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    MAG in stores tomorrow! Are you excited- or underwhelmed?

    posted @ 1/25/2010 08:03:00 PM by Vichus Smith


    A few weeks ago, all PS3 owners were treated to the wide open beta for MAG, the massive action game which allows for 256 players to battle it out across one of three different factions, all at one time.

    Modern Warfare 2, as you read this, is still being played heavily and often. Will MAG be the big deal when it comes to PlayStation, or is Modern Warfare 2 the superior experience? I have not played Modern Warfare 2, but I have played MAG. I was not bowled over, but it was lots of fun. Having scores of players all playing towards one goal is exciting, but PS3 users tend not to have as many headsets as Xbox Players do, killing the ability to strategize for victory.

    So I will get a copy of MAG, whether it's in rental or retail form. I hope to see some of you there, and I hope you join me as part of MAG's best team!


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    Finish what you start...

    Titan Studio’s Titan of a Game

    posted @ 1/19/2010 01:40:00 PM by FreeLoader

    Who would’ve thought? Two kingdoms filled completely with chubby chasers; extremely violent chubby chasers at that. Well that’s what we get in the game Fat Princess.

    If you’ve ever played capture the flag, and I know you have, then I’m sure you’ve had the same thought that the developers over at Titan Studios had: “Why can’t I feed my team’s flag so that it’s harder to carry for the other team?” Well your dreams have been answered, except instead of a flag, you’re protecting a princess.

    The nice thing is, it isn’t your princess that you’re feeding, it’s the other team’s princess. That way, you can feed her into a sugar coma without really feeling all that bad. Your concern is more on your princess, that other team is feeding into a sugar coma. So the game is a glorified CTF with a new game mechanic to keep it fresh, right? Wrong.

    Fat Princess is not just a huge game of 16 on 16 CTF. It’s also got elements of real time strategy, but instead of playing a general commanding the troops, there is no general, and you are the troops. You can play as 5 very different classes as you work towards achieving a victory for your team.

    As the worker you collect resources (wood and metal) and use those resources to upgrade the classes, build siege weapons (a catapult that launches teammates into the enemy castle) and other assorted ladders and spring boards around the map: generally making things easier for everyone around you. The worker also gets bombs to compliment his axe with an upgrade. The ranger is exactly what you think it is; a bow wielder with a musket as his upgrade. Rangers provide fire from behind the combat and make great guards for the towers strewn about the maps which provide both a tactical advantage as well as another place for workers to bring resources if your team controls them.

    Then you have your support classes, the priest and the mage. Mages can use fire magic which, when charged up can set enemies ablaze. Their attacks can be area of effect or targeted, making them versatile. Their upgrade is ice magic and allows them to freeze enemies for a short period. Priests are the healers and also have area of effect heals, as well as targeted heals. They are perhaps the most important support class as they can keep their teammates in the fight. For the priest’s upgrade they become a dark priest and sap health from enemies, as well as curse them so that they cannot target.

    And of course, the backbone of the team is the warrior. Formerly one of the worst classes, the warrior was slow and had no range. After an update that beefed up the warrior, making him run faster while charging his attacks, he has become essential to winning any match, especially considering the huge amount of health he has over the other classes. Of course an issue arose with the update (which also nerfed the overpowered dark priest) which allows the warrior to use his shield while carrying anything, including the princess. This is frustrating because it allows the warrior to solo-capture a princess and escape the castle with more than half his health. His shield allows him to block incoming arrows and melee attacks.

    Getting past that issue, let’s talk a little more about gameplay. Every class upgrade except for the warrior and priest comes with a second effect. When the worker is upgraded, the worker hat machine produces large bombs that do detrimental damaged to layers and structures, such as castle doors. After upgrading the mage, a potion starts appearing at regular intervals nearby that, when thrown, turns any players within its area of effect into chickens. Finally, the ranger upgrade grants your castle lit torches. When a warrior or ranger stands near one of these torches, it lights their weapon on fire, giving it a damage boost for a short period of time, which serves as an impeccable castle defense.

    There are 3 other classes in the game, the first being the villager which has the lowest health besides the chicken. Villagers have the fastest movement and capture speed, making them the best choice for feeding the princess cake. The only attack they have is a slap which has a chance to stun a player and force them to drop whatever they are carrying. The other two classes are post game only, one being the reaper and the other, a giant chicken. A player turns into one of these for having the highest score in the match, reaper for being on the winning team, and giant chicken for being on the losing team. The player can then lay waste to the other team with the immense damage and health of this class for fun during the intermission between games. Upon death the giant chicken drops a rainbow colored orb which will turn any player into a reaper if they pick it up. The reaper, which is harder to kill than the chicken because he’s a smaller target, drops a handful of said orbs.

    So, sounds like a fun game so far right? Well, there are some issues. The latest update took away the host’s power to kick players. This is good because it stops immature players from kicking players that keep beating their team. It is bad because there is now literally no way to deal with team killers. These people will sit around the worker hat machine and throw the giant bombs at their own team’s castle doors. One way to deal with them is to have an upgraded mage sit at the doors and defuse the bombs with ice magic, but this guarantees that two of your players are now doing nothing to further the goals of the team and puts your team at a serious disadvantage.

    Another silly choice by Titan Studios was to leave team balancing up to the players. Now when a team has more human players than the other, the team with less players will start dropping orbs of their team’s color when they die. These orbs, when picked up, give a player a 300 point bonus and switches him to the opposite team, thus balancing them slightly. Unfortunately even the 300 point bonus does little to justify switching teams when your team is in the lead and controls the key points of the map already. Players can also switch teams at the end of the match, but none of it is mandatory.

    The final odd choice for multiplayer would be the matchmaking. When looking for a game the servers seem to only match you with people of your level. This is great for low level players as there are plenty of people out there in plenty of games. But as you get to the higher ranks of King/Queen, you are in games with only other Kings and Queens, which isn’t that many in contrast to the low level players, so high level players many times will delete their whole game save just so they can play with more people.

    Single player is short and sweet, with a campaign that details the supposed story as to why these two kingdoms are killing each other. It contains one of the game’s hardest trophies to obtain in its gladiate mode. This mode pits you as one of the 5 classes against wave after wave of enemies in an arena like setting.

    The game’s charm really shines in the cel-shaded graphics and cute voices of the characters. Of course when a cute voice yells out “I’ll leave you in pieces like the ice truck killer!” it’s hard not to laugh. The taunts are great, and the bloodbath that occurs in every battle is aesthetically pleasing to any gamer. Nothing better than getting to the battle late right in the middle of the map and seeing the huge amount of bodies and blood strewn across the battlefield.

    The community is still very much alive for this game, but with the issues currently out there it makes it hard to get into, and keep interest for. Hopefully Titan Studios will the cry of the fans and fix what is wrong with this otherwise great game. If you’re looking for a game to blow 15 dollars on and aren’t sure what to get, Fat Princess on the PSN is hours of fun. And at least the voice chat works! *glares knowingly at battlefield 1943*

    Written by: Bramimond

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    Finish what you start...

    You are reading MAG trophies (MAG!)

    posted @ 1/15/2010 10:00:00 AM by Vichus Smith

    Maybe you've had some time to play the MAG open beta and you're excited about the full version. Well, to whet your appetite for 256 player destruction, here are the trophies revealed. MAG is getting a full release on January 26, 2010.



    Bronze

    • Angel of Mercy – 25 enemies killed in their in incapacitated state over a career
    • Boom Town – Earn the Mortar Demolition, Total Blackout and AAA Demolition Ribbons
    • Close Call — Earn three Bomb Squad Ribbons
    • Clown Car – Awarded when a player destroys an APC or a Bunker, killing two players
    • Commandon’t – Awarded when a player kills 50 of a certain specialty: Commando
    • Coughing Killer – Killed an enemy while affect by poison gas grenades
    • Dropping Like Flies – Destroy five enemy helicopters
    • Duteous Maximus – Be on the winning faction for 10 Directive matches
    • Efficiency Engineer – Earn three Bunker Buster Ribbons
    • I Drink Your Milkshake – Awarded when a player kills 50 of a certain specialty: Field Support
    • I Got 5 On It – Kill 5 enemies with a single Strategic Strike, excluding Poison Gas Barrage
    • In Your Face – Earn five Combat Melee Ribbons
    • Jack of One Trade – Awarded when a player reaches the bottom tier of a skill tree
    • Junkyard Jockey – Earn three Mr. Badwrench Ribbons
    • Lil Buddy – Earn two Purple Sidekick Ribbons
    • Mia Culpa – Kill 50 enemies in a turret over a career
    • Out of Scope – Awarded when a player kills 50 of a certain specialty: Sniper
    • Screeching Halt – Awarded when a player kills 50 of a certain specialty: Rapid Assault
    • Target Practice – Awarded when a player shoots down 25 paratroopers over a career
    • The Harder They Fall – Awarded when a player kills 50 of a certain specialty: Direct Action

    Silver

    • A Whole Lotta Hurt – Earn five Combat Machine Gun Ribbons and five Combat Fragger Ribbons
    • Baby Need a Bandage? – Earn 5 Silver Cross Ribbons and 5 Golden Cross Ribbons
    • Chest Candy – Awarded when a player has earned one of every ribbon
    • Devil Dog – Earn 5 Combat Assault Ribbons and 5 Combat Sidearm Ribbons
    • Double Trouble – Earn the Golden Cross Medal and the Grim Reaper Medal
    • Hammer of the Gods – Called in 50 cluster bombs or mortar barrages
    • Headhunter – Earn 5 Silver Bullet Ribbons, the Longshot Ribbon and the Sniper Master Specialist Medal
    • Precious Cargo – Destroy 20 Escort Vehicles over a career
    • Silent But Deadly – Awarded when a player kills 25 enemies with Poison Gas over a career
    • Steamroller – Have a 3-to-1 Kill-to-Death Ratio in any match
    • Take Me to Your Leader – Earn 1 win as a squad leader
    • The Streaker – Earn the Streaker Medal
    • Triple Threat – Earn 5 Silver Cross Ribbons, 5 Master Engineer Ribbons and the Grim Reaper Medal

    Gold

    • Commandant in Chief – Awarded when a player reaches level 60 with a Raven character
    • Eager Beaver – Awarded when a player has earned one of each medal
    • Prima Noyan – Awarded when a player reaches level 60 with a S.V.E.R. character
    • Sergeant Major – Awarded when a player reaches level 60 with a Valor character

    Platinum

    • Massive Action Gamer – Won All Trophies

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    Finish what you start...