E3 2008: Sony Unveils the Enormous MAG

Sony gave us our first glimpse of MAG, an enormous shooter that can support up to 256 players in a match.

Participants will be broken into eight-player squads, led by "players who have proven themselves to be good leaders," explained Zipper Interactive's Andy Beaudoin.

We saw a brief trailer for the game, which showed soldiers using what appeared to be contemporary weapons and armor. It's unclear whether the game is set in a fantasy or alternate-reality setting, or actually takes place in some sort of real-life locale.

Ongoing faction-based campaigns will motivate players to check in on a daily basis, said Beaudoin, a concept that reminds me unnervingly of Tabula Rasa.

Jack Tretton himself said that MAG pushes the PS3 to its screaming point, which could either mean that it'll be a technological marvel or a broken mess. Perhaps a bit of both.

No release date was given, but we'll try to get some more detailed info this week.