Mechwarrior 3 by Michael Giovetti
Notes and Opinions on the Mechwarrior Series as a whole:
The first Mechwarrior game had to be the best when it came to a storyline and management interface. Players could hire and sack pilots, buy and sell 'Mechs and ammo, check up on how the noble Houses viewed them, fly all across the Inner Sphere on Jump Ships and Drop Ships, and pick what mission they wanted based on what mission they were interested in, what 'Mechs they would be fighting, and how much money they would get.
The Mechwarrior 2 series was a failure in accuracy to the BattleTech universe and combat physics. For one thing, PPC shots were big blue balls that traveled very slowly, when they are supposed to be actual beams, or at least lightning-like energy streams. Another thing wrong with it was the fact that when a 'Mech lost a leg, it would stay standing, but they fixed that problem in Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries. Though most people who say they are authorities on BattleTech say that the way the jump jets functioned in Mechwarrior 2 was wrong, I have heard that 'Mechs may strafe from side to side in the air using jets in BattleTech. Also, the storyline was very basic and linear, or limited in choice. It wasn't a half-bad game for Arcade Action junkies, but others, like me, did not like the unauthentic world Activision had made with that game.
What would make the ultimate Mechwarrior game would be one with the graphics, combat interface, and combat physics of Mechwarrior 3 combined with a management interface with financing, salvage, personnel, and 'Mech Design and purchase, and with a storyline worthy of a BattleTech novel.
The Command system is the next best thing to actually piloting your lancemates' 'Mechs. You tell them who to attack, what to defend, whether to go to the MFB(Mobile Field Base) for repairs, and other commands. Using the full-screen radar map with the system allows for strategic control of your lancemates. This makes it possible to pull off various tactical maneuvers.
The 'MechLab system is much easier to use than the Mechwarrior 2 series' labs. It's more like a point-and-click interface, as you can select the body part, then point and click on the equipment or weapon you wish to add and that item will be installed. The 'Lab' shows the stats on the size of a component, in weight and in bulkiness, defined as critical slot space in the BattleTech universe. As in the previous Mechwarriors, you can fully customize the 'Mech's armor plating using standard, IS FF(Ferro-Fibrous), or Clan FF, and the internals can be either standard or Endo-Steel. The engine's power and type can be set. The game's manual gives a vague description for the weapons' damage, as they do not give point values in terms of armor damage.
A universe ravaged by centuries of nearly endless wars, fueled by the desire to control all of known space, and fought by armies of huge robotic war-machines known as BattleMechs. This is the BattleTech universe that Mechwarrior 3 is based in. You play as a Lance Leader in the Eridani Light Horse mercenary unit, and you were chosen to be part of a tactical strike force sent out to the 'home worlds' of the Clans, a chivalristic society led by its warrior caste, whose objective is to reclaim Terra, cradle of humanity. These Clans have struck deep within the Inner Sphere(IS), the region of space controlled by the five noble Houses whose leaders desire control over each other's territory.
The graphics and combat of this game are intense. They seem to be the best I have seen for a 'robotic walker sim,' which is the correct term for this kind of game, as it applies to HERCULANs, HAWKs, Gears, and 'Mechs alike. The 'Mechs have a 'realistic' look to them. The water effects, like the dive-type splash effect when a 'Mech makes a 'splashdown' in water and ripples formed as the 'Mech traverses through the water, are superb. The sky is fully animated and the lighting effects, like the sunlight dimming as the sun goes behind clouds, glare forming as you stare at the sun, and weapons' fire and jump jets producing a colored glow, are as realistic as everything else, though the glow effect is optional (Lighting option). The weapons themselves have detailed animations, as well as this fancy glow. Combined weapons' fire that causes damage over 'extreme' will knock down a 'Mech.
The worst part of this game, however, is that all the versions of the game have bugs, though the bugs only show up in multiplayer, and the singleplayer part of the game is bug-free. There are generic bugs that are in all versions of the game, though they seem to be caused by lag, or the time lapse between digital 'echoes', and they include the invisible bug (some players' data won't be received by one of the other player's system, and this other player cannot see or be harmed by those other players) and the team bugs, which include the invisible team bug (the Team's name is invisible to you and the 'Mechs of that team will appear as green blips on radar) and the team skin glitch (the team's skin looks like the scoreboard headings and the team's 'Mechs appear as green blips on radar). All versions of the game contain a major bug, with version 1.0(v1.0) containing one called the 'chat bug,' which would occur when the message (msg) sender for chat was on the screen when someone 'respawned,' which caused the game to act as if the msg sender never closed but is invisible, and so keys and button controls wouldn't respond, forcing the player to quit the game he or she was playing. The major bug of v1.1 was another chat bug that may have been in v1.0, but probably wasn't noticed, and it is caused by holding shift while pressing enter to finish a chat msg in combat, which would crash the game, or even the system, and force the player to reboot his or her computer. The v1.2 major bug must be the most frustrating of all, as it will usually suicide everyone in the game repeatedly, and may be temporary in some instances, but usually isn't. But these faults are made up by the best part of the game, which I have saved for last.
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Review of Mechwarrior 3
By Michael Giovetti
A universe ravaged by centuries of nearly endless wars, fueled by the desire to control all of known space, and fought by armies of huge robotic war-machines known as BattleMechs. This is the BattleTech universe that Mechwarrior 3 is based in. You play as a Lance Leader in the Eridani Light Horse mercenary unit, and you were chosen to be part of a tactical strike force sent out to the 'home worlds' of the Clans, a chivalristic society led by its warrior caste, whose objective is to reclaim Terra, cradle of humanity. These Clans have struck deep within the Inner Sphere(IS), the region of space controlled by the five noble Houses whose leaders desire control over each other’s territory.
This game's singleplayer campaign has an average number of missions to be played through on three difficulty levels. The AI, or artificial intelligence, is not very good in certain areas, as the computer-controlled 'Mechs do not use jump jets, have problems navigating around terrain, and will ram their cockpits into bridges, sides of tracks, and buildings, destroying the 'Mechs. The Command system, though, probably makes up for the AI blunder.
The Command system is the next best thing to actually piloting your lancemates' 'Mechs. You tell them who to attack, what to defend, whether to go to the MFB(Mobile Field Base) for repairs, and other commands. Using the full-screen radar map with the system allows for strategic control of your lancemates. This makes it possible to pull off various tactical maneuvers.
The ‘MechLab system is much easier to use than the Mechwarrior 2 series’ labs. It’s more like a point-and-click interface, as you can select the body part, then point and click on the equipment or weapon you wish to add and that item will be installed. The ‘Lab’ shows the stats on the size of a component, in weight and in bulkiness, defined as critical slot space in the BattleTech universe. As in the previous Mechwarriors, you can fully customize the ‘Mech’s armor plating using standard, IS FF(Ferro-Fibrous), or Clan FF, and the internals can be either standard or Endo-Steel. The engine’s power and type can be set. The game’s manual gives a vague description for the weapons’ damage, as they do not give point values in terms of armor damage.
The salvage system is as easy to use as the ‘MechLab and is necessary to the ‘MechLab in the Campaign. This system determines what parts on enemy ‘Mechs and in captured facilities are salvageable and makes a list of these parts and ‘Mechs. As the amount of free space for ‘Mech parts is limited by the number of MFB vehicles that are currently in service and at your disposal, you should conserve as much space as possible and keep as many of the MFB vehicles in service. Six spare ‘Mechs may be stored inside the MFB vehicles, in case your wings lose their current ‘Mechs.
The salvage system is currently excluded from multiplayer, but it may be included later.
The game’s combat interface has developed a great deal beyond its predecessors in many ways. The radar display of the HUD(Heads Up Display) keeps you informed of enemy positions, as it did before, but a new feature adds to its usefulness. The radar map mode, referred to earlier, adds a whole new list of possibilities, like planning various routes to a location or the aforementioned command use. It also points out the location of Op points, previously called Nav. points in the Mechwarrior 2 Trilogy. The heat indicator accurately depicts the heat level of the interior of your ‘Mech and has hash marks to measure the heat caused by certain systems. The damage indicators are even more useful than before, showing the target’s and your own damage using a 3D model that reddens with damage, a 2D ‘Mech figure that represents damage using traditional colors, and an HTAL(Head Torso Arms Legs) bar damage display that uses bars to depict armor damage. The speed indicator gives you the currently set speed with a bar and the actual speed in kph. The weapons and equipment status list depicts the status of these systems using highlighting of seemingly adequate colors, and an ammo counter for munitions-based systems. The heading indicator tells which way you are facing using a standard 360E heading.
The default controls for this game, on the other hand, are very awkward, and if they were setup like the controls of the game Starsiege, it would be much more efficient. The control customization system neutralizes this problem, as you can make the controls to fit your needs.
The worst part of this game, however, is that all the versions of the game have bugs, though the bugs only show up in multiplayer, and the singleplayer part of the game is bug-free. There are generic bugs that are in all versions of the game, though they seem to be caused by lag, or the time lapse between digital ‘echoes’, and they include the invisible bug (some players’ data won’t be received by one of the other player’s system, and this other player cannot see or be harmed by those other players) and the team bugs, which include the invisible team bug (the Team’s name is invisible to you and the ‘Mechs of that team will appear as green blips on radar) and the team skin glitch (the team’s skin looks like the scoreboard headings and the team’s ‘Mechs appear as green blips on radar). All versions of the game contain a major bug, with version 1.0(v1.0) containing one called the ‘chat bug,’ which would occur when the message (msg) sender for chat was on the screen when someone ‘respawned,’ which caused the game to act as if the msg sender never closed but is invisible, and so keys and button controls wouldn’t respond, forcing the player to quit the game he or she was playing. The major bug of v1.1 was another chat bug that may have been in v1.0, but probably wasn’t noticed, and it is caused by holding shift while pressing enter to finish a chat msg in combat, which would crash the game, or even the system, and force the player to reboot his or her computer. The v1.2 major bug must be the most frustrating of all, as it will usually suicide everyone in the game repeatedly, and may be temporary in some instances, but usually isn’t. But these faults are made up by the best part of the game, which I have saved for last.
The graphics and combat of this game are intense. They seem to be the best I have seen for a ‘robotic walker sim,’ which is the correct term for this kind of game, as it applies to HERCULANs, HAWKs, Gears, and ‘Mechs alike. The ‘Mechs have a ‘realistic’ look to them. The water effects, like the dive-type splash effect when a ‘Mech makes a ‘splashdown’ in water and ripples formed as the ‘Mech traverses through the water, are superb. The sky is fully animated and the lighting effects, like the sunlight dimming as the sun goes behind clouds, glare forming as you stare at the sun, and weapons’ fire and jump jets producing a colored glow, are as realistic as everything else, though the glow effect is optional (Lighting option). The weapons themselves have detailed animations, as well as this fancy glow. Combined weapons’ fire that causes damage over ‘extreme’ will knock down a ‘Mech. Severe leg damage can also knock a ‘Mech on its back, and also slows the ‘Mech down and makes it limp, making it seem as if at least one of the leg’s actuators, which are basically the ‘muscles’ of a ‘Mech, has been damaged. The head of a ‘Mech is not easy to hit, with either a foot, in which the foot would take damage, or weapons. The weapon physics is highly realistic and the weapons seem to act as they should. Destroying a ‘Mech’s arm destroys installed weapons, and leaves a stub with wires hanging out. Jump jets vertically lift the ‘Mech to reach higher ground and, with the Relaxed Jets option on, may be used for avoiding fire or reaching a ledge without a running start.
Overall, this game is a good BattleTech combat simulator. The combat physics seems all in place in the most recent version, and the graphics are exceptional. I recommend this game for anyone who is either a BattleTech fan or a hard-core combat action gamer.
Notes and Opinions on the Mechwarrior Series as a whole:
The first Mechwarrior game had to be the best when it came to a storyline and management interface. Players could hire and sack pilots, buy and sell ‘Mechs and ammo, check up on how the noble Houses viewed them, fly all across the Inner Sphere on Jump Ships and Drop Ships, and pick what mission they wanted based on what mission they were interested in, what ‘Mechs they would be fighting, and how much money they would get.
The Mechwarrior 2 series was a failure in accuracy to the BattleTech universe and combat physics. For one thing, PPC shots were big blue balls that traveled very slowly, when they are supposed to be actual beams, or at least lightning-like energy streams. Another thing wrong with it was the fact that when a ‘Mech lost a leg, it would stay standing, but they fixed that problem in Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries. Though most people who say they are authorities on BattleTech say that the way the jump jets functioned in Mechwarrior 2 was wrong, I have heard that ‘Mechs may strafe from side to side in the air using jets in BattleTech. Also, the storyline was very basic and linear, or limited in choice. It wasn’t a half-bad game for Arcade Action junkies, but others, like me, did not like the unauthentic world Activision had made with that game.
What would make the ultimate Mechwarrior game would be one with the graphics, combat interface, and combat physics of Mechwarrior 3 combined with a management interface with financing, salvage, personnel, and ‘Mech Design and purchase, and with a storyline worthy of a BattleTech novel.
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