Monday, September 7, 2009

If 3 is a Crowd, What is 256?

MAG is big! In the MAG beta I've played in the 256 player matches. It is hard to describe all the shooting, confusion, and death going on. The large number of players is MAG is its charm and its curse.Because of all the players, you need organization. Each 8 man squad is headed by a squad leader - the amount of fun is directly proportional to the skills and personality of the leader. For example, the best squad leader I had began the game by announcing, "Hello ladies and gentlemen, my name is Jim and I will be your squad leader for this evening." I knew as soon as he spoke, that this would be fun. The best leaders have
  • A mic and use it - please give updates - just talk!
  • Set objectives and suggest spawn points
  • Learn the names of the members of their squad
  • Act as a medic - one guy declared, "Don't bleed out, I will be right behind you to heal you."
Zipper tries to control the player density by spreading out the spawn points, but it still can get very crowded. Without coordination, everyone runs around without purpose and quickly dies - no fun. Another thing I don't like are the red arrows above the opposing teams head. It is really easy to spot them and kill them - and therefore, it is easy to spot ME. You can't hide in grass or behind a rock - the arrow gives you away. I hope they make a 'hardcore' version which removes the arrows and makes stealth an important component to gameplay. As I grow and progress - and maybe become a squad leader myself - I'll give you further updates. Until then, I'll be pushing through the crowds with my 127 teammates.

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