The game is set two millennia into the future, in the 31st century, where mankind has colonised a vast number of star systems. There is a titanic war going on between a few warring factions (Which is odd for mankind, don't you think?). The two most foremost of these are the ‘Inner Spheres’ and the ‘Clanners’.
In the game, you play the part of an Inner Sphere commando. As the game begins, things seem to going terribly wrong for the Inner Spheres. Many of your comrades-in-arms lose their way or are killed in the initial planetary drop, and you are left on your own to complete the mission.
The Single Player Game
The single player mode boasts an impressive campaign with well-structured missions and clear-objectives. You progress from one area of the map to another, picking up wing mates and gaining bigger, faster and more powerful battlemechs. Often it is the case that maps overlap from mission to mission, and this definitely helps to give the feeling of continuity between missions and stages.
Throughout the game, you have the ability to salvage parts and technology from enemy battlemechs (such as jump jets), new weapon systems and technology. The aforementioned Mech units can range from the 30ton-Firefly to 100ton-Daishi and Annihilator.
In the game, Battemech design is crucial, and some important decisions need to be made which will effect how you will play the game, and with what tactics. Do you outfit your mech with lasers and energy weapons? These generate a lot of heat, so this must be countered with ‘heat-sinks’ – or do you use missiles and ballistics that use ammo? The choices are never easy to make, and will invariably mean the difference between you scraping out alive from a nasty situation, or being scraped up from a nasty situation!
Multiplayer
So the game’s got a good single player. But a classic game must have more to it than a good single player game Many games have impressive single players (Max Payne for example), but when it comes to multiplayer, some games just don’t make the grade (Black and White is an example).
Logging On
Mechwarrior3 can be played online either through Gamespy, or at the MSN Gaming Zone. For gamers who want a game without long waiting times, the Zone is the better choice of the two as Gamespy servers seem to lack the following and long waiting times are not a rarity.
Tough Decisions
The multiplayer mode is where Mechwarrior 3 really shines through. It’s what sets it apart from many other games. Whilst the basic principals of the game remain the same, multiplayer mode requires a complete re-think of tactics, weapon choices and preferred choice of battlemech.
In single player mode it is often a good idea to outfit your Mech with mainly energy weapons (these do not rely on ammo, instead they use heat, which can to some extent be nullified by heat sinks) due to long missions and limited capacity for carrying ammo. Likewise, players will often choose smaller, faster ‘Mech for single player missions. Due to this, when gamer’s first play online they quite inevitably develop a serious inferiority complex. It takes quite a long time to develop and finely hone those vital Mechwarrior skills. A crucial feature of online play is the design of the ‘Mech you intend to implement.
·What weapons should I use
·Where on my ‘Mech should I place them?
·How should I distribute my armour?
The list goes on and on.
Mech-Diversity
One of the things that I enjoy particularly in the world of multiplayer-Mechwarrior is that everybody plays the game differently. There are seven different ‘Mods’ of play. These are:
C0 – Stock Mechs, i.e. The Pre-set ones that come with the game.
C1 – Energy weapons, e.g. Lasers, Flamers etc…
C2 –
C3 – Ballistics and Missiles
C4 –
C5 – Ballistics (and guns)
C6 – Anything goes!
C7 – Missiles only
With all this choice, the possibility for a game being the same twice is pretty remote. This is just another feature of a truly epic game.
It May Lag Behind…
One major aspect of any multiplayer game is lag:
Definition: n. A condition that occurs when the delays in the host server become severe enough that servers briefly lose and then re-establish contact, causing messages and actions to be delivered in bursts, often with delays of up to a minute. (Note that this term has nothing to do with mainstream "jet lag", a condition that hackers tend not to be much bothered by.) Often shortened to just `lag'.
You will now most probably be thinking, “Why is he trying to promote a game by saying that it’s slow and dogged by lag problems?” Well I’ll tell you why, if there were no lag in the game, it would be easy. Kills would come quick and fast, and the game would get boring very quickly. Lag introduces an entirely new skill to the game, meaning that you not only have to learn to hit your enemy, you have to learn to judge his/her lag, and work out how far in front of them you need to fire to actually hit them. So awareness skills are vital, even in this gaming environment.
I can understand how this argument may sound wafer thin, but it’s the factor that’s kept Mechwarrior3 popular for nearly four years. People may moan about lag, but it’s what’s caused Mechwarrior 3’s multiplayer to be as successful as it has. That, and of course the fact that the game has:
· Very impressive graphics, a brilliant interface.
· A gigantic armoury of different weapons.
· Dozens of ‘Mechs to choose from.
· Huge storerooms full of equipment, including targeting computers, jump jets and anti-missile systems.
· The ability to fully customize your ‘Mechs appearance, systems, speed and armour.
· And so much more, but of course I’m completely biased…
There is so much that I could write about this game, but I simply don’t have enough space. The point I’m trying to convey to you, the reader, is that I’ve played the game for almost four years now, and I still love every minute of it. I spend as much time as I can on the zone, and I’ve never regretted any of it. I’ve made loads of friends, improved my skill, and simply had fun! So hopefully we’ll see some new faces around the place, after you’ve read this analysis of a truly great game.
(Kaos)