Free New MAG Content? Cheers Zipper!

Zipper’s confirmed that there’s MAG DLC incoming next week (March 25th) and that it’ll be totally free.

The Trooper Gear Pack includes flashbangs, two new uniforms, new SMGs and three new LMGs. Awesome.

MAG’s going to have a double XP weekend to celebrate the new content. We’re so going to be there.

Did you miss any of the key points from last night’s SOCOM 4 reveal? Perhaps, right? Well worry not then, because Zipper Interactive’s creative director, Ed Byrne, has decided to commentate on the full reveal. Of course, last night’s trailer was a complete teaser so he actually has very little to say but, y’know, if you’re a hardcore SOCOM fan you’re probably pumped.

SOCOM 4 is a video game. It’s happening, and it’s being created by the franchise’s creators, Zipper Interactive. This trailer’s pretty heavy on CGI but it should give you a taste of what to expect from the fourth entry in the SOCOM franchise. Guns, shooting, and lots of squad control.

On a personal level, we’re not particularly huge fans of SOCOM. However, we wouldn’t turn down the opportunity of getting into it. Especially when MAG was so enjoyable.

There's A New SOCOM Game Coming. It Looks Gorgeous. And It's By Zipper Interactive.

Sony’s just announced that Zipper Interactive will indeed be making a “suprise sequel” to the SOCOM franchise. A pretty amazing announcement considering MAG is just a few weeks old. The game, which has been confirmed to be SOCOM 4, is the “surprise Sony” title we’ve been debating for the past few days.

The story of the latest game, as revealed on the Playstation Blog is as follows:

“In South East Asia, a revolutionary army has seized control of a country bordering one of the world’s most vital waterways; threatening to disrupt he global economy.

Your mission is to step into the well-worn boots of the Ops Com, a NATO Operations Commander of an elite, five-man squad. You must venture deep into inhospitable jungles, city streets and crumbling urban ruins to engage an army of rebel fighters and discover their plans. Although you’re vastly outnumbered, you’re armed with the latest weaponry and your men are second to none – but do you possess the stealth, speed and tactical thinking to lead them to victory? Time is not on your side: you have just six days to complete your mission. To emerge victorious, you must lead from the front, maintain control of the situation and fight with sheer intensity.”

Aswell as a new single-player campaign, the new title will also feature all the staples of traditional SOCOM titles, with a full-on 32-player multiplayer mode developed for the PS3 from the “ground up”.

The game’s going to get its first trailer tonight on GTTV. Apparently it’s already looking fantastic.

There’s more through here.

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.