Filed under: MMOFPS

The cat's out of the bag! Or perhaps the spies are out of their hexes? Either way, Global Agenda has gone into official launch mode today! We here at Massively can't help to celebrate by looking back at our past coverage of Global Agenda, as we watched the game go from a little team-based TPS to the MMORTS that it is today. If you like commanding, or if you just like shooting people with hi-tech guns, then this might be the game for you!

In any case, we promised you an event to go along with the launch! Tonight, jump in to Global Agenda at 8 PM EST to meet up with Shawn Schuster (Agent Name: Ampersand, Medic) and Seraphina Brennan (Agent Name: Seraphina, Recon!). Both editors will be commanding their own PvP strike teams and will be launching into the queues head first. By the way, don't forget your headset -- it makes team building so much easier. If you don't have one, no worries, just be ready to play.

So, without any further delay, let's take a trip down memory lane and look back at the best of our Global Agenda coverage...

MAG is a PlayStation 3-exclusive MMOFPS title we've been keeping our eyes on at Massively. The inevitable debate aside about whether Zipper Interactive's title is an MMO or not -- yes, tanks and guns replace dragons and magic spells -- the game accommodates up to 256 players in a zone at a time. The idea of FPS gameplay with that many people at such a high degree of graphical detail is pretty mind-boggling, and it's something we've explored a bit in the MAG beta. Our parent site Joystiq recently sat down with the game now that it's officially launched and wrote a short MAG review.

Joystiq's Griffin McElroy gives a brief overview of MAG's gameplay and his assessment of the title's merits and flaws. That idea of 128 players per side doesn't mean you'll all be charging towards your opponents in one awesome wave, he notes. Rather, you'll typically be interacting with your fellow soldiers on a squad level (4-8 people) to achieve objectives, with multiple squads comprising platoons, and four such platoons forming an army.

MAG's official launch was only a few days ago, but developer Zipper Interactive is already explaining some of the benefits to having a high level character in the MMOFPS. Players who hit the level cap of 60 can enable "Veteran Mode", which Zipper Interactive has mentioned in the past. Now, they've clarified what exactly the advantages to doing so are in a blog post -- essentially it's an incentive to reroll once you've maxed out your character, and experience more of the game.

If you're looking to try something new, you'll be able to keep your past accomplishments (medals, ribbons, and related stats) when you reset your character to level 1. Even though your experience counter resets to zero, your lifetime experience will show everything you've ever earned -- a permanent record viewable on the stats page of your barracks. Players after trophies for hitting max level in all private military companies (PMCs) in MAG will want to take advantage of Veteran Mode and the experience boost it imparts. Veteran Mode gives players a permanent 10% bonus added to the experience total for each match, provided that players sticks through the entire round. Other players can easily recognize a Veteran by the gold insignia displayed beneath that character's rank. While we suspect it'll be a while before most players hit that level cap, Zipper Interactive detailed MAG's Veteran Mode on the game's official blog.

It's MAG's launch day! Yaaaaay! The servers are up, the sides are being formed, and the never-ending Shadow War and contract tossing has begun. Another MMO action game has invaded the console realm and that's a good thing, even if you may not be a huge fan of MAG.

Even if MAG isn't your thing, you can still participate in today's question, dear readers! MAG prominently features three different armies -- Raven, VALOR, and S.V.E.R. Each army has its own style and way of getting things done. Raven Industries leans heavily on technology, preferring to use devices and upgrades to carry out the mission in a suave, European style. Meanwhile, across the pond, VALOR Company recruits ex-soldiers from the American military, preferring to win conflict through grit, determination, and large guns. Then, coming from the cold climate of Russia, Seryi Volk Executive Response (S.V.E.R.) is all about finishing the mission with what you have available. They cobble together their weaponry, their uniforms, and whatever they need to get the job done.

Of these three factions, which one are you joining, or would you join in MAG? Why does that army pop out at you over the other two? Take your time, think it through, and then declare your allegiance in the comment threads. Go go go!

So today's the morning of the 25th, dear Massively readers, and that means tonight is the midnight release of MAG! The PS3 is going to get a little more MMO this evening as thousands of players log in for intense "I don't know where I got shot from" action with 256 players.

So, we'll make this short and sweet for you guys. Are you visiting the midnight release tonight to pick up your copy? If so, how early are you going to be there to take part in the "late night festivities?" Are you going to camp out at 10 PM or are you just going to show up 5 minutes before midnight? Bonus question: If you're getting MAG tonight, are you going to go home and spam it, or are you saving it for Tuesday?

Take your opinion, load it in your keyboard, and then fire it directly into the comment box below. We're waiting, maggots!

Craftable loot is always important business, and in Global Agenda it's no different. There are always some neat surprises waiting for those who are willing to gather some items, do some research, and get to work in the fabrication chambers.

Xzaph over at the HexAgenda fansite has put together a pretty comprehensive screenshot list of Global Agenda's tier one and tier two blueprint offerings, confirming that there are a few more tricks in those crafting recipes than people have believed. Did you know that you can craft yourself a small squadron of androids to watch your back as pets, or put together a mini-nuke to completely wipe away any resistance within 200 feet?

Beyond being able to build those types of tricks in battle, it seems that there's also an item that must be crafted before your agency can take over a specific region -- the Sovereign Forge -- which may lead to us seeing more "key" items appearing down the road in Alliance vs. Alliance, should the Forge work out.

You've gotten all the news and updates, and you've even gotten a handy guide to conquest mode for Global Agenda. If you're ever going to be ready for Hi-Rez Studio's high-action game, it's now. So it's no coincidence that we've gotten news on the game's pre-purchase options, as well as the early start details for all players and the chance to reserve your character name prior to the February 1st launch date. After all, if you've gotten the game via Steam, don't you want to just download and start playing right away? That little grayed-out name is mocking you.

The latest newsletter details the early start, which will allow players to reach Level 10, reserve their character name, and unlock special pre-order items. It's also the only chance that pre-order players will have to claim their No Elves Flair and Commonwealth Helmet. Luckily, it's easy to hop in between January 28th and January 31st, and take a little time to start playing the game and forming Agencies. Beta players will also get the option to keep their character name during the transition to Live, although not their levels or data. Good news all around for Global Agenda fans.

CrimeCraft may have launched with a bang, but that bang appeared to be less of a gunshot and more of a car backfiring. Vogster Entertainment's MMOFPS was met with somewhat mixed reviews, moved to a free-to-play model, and found itself banned in Australia. But the game persists, and executive producer Matt McEnerney recently sat down with Warcry to discuss issues ranging from the Australia ban to the game's focus.

In a rather refreshing moment, McEnerney flatly states that the game is not for everyone, going on to state that those players who fall under Bartle's classification of Explorer or Socializer will be less likely to enjoy the game. It's a positive mark of candor, and certainly helps strengthen McEnerney's points on what the gae is trying to do and what it's best at. The interview also covers the current endgame option, whiich focus heavily on PvP amidst the game's warring families of gangs.

On the Australia ban, the producer's statement is essentially one that the government can ban the game from shelves but not hard drives -- which strikes us as a little criminal, but when you're talking about a game called CrimeCraft, do you really expect much different? Those interested in the game should take a look at the full interview, which is a bit more honest in places than we've come to expect from the genre.

War seems to be a hot topic in MMOs today. From MAG to Global Agenda, online war is the place to be.

But a few years ago, having an online war with 300 people at once was unheard of until one game pushed the boundaries and made it so -- PlanetSide. Sony Online Entertainment started the concept of having the MMO and the FPS merge together into one being that was above and beyond a persistent online shooter. It had the armor system of Starsiege Tribes, the inventory management of an MMO, the level progression and ability modification of an RPG, and the combat and vehicle control of a FPS, all played to the tune of a persistent war.

So why should you choose this game when there are so many newer alternatives available? Follow after the break, and let me outline a few features for ya.

So what exactly makes Global Agenda cross the border from persistent FPS to full on MMO? Conquest, my friends! Conquest. And now that the NDA has been lifted, we're free to tell you all about this agency only mode.

Global Agenda: Conquest mode is the game's take on a real-time strategy game versus an FPS. Your alliance of agencies can take ownership of the Global Agenda world and lay claim to valuable resources to build agent modifications, weapons of mass destruction, and even more fun little tools. But you must guard your territory carefully, as other alliances will have the option to siege your land, forcing you into battles for domination of the map.

But how does Conquest mode work? What do you need to do to take advantage of this feature of the spy-fi shooter? Glad you asked! It's time for you to FAQ That!

It's a technical marvel, really, to be able to shoot at 256 people at once. Very few games have been able to get this many players into one enclosed space, and even fewer have been able to do it without having everything lock down in lag. But Zipper Interactive's MAG is taking the bull by the horns and is following in the footsteps of games like PlanetSide to deliver a true "war" experience to the PS3.

With the impending release of MAG to the shelves of stores everywhere, my editor wanted me to get down to the front lines of combat and find out what the fuss was all about. To that end, I've joined up with Shadow Raven Industries to get a taste of the combat that MAG has to offer. Follow after the break, and let's break down how this "Massive Action Game" plays out.

As we reported back in November, there have been rumors of a Call of Duty MMOFPS floating around for a while now. With nothing more than a rumor to hold on to at that time, we filed that nugget away in the corner of our brains and went on about our business. However, it appears that another rumor about Infinity Ward looking in the direction of MMOs has bubbled up -- this time on Destructoid. Apparently the current word from industry insiders is that they are targeting and hiring away MMO developers from Sony Online Entertainment.

If these rumors are true, the resultant game could be the source of many fanboy head-explosions -- and we're not talking headshots. Hiring SOE's developers gives IW a ready-made team that is very familiar with the nuts and bolts of coding MMOs. Add to it the rabid fanbase tied to the Call of Duty franchise, and mix in the fact that Infinity Ward is owned by Activision Blizzard, and you can see where we're going with this. Could a Call of Duty MMO be the super-secret MMOFPS that Blizzard is involved with? Is this why SOE has started working on PlanetSide 2: to compete with a potential MMOFPS hybrid from Infinity Ward, Blizzard, and their own ex-employees? While it's all rumor right now, and thus anyone's guess, it certainly makes for a potentially tasty batch of kool-aid.

[Edited to add] Alan "Brenlo" Crosby, Executive Producer for EverQuest II contacted us to let us know that the rumor about the Lead Developer for EverQuest II going to Infinity Ward is absolutely false. He suggested that the rumor may have instead started since previous SOE Lead Developers Jon L. Davis and Rick Baker are working at Infinity Ward currently. So while it seems that current SOE people are off the table, it certainly doesn't stop the potential of a CoD MMO -- especially with talented ex-SOE employees already in-house over at Infinity Ward.

[via Joystiq]

It's last minute, we know, but if you're a PS3 owner then you might want to scoot over to the PlayStation Store and download the MAG open beta client. The system's MMOFPS will be online until the 10th, when they take the game off the store and prep it for the official January 26th launch.

Beware you have room on your hard drive and time to leave your PS3 on to download, however, as you'll be looking forward to a 2 GB download. A headset is nice to have too, so you can communicate with your squadmates (they'll appreciate it,) but it's not required to play the game.

So this weekend enjoy conducting a war with 255 other people on the battlefield with you. Try not to get shot too much!

The open beta isn't open anymore and the roleplaying first-person shooter MMO has converted into the real thing. Face of Mankind has gone into the "retail" phase and has put all of their accounts on a "premium trial period" to get a taste of what a paid account has to offer. The premium trial period will last until December 29th, so be sure to make your mind up quick.

Good news for veterans of the game, however, as you won't need to subscribe to play this time around. Face of Mankind is instead taking a free-to-play/subscription approach, putting things like access to civilian clothing usage, department creation, carrying a third weapon, and faction leadership and other benefits solely in the hands of paying subscribers. Free-to-play accounts can still play and progress in their faction up to rank 4, own 10 clones, and have 20 spaces of inventory.