the battlefield games? It wasn't 240 players it was 32 vs 32 and if you got in a good squad it was a much more enjoyable experience than mag.

But Mag would be good enough for the huge casual base on Playstaion to take advantage of, they dropped the ball there.
 
Hinkypunk

Hinkypunk

alt account
Banned
Dec 13, 2018
134
At that point Zipper was already pretty dysfunctional as a studio right? Hugely ambitious but the team clearly didn't get enough resources.

The final product was a horribly unbalanced janky mess. Nail in the coffin for Zipper.

On a slightly related note, SONY WHERE TF IS SOCOM 2 HD?
 
CharlieTwoZero

CharlieTwoZero

Member
Nov 20, 2017
257
UK
I slept on this game, only started playing it towards the end of it's life, and ended up loving it. Gutted I missed out on most of its life :(
 

Deleted member 135

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
11,682
The concept was great but the gameplay was really weak, especially in comparison to the then recently released Modern Warfare 2 and the upcoming and in public beta Bad Company 2.
 
GameAddict411

GameAddict411

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,521
It was crap. I remember getting it and a lot of time I will respawn and I can't shoot anyone and no one can see me. I stopped playing it. Probably the worst game I paid full price for.
 

cooldawn

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,449
Yeah, this game was nuts good. Ploughed a good few hundred hours in to it and loved it always.

MAG must return.
 
KDR_11k

KDR_11k

Banned
Nov 10, 2017
5,235
Eh, I'm more of a Section 8 person. Now that was a unique game.
inguef said:
I miss Zipper. Unit 13 was also overlooked/under appreciated. A really tight mobile experience.
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The heavily split up mission style didn't do that game any favors though, definitely felt scaled down and unforgiving difficulty with no checkpoints makes for a very niche game. Personally I hated most of the game modes, too but there were no alternatives on the platform at the time. Still, I don't think I completed more than maybe 5-6 missions in the game
 
dodo667418

dodo667418

Knights of Favonius World Tour '21
Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,695
Oh boy how I loved both Warhawk and MAG. I can't imagine many game announcements that would excite me as much as proper remakes / remasters of these games for PS5
 
Razgriz-Specter

Razgriz-Specter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
29,504
Hinkypunk said:
At that point Zipper was already pretty dysfunctional as a studio right? Hugely ambitious but the team clearly didn't get enough resources.
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Crazy thing was Sony bought Zipper in 2006, that was after the release of Socom 1, 2, 3, FTB and the year Combined Assault released as well as the PS3.

Zipper then spends all of 2007, 2008, 2009 working on MAG and releases it in 2010, it severely underperforms.
Zipper then rushes Socom 4 using the engine, mechanics, animation, models, sounds, etc from MAG and releases it in 2011
PSN goes down for an entire month the week Socom 4 released(a game people buy for MP)
Zipper makes a Vita game for release in 2012 again reusing MAG assets,
Sony announces Zipper's closure the same month as the Vita game releases, they were also working on Socom 5 and another 1st Person IP


meanwhile Sony gives Socom to a 3rd party team that gets announced in in May 2007 for an October 2008 release date, took them another full year to patch it to a playable status and they can finally sell the DLC pack they had announced before release(further packs cancelled)

If Zipper made Socom 4 first they'd still be around.
 
Pyro

Pyro

God help us the mods are making weekend threads
Member
Jul 30, 2018
14,505
United States
Holy shit, I'm looking at two copies of this game under my TV right now. I remember reading about this game in the GameInformer's AC2 cover issue and thinking it sounded like the greatest game ever. It wouldn't be, but my brother and I had a blast with it one summer (2011/2012 since it was cheap/used).
 
VaporSnake

VaporSnake

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,603
I thought it was abysmal and deserved it's reputation. Planetside 2 did large scale combat much better and while flawed was way more interesting, mostly due to no "matches" or anything like that, but a persistent never ending tug of war, in MAG it was just a below average shooter with a higher player count, matches felt the same, certain maps would always play out in an expected fashion as is the case in many games. In something like Planetside 2 where the frontlines are ever changing and theres 3 factions at play every battle had the potential to play out in completely unexpected ways. It had plenty of problems itself, and sadly it will never have the population required to achieve that scale again, but it remains a much more interesting example of what can be possible.

I feel like if DICE tried the concept they could create something incredible.
 
Combichristoffersen

Combichristoffersen

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,756
I remember this releasing to the thunderous sound of nobody giving a fuck.

It was a waste of everyone's time and Sony's money, really.
 
Sande

Sande

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,982
It was released after Cod 4. You can't release an FPS with bad controls after Cod 4.
 
Combichristoffersen

Combichristoffersen

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,756
Lothars said:
I don't agree, a game similar to it today would do very well. It was wrong time and place but it was a good game
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Can't say anything about the quality as I never played it, I just remember it being released and forgotten very quickly. It might do better today, but have any of Sony's first party shooter games besides Uncharted been particularly successful? 🤔
 
HStallion

HStallion

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
62,262
I've often said that people wanting Bluepoint to remake Demon's Souls feels like a waste. I'd love them to reimagine something like MAG.
 
riverfr0zen

riverfr0zen

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,165
Manhattan, New York
MAG is the only game that ever made me even look at FPSes again after the Unreal Tournament era. What it was doing with scale was truly differentiating in the genre and led to some genuinely fun times. It was amazing while it lasted.
 

Deleted member 7148

Oct 25, 2017
6,827
Funny this thread came up because I literally threw my copy of MAG in the trash a few weeks ago because it's useless. Ever since the servers closed down the disc is a coaster.
 
test_account

test_account

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,645
MAG was indeed amazing. I dont remember how many hours i played it, but it was quite a few at least. I loved the big scale and how the game was built around advancement in the map. Made me feel like there was a big battle going on, despite the game being split into different areas with fewer people (having 128 VS 128 players at the same spot wouldnt work very well). And even if the gunplay might have not have the same feel and recoil etc.. as other shooters, i didnt mind it. It was still a lot of fun to me, and thats what matters.


DailyCalmSpirit said:
MAG's early death can be seen as survival of the fittest, in a way, but, I think if more people honestly gave it a chance, and if Sony would have left the lights on longer than 4 fucking years, MAG could have left a larger legacy in the history of online shooters.
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I remember trying out MAG again some years after the launch, and it felt impossible to get into the 256 player battles. There were simply not enough people online to fill up a server. So even if the servers had been up for some years longer, it probably wouldnt have made much of a difference. I'd love to see the concept of MAG being tried again though, i agree with that =)
 
Castamere

Castamere

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,517
It would succeed on ps4. Ps3 just wasn't a good multi system.

Yeah ill get flack for this, but im sorry, nobody said last gen "imma buy a ps3 for that sweet multiplayer".

riverfr0zen said:
MAG is the only game that ever made me even look at FPSes again after the Unreal Tournament era. What it was doing with scale was truly differentiating in the genre and led to some genuinely fun times. It was amazing while it lasted.
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Tbf it was an optical illusion. It was actually 4 battlefield matches running simultaneously. 32v32 x 4.
 
Trike

Trike

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Nov 6, 2017
2,394
Game was pretty mediocre, the gimmick of player count couldn't cover its flaws
 
DaciaJC

DaciaJC

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
6,685
I remember buying it towards the end of its life simply to support the devs - I really appreciated that Zipper were going above and beyond in pushing scale on consoles at a time when other franchises (CoD, Battlefield) were condensing their maps and playercounts compared to their previous-gen predecessors.
 
Lothars

Lothars

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,765
Combichristoffersen said:
Can't say anything about the quality as I never played it, I just remember it being released and forgotten very quickly. It might do better today, but have any of Sony's first party shooter games besides Uncharted been particularly successful? 🤔
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Socom absolutely was as well as resistance, I'm really surprised we hadn't seen another Socom game
 
Violater

Violater

Member
Nov 19, 2017
1,450
Great game, some of my most enjoyed MP experiences where a lot of us from N4G regularly played together. Some unbalanced maps but overall great concept that required teamwork and often selfless strategy for the good of the overall team.
 
TestMonkey

TestMonkey

Member
Nov 3, 2017
1,178
I played a lot of this game. My favorite move was sneakily getting past the first line of defense and then just freely destroying enemy structures.
Oh yeah. Still repping Raven to this day with my ps profile icon.
 
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BubbaKrumpz

BubbaKrumpz

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,402
Yay Area
I remember disliking at first but i ended playing with a group of guys who were really good and I went hard in that game for a month. It was so much fun playing with a good squad despite the bad graphics and bad controls
 
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