Follow along here, now. FASA Interactive was created by FASA
to handle computer conversions and licenses of their Battletech
world. They wanted to do their own MechWarrior game, but they
wanted to do it right. In the meantime, however, they had sold
the BattleMech license to Microprose in 1997. Microprose used
the license to create Mech Commander, a BattleMech RTS. They had
also commissioned Zipper Interactive to create MechWarrior 3.
Simple so far, right? Keep reading.
First, Microprose gets gobbled up by Hasbro. Next, FASA Interactive
gets gobbled up by Microsoft. Zipper keeps working on MechWarrior
3. So, what you end up with is Hasbro creating a game based on
license owned by a direct competitor. You also get a MechWarrior
3 that ends up with the Zipper Interactive, Microprose, Hasbro
Interactive, FASA Interactive, and Microsoft labels on it. Whew.
And, amazingly enough, MechWarrior 3 turned out to be a fairly
decent ‘Mech simulation. The graphics were certainly stellar,
and the “feel” of pounding around in an 80-ton death
machine were certainly there – previous MechWarrior games
suffered from problems of scale, in addition to lacking “ambient”
objects like telephone poles, normal houses, and the like. ‘Mech
building was also implemented nicely, in much the same manner
as the previous MechWarrior sims.
The problems arose in the details. First of all, MW3 can be considered
MechWarrior 2: Graphics Plus. The same paradigms of the early
games prevailed in MW3, only it looked better. Lots of medium
lasers (with lots of heat sinks) and big LRM packs ruled the day
– especially since the brain-dead A.I. pilots would let players
pick them off with said LRM’s at long-range with no response.
Other than that, one got the circle of death of death again.
The worst design change, the one that killed MW3’s multiplayer,
was the “legging” technique. In the first two MechWarriors,
badly damaging an opponent’s leg slowed him down. If one
blew it off, the stricken ‘Mech fell down – much like
the pencil-and-paper rules. He was still alive, though, and could
possibly twist his torso around to nail his attackers. He was
even able to stand up again – although this was rare, and
usually just ended up with another spectacular fall. In MW3, however,
if a ‘Mech lost a leg, the ‘Mech fell down and went
boom. Multiplayer matches turned into legging contests that resembled
a typical Car Wars “go for the tires” free-for-all.
Microprose’s final product for their short-lived Battletech
license was the Pirate Moon expansion, which added fixes, and
somewhat smarter opponents, to MW3. It’s hard to find nowadays,
since Hasbro (surprisingly) never released a “MechWarrior
3 Gold” shovelware pack. MechWarrior 3 itself is relatively
easy to find – it’s typically sold in the bargain bin
paired with Falcon 4, or Worms: Armageddon – a very good
deal.
