It’s the game that’s been on everyone’s lips but not quite in the ‘hypescape’ for a while now. Since it was first announced at E3 last year, details on Zipper Interactive’s ‘Massive Action Game’ or MAG have been pretty thin on the ground. That is, until there’s a massive leak of images on Flickr.

That’s right; famous image-hosting site has played host to some of the screenshots which every gamer this side of Christendom has been searching for. Like gold dust, leaked shots always turn up in the least likely of places. And, like gold dust, they always cause a bit of a stir (understatement, much?).

Here’s the gist of it. MAG is an MMO shooter from Zipper, the same lovely people who brought you the SOCOM series. Squad and faction based, MAG will play host to – wait for it – 256-player, ongoing online matches, which is sure to make for some manic Saturday-night matches. “256-player deathmatch, anyone?”.

I have it on good confidence (in other words, extensive late-night forum browsing, screenshot hunting and general rumour gathering) that the gameplay will be the classic FPS genre. Players will be divided up into 8-player squads, many of which make up the three factions which will be at conflict in the game. Each squad will be led (yep, a full command structure) by a player who has advanced through the game’s ranking structure. Each basic battle will make up part of an ongoing campaign mode for each of the three factions.

For those fond of polygons, MAG is shaping up to be a rather sleek and stylish production. From leaked screenshots, textures seem very realistic, weaponry is shiny enough to pass as looking nice, and cloud and smoke effects are gorgeous. My only criticism is in the bullet trails – they just look like lines. However, I’m sure that, by the time MAG releases late this year, they’ll have the graphics absolutely spot on.

Online is bound to be epic. With a full command system, matches will have some sort of feeling of organisation and tactic to them. Furthermore, 8-player squads will make organising offences much easier to handle for those in charge.

If the original E3 trailer is anything to go by, MAG will feature huge landscapes, vehicles (apparently there’ll be tanks, APCs and planes) and parachute troops. Also, it has been said that the game will feature many classes for players to specialise in, from demolitions experts to field medics.

MAG is currently slated to hit shelves late this year.

Linford

Editor’s Note: Please bear in mind that screenshots shown here are not only very early alpha testing shots, but are also leaked shots. As such, they may not be in any way representative of the finished product. You can find the full Flickr screenshots set here.

Labels: Hype Train, MAG, Massive Action Game, MMO

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