Nothin' says lovin' like a shotgun to the face.
Though I am not a connoseur of the FPS genre, I do know a wildly fun and addictive game when I see one, and this is it.
Practice makes perfect
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One of the biggest complaints I hear about MAG is that it "sucks", mainly because the person playing sucks at it. I always laugh at this concept. As any game worth its salt, MAG will be easier for those that put in the time to become better.
One of the greatest aspects of this game is that you don't need to level very high before you can compete, which leaves player skill as the utmost determinant. It is very possible to have tremendous games almost every time you play with enough practice. Even I have over a 3.0 lifetime kill-death ratio, and this is my first real competitive FPS.
Finally, camping to a minimum
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There will always be campers in any multiplayer game. In a lot of FPS, the main thing I hear friends complain about are campers. These lowlife scoundrels sit around the corner shooting people in the face over and over again.
MAG prevents this in two ways. First, almost every location in MAG can be seen from multiple vantage points. That means, if someone is trying to camp you, simply change spots on the enormous map, and slap them with a few rounds. You will find that killing campers is actually one of the best ways to get a positive kill-death ratio.
Secondly, unlike most games, MAG is more about technique than about just hitting someone. If you shoot a guy in the leg or arm, expect to hit them a lot of times. Hit them in the head though, and you get a satisfying squish sound. Thus, most campers won't be able to kill you even if you run into them, as most of them are pathetic shots.
Oh look, another machine gun...
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My only gripe about this game is that it is a cookie cutter builder's wet dream. Do you want to snipe? Get a machine gun. Do you want to fight close range? Get a machine gun. Do you want to pick at your butt? You guessed it, get a machine gun.
As an assault rifle user, I find it very annoying that I can get one-shot by machine guns from miles away. Although it doesn't slow me down too much, I have noticed that 90% of my deaths is to a machine gun, which usually involved a one-shot from long distance.
The machine gun build is way over used. It takes the least skill, and produces the most versatility and power. If you pair that with a SVER (which I have confirmed by personal experience is much tougher), then you have THE in build. In other words, this game needs some balance tweaking.
Lag and bugs
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There are a few bugs in this game, although none of them are deal breakers. For example, if you knife right as you die, then when you respawn you will swing your knife. It is fine for you, but it sucks for anyone spawning in front of you.
Lag can be a slight issue as well. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I died behind a wall, because the game took a second or two to register me on the other person's screen. This is hit and miss, though, and doesn't happen all the time. They do a good job for all the stuff that is happening at once.
Ultimo's Verdict
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Got a game fly account? Now is the perfect time to use it. This is a fun and addictive game, however it is purely online. Therefore, I would get it on a service such as game fly, play it for a month to get it out of your system, then return it.
It will be a game that you will want to play non stop for a while, but when you do put it down I don't think you will pick it up again.