From a technical and gameplay standpoint, MAG is rock solid. It looks good, though there are better looking shooters on the system (thanks, Killzone 2!) and it plays well–this shouldn’t be a surprise, given Zipper Interactive, the team behind SOCOM, is responsible for this game. The problem is that, in the time I played the game myself, and the time I spent watching others play–I may have been the other person in the room responsible for harassing afiercepancake all around the map–it didn’t feel like you were fighting in part of a larger battle. It felt like you along with two dozen or so other players, somewhat relegated to a specific area based on your spawn points and squad designation. If 256 players is the hook, and you don’t notice the hook while playing, you may have a problem, though there may be reasons for this that the demo didn’t explain.

Now, there are a few things that could have been the fault of PAX, rather than the game. We did not have headsets, so voice chat was not an option. Squad-based gameplay necessitates headsets, and we may have felt like more like part of a larger unit were we donning them. Second, even without the big hook mentioned above, it’s still fun gameplay–you have specific targets you are supposed to take out, so it isn’t straight death match style gameplay, and if you work together with others to take out those targets and move on to the next area safely, then the game improves significantly.

There are some features we didn’t get a chance to check out–MAG has a chain-of-command system that allows you to lead different sized groups of troops, from an eight-man squad to a 32-man platoon to a full-sized, 128-man army. There’s also a “Persistent Shadow War”, which moves back and forth on the world map depending on how well your hand-picked PMC performs each round. I think I’ll have more of an appreciation for MAG once I get to see these items in action, as they could help separate the title from the other FPS on the market.

I don’t mean to sound too hard on MAG–this is, after all, the first bit of time I have spent playing it live, and as stated, the lack of headsets may be clouding what the game is truly trying to offer us. Luckily, we are part of the next wave of beta testing, so we will be able to report further on this for you, including how we feel about the game with the use of headsets and more strategic, planned-out actions. This is a bit of a shorter hands-on preview because of it, as testing the game in an improper environment doesn’t work well for it.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to expect when Sony revealed MAG, short for massive action game, last year at this very show, but now, after seeing it in action, I really feel that Zipper and Sony know just what they’re doing.

What we saw was eight Zipper developers on-stage demonstrating MAG for the first time, over the expanses of the Internet, with QA testers and family members scattered throughout the globe.

You work in an eight-man squad in MAG to seek out and destroy enemy encampments. The fire can get heavy and the blood not only chills in your veins but also flows freely from your body if you aren’t careful.

This is a game we’re sure to keep our eyes on and stay close to as E3 2009 progresses. Keep it locked here at Blast for forthcoming details from our men on location.

MAG is due out fall of 2009.

We witnessed a revitalized Atari, a ballsy Electronic Arts and the peak of the music game fad.

Here’s what we took away from the conference:

BEST GAME
Fallout 3
Bethesda Softworks
Xbox 360/PlayStation 3
September

Bethesda built a winner from scratch with an amazing looking Fallout 3. Blast played this game, Blast loved this game. You won’t see a more visually and audibly appealing video game this year. This game is a massive project for any developer, but Bethesda, who saw huge success with “The Elder Scrolls” role playing game series, seems poised to release a game of the year candidate in the fall.

BEST ONLINE GAME
DC Universe Online
Sony Online Entertainment
PlayStation 3, PC
TBA

Comic book legend Jim Lee was the Executive Creative Director of the game and created the visual world DC Universe would be set in based on art from the entire history of DC comics. You get to team up with or fight against Superman and Batman. How cool is that?

BEST HANDHELD GAME
N+
Atari
Nintendo DS and Sony PSP
August 12

With 300 puzzling levels to explore, plus many hidden unlockable ones, N+, based on the hit Flash game, was the best handheld game at E3, and E3 agreed by giving it best in show in the DS and PSP categories. N+ led the charge for a revitalized Atari Inc.

GUARANTEED BEST SELLER/BEST PC GAME
Spore
Electronic Arts
PC
September 7

Within 18 days of the release of Spore Creature Creator, there were over 1.7 million “Spores” created. That’s more than the 1.589 million actual species known to exist on earth, Will Wright pointed out at the EA press conference Tuesday. And that says something about the anticipated impact “Spore” will have when it’s released in September.

BEST WII GAME
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
Ubisoft
November

First game you can play with your ass.

BEST MUSIC GAME
Rock Band 2
Harmonix/MTV Games
Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii
Fall

No real competition at E3. Guitar Hero: World Tour will be awesome too, but Activision wasn’t there this year.

GUTSIEST PROJECTS

Dead Space
Electronic Arts
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
October 21

Mirror’s Edge
Electronic Arts
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Holiday season

Good work, EA. You managed to stretch your legs and come up with both a bloody horror flick and a FPS where you don’t have ever fire a gun. Both games will either be home runs or total flops (leaning toward an extra base hit) but they’re ballsy! Nice!

M.A.G. Massive Action Game, 256 player online multiplayer
Zipper Interactive/Sony
PlayStation 3
TBA

Another crap shoot. If Zipper does this game right, and we mean JUST RIGHT, M.A.G. could be one of the good ones.

MOST IMPROVED: Atari

BIGGEST LETDOWN: Nintendo

The Sony setup at the Shrine Auditorium is very impressive. They have more than 60 big widescreen displays set up. They decided to run their operation from a few miles away from the conference center.

12:00: Resistance 2 looks very good. They showed a trailer and demoed gameplay. The trailer was all from actual gameplay — very good detail and a hell of a story.

12:04: Madden, Tiger Woods, bunch of other games still being made for PS2.

12:08: Sony seemed to have accepting that PS2 and PS3 both exist. They’re adopting a “we have three successful platforms” model.

Buzz quiz game coming to PSP and PS3. Singstar has sold 15 million units, plus 1.9 million songs download.

Nine years into the PlayStation 2 lifecycle, they’re unveiling a new Lego Batman bundle for $149, including the game and a Justice League animated DVD.

12:10: A new Ratchet & Clank game is coming to the PlayStation network. Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty will be available this summer for $14.99

12:20: Sony is pushing Gran Turismo TV, coming to the Gran Turismo 5 Prologue game on the PlayStation Network August 1 — promosing to bring full HD automotive and racing events and programming from all over the world. Not sure how successful this will be.

12:22: Sony, like Microsoft, like Nintendo, like EA, is pushing the social component of games — playing multiplayer, getting new gaming trophies and showing off your high scores. PlayStation Home, in a wicked short video, is Sony’s entrance into the age of the “video game console avatar.”

12:23: Rental and electronic download of movies and shows from Lionsgate, Fox, Sony Pictures, MGM, Paramount, Funimation, etc. The line between PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 is blurring. One advantage: Sony owners can port their downloaded content from PS3 to PSP and take it with you.

This video service will start TODAY.

12:30: Time to talk about PSP.

Thirteen million units sold in North America. New entertainment packs coming, Madden and family-friendly Ratchet & Clank with a silver PSP and National Treasure 2 on UMD for $199.

12:35: New PSP title coming, Resistance: Retribution, takes the alien battle to Europe.

Also, look for Patapon 2 and Midnight Club Remix

12:40: Finally talking about PS3.

“Life with PlayStation” will be a news, live webcam, and weather channel available at the end of July. This is pretty cool.

12:41: Sony Online Entertainment is involved in the fold now — Jim lee, executive creative director of the upcoming DC Universe Online is talking about the game, showing a brand new trailer abut the game.

12:50: M.A.G. — The Massive Action Game will pit up to 256 players against each other at once online in eight man squads led by a player who has proved himself as a good leader. Even Sony admits this will push PS3 to its limits.