Never thought this game would be good... I was horribly wrong. This game... Is amazing.
MAG was one of those games I was skeptical about. For some reason, 256-players online in a SINGLE match didn't sound great. However, I gave it a fair shot when I saw it a Gamestop and I was not displeased.
GRAPHICS (8/10) -- The graphics, I will admit, aren't the best ever seen on the PS3. But, apparently, that means a bunch to people nowadays since EVERYONE but me wants graphics. The graphics do the job nicely, and no frames have dropped when in intense battles. I gave this an 8 for losing little frames, if not none at all, and some alright graphics, though you would see those graphics on the Xbox 360.
SOUND (9/10) -- Most guns, from what I have heard, are pretty good and you can tell them apart if you listen closely. The soundtrack is also some of the best I have ever heard. And, if you get 5 kills in a row, you get a little bit of "good job" music, which is a nice touch.
GAMEPLAY (10/10) -- As for the gameplay, it is hard to get used to at first. If you a die-hard CoD or Halo fan (and from most of the bad reviews, yes there are plenty), it would take a while to get used to since the controls are drastically different. However, once you get used to the controls, it is an incredible experience. You can customize your character to whatever you wish, customize weapons to fit your style, buy new weapons, add new abilities, make clans, and SO MUCH MORE. This predates Black Ops, so the whole "Black Ops did it first" argument is null and void (and, I wouldn't be surprised if another game did it as well), so no fanboyism.
Furthermore, the game also splits you into different squads, platoons, and companies within the game (each with their own leader). Sometimes, you will get someone without a mic (kinda hard to help that since Sony didn't give out cheap mics like Microsoft did for the 360), but that can't be helped. However, sometimes, you will get a good tactical leader who will help you achieve victory. And, then, other times, you will have people shoot at you. To be honest, to those of you who review games here, why do you cry about that? They are probably 10-year olds, get over it.
Anyways, there are a lot more SVER players then Raven and Raven has more then Valor. You will be in uneven battles at times, but MAG tries it's best to bring a bunch of your own faction into your game to assist you in combat.
The experience system in this game is perfect, as it gives a crap ton of points to those who do good, and still give alright for people who heal or do other stuff. You also get cash in the game that you can use to get your own guns, customize them to your playstyle, and also get other stuff, like more grenades.
And, finally, when you level up, you get some "Action Points" to spend on your character's skills. These can range from more grenades, more health (only 20 points max), faster reloads, and almost everything you can think of in an FPS! This supports the player to play to their own style instead of forcing people to try out something they don't like (i.e. Sniper player is forced to use close-range abilities).
OVERALL (10/10) -- The game is amazing. If you don't like the game, then you either like CoD or Halo and don't want to see another good shooter out there. And, before this is over, those franchises are dying. Give it time, and you will see the awfulness of them (especially Modern Warfare 2).