Uncharted 2. Bioshock 2. Modern Warfare 2. MAG. Is There Too Much Cross-Over?

It seems to me that every video game has multiplayer these days. More or less. And even when it’s debateable whether a game should have multiplayer (Bioshock 2 springs to mind), the resulting component tends to be rather impressive. But that causes its own sub-set of problems, particularly for someone like myself who has to play through multiple games a week. There just isn’t enough time for all this multiplayer.

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MAG Updates Are Incoming Folks. Yah!

MAG will be upgraded to 1.03 today. Hurrah. That means we get to dissect a massive list of upgrades to our now-favourite online shooter. The upgrades are “dramatic” according to Zipper, and it certainly looks like they’ve gone to town with improving the experience. Which of course, is totally awesome news.

We’d summarise the updates here, but we assume if you care you won’t mind clicking through to the official MAG blog for full details.

We’ll see you on the heavily improved field, soldier.

MAG's Upgrade To 1.02 Should Reduce Screen Clutter.

Zipper Interactive have confirmed via the Playstation Blog that MAG will be updated to version 1.02 today in the form of a patch. The patch will improve functionality for those playing as a medic, importantly removing the “medic” icon from those players with only a medical kit, and also the downed players icon only showing for those with resuscitation abilities.

Neat.

MAG Fared Well In America Over Its First Five Days On Sale.

Not at all, valued reader. The NPD has detailed the top-twenty games in January, continuing our coverage from last week. With five days on sales MAG managed to outsell the XBOX 360 version of Bayonetta which pulled in somewhere above 100,000 sales. It’s safe to assume then that MAG easily beat out 100,000 unit-sales, but the official numbers are yet to be released.

Sadly, the PS3 version of Bayonetta didn’t debut, due to a host of performance issues that have since been patched.

Looks Like There Are Balancing Fixes Headed To MAG.

If we get beaten by S.V.E.R. one more time… Seriously! MAG is a fantastic shooter, that’s only really been hindered in early months by its slight balancing issues. Y’see, those who have played MAG will know – S.V.E.R. rarely lose on their home turf, whereas Raven often lose at home. The problem isn’t always strictly dependent on the quality of each team, it’s a balancing issue, and thank goodness Zipper are aware of it.

Zipper’s community manager Jeremy Dunham wrote on the Playstation Blog:

“We are always working on the balancing for all three factions — this is a job that will never truly be done since there are so many contributing factors thanks to online play, new strategies, creative exploits, etc. Don’t expect us to stop looking for things to adjust for a long, long time.

“Anytime there’s the an overwhelming perception that there’s a balancing issue that needs to be addressed, we’re committed to looking into what the facts are to determine what needs to be adjusted, followed by applying those (or not adjusting things at all depending on what we find) as soon as we can.

“Point in fact, our next few in-game updates are going to sport a number of significant balancing adjustments that should impact the game quite noticeably regardless of who you play as.”

As long as Zipper stay proactive, and relatively sharp with these exploits and strategies (as it appears they are) then we think MAG is going to be playable for a long-time in the future. We’re looking forward to the next update.

Dante's Inferno Has Entered The UK Charts In Fourth Position.

Very little change this week in the UK’s all-formats chart, with Mass Effect 2 still holding the top-spot. Visceral Games’ reimagining of Dante’s Inferno entered fairly strongly at number four this week, knocking Sony’s MAG to a respectable seventh.

By the way, why did Ubisoft moan about Avatar’s sales? It’s been in the top ten for months now. Granted we’ve seen a few special offers on the game at various stores, but still, it looks like it’s done ok for them.

Top 20 is after the jump.

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No One Can Say Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Doesn't Look Exciting.

The executive producer of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Charles Magnusson, has told Eurogamer.de that he believes Battlefield: Bad Company 2’s multiplayer is simply “better” than Modern Warfare 2.

“I certainly respect our colleagues and they have made a first-class title on the legs, but I think we simply have a better, richer multiplayer experience. Exactly what we wanted to achieve and I believe we succeeded in that, too.”

While we’d spare a moment for MAG (really, we think it’s that good), it’s certainly going to be tough finding time for MW2 between DICE’s latest and Zipper’s 256-player shooter. Not to mention AvP is on its way.