Short Review #14: Mechwarrior 3

When I got a 'new', Pentium 2, computer around 1999/2000 I was re-introduced to video games. Before I only had an IBM 486 and, as you probably imagine, it wasn't able to run any new games of the period. Upon getting that new PC, I got three games. One was already on the hard drive (a left-over from the previous user), Quake 2 (a classic I still love to revisit from time to time and I'm currently eyeing the expansions for it), Colin McRae Rally and Mechwarrior 3. That, more than 10 years ago, was my first contact with that particular game and with the franchise. And I remember that I loved the game, but didn't get far into it, perhaps because of the control scheme, or perhaps, being a 12 year old, my attention span wasn't actually enough to finish a game once I started it.

I haven't played any Mechwarrior games until last year, when I bought Mechwarrior 4 and gave it a go. I did have a passing experience of Mechcommander 2, and I knew more about the Battletech setting than I did when I first played Mech3, so I knew it was something up my alley. I enjoyed the game and had some fun with it as you may have read in my first Short Review. I was instantly reminded of Mech3, and it was my no.1 lookout title in charity shops, entertainment exchanges etc. I finally got it this month via Amazon. The copy I bought didn't have a box, unfortunately, but I did get two booklets: the instruction manual and a 'Technical Reference' with 'Mech info.

First of all, it was bloody hard to get the game to work. Even when I did, it seemed to take pleasure is freezing and crashing on me in random moments during missions. Mech3 is one of the games where there's no such thing as a Save system, so that had me playing through some missions several times to finish them. So a word of advice for any of you who'd like to revisit or play it for the first time - it's kind of a bitch to run on modern PC's. However, as long as each session lasted, it was fun.

The Mechwarrior series assume you know your Battletech lore. There's no in-game encyclopedia, and the intro doesn't really explain much, rather it sets the scene for those of the players who know something about the setting. Well, I don't, to be honest, I have a very limited knowledge of it (mostly from the video games), so the plot here, however well executed, wasn't exactly clear to me at points. But the main gist of it is this: an operation to destroy Clan Smoke Jaguar has been planned, to punish them for some kind of offensive they took part in and to provide a warning to other Clans if they are tempted to do the same. The opening of the operation is disastrous though, with a large loss of personnel on part of the invaders. But you survived the drop, along with your Mobile Field Base, and you are hell-bent on completing as much of the objectives as possible.

This general vagueness of the setting in the game translates directly to the vagueness of some of the game's mechanisms. For example, you can equip items such as CASE, MASC, Artemis IV, ECM Suite... the list goes on. However, there's no explanation of ANY type in-game on what these items actually do. Luckily, I got the manual, so I could read into what each of them is used for. Woe to the players who don't have that option but still wish to play the game! Most of these are not things that are essential to getting through a mission, but a lot of them are quite helpful. The whole game has this underlying theme of complexity going on, which was, I think, somewhat dumbed down in Mech4 (or at least they had descriptions of the items in-game). Mech3 can be played as an Action Game, using a limited number of commands and controls, and this is how I played it. However there's no doubt in my mind that it's best when played as it was intended to be played - as a simulation game. Some games are flight simulators. This one is a 'Mech simulator. Basically the whole keyboard is used, and from what I know the game really benefits from having a joystick to play it with. I don't own one, though I'd like to get one just for Mechwarrior games (and a few space sims I'm hoping to pick up or play in the future).

Remapping the keys gives you an approachable control scheme, but it's not very satisfying, as you pretty much know that there's a large chunk of functionality you're just not using. On the Easy difficulty setting, the campaign doesn't present too many challenges with this scheme, but it's still interesting and rather gripping when the action comes in. Each 'Mech power-up detected' alert has you look at the radar searching for a new target, firefights are quite tense and sniping enemies from away with long-range lasers is very, very fun.

The graphics have, obviously, aged - but I think they aged pretty well. Sure, everything is blocky and there's no really shiny effects, but that gives the game a rough, bleak look which fits the setting perfectly. I could totally see, and play, an MMO game based on an engine similar to this one, and would not say one bad thing about the graphics. Looking at enemies from the cockpit gives a sense of immersion, while viewing your 'Mech from an angle with a cinematic camera just looks plain awesome. One gripe I have about the graphics is their poor variety in a way. During the course of the campaign you get through many missions divided into four chapters (Operations), but three of them look exactly the same: bleak, grey landscapes with clouded skies, some black and grey buildings and a tree here and there. I heard that many people said that Mechwarrior 4 was too colourful, but it's not the colour scheme that I found lacking. I think this totally fitted the game's themes and setting, but when it introduced snowy plains into the mix, stuff got interesting! Hell, even before, when the clouds parted to show a reddish sky and you heard thunder in the background, that was a nice mix of things! So it can be done, and I wish it was done more often with this game.

The sound in Mech3 is great, you can feel the stomping of the machines, and each explosion is quite satisfying, as are all weapon sounds. The music is also pretty good, but there's only a handful of tracks played at the beginning of missions, and when they finish, there's only silence to accompany you. Mind you, each missions doesn't take too long to finish. I think the longest I spent with a single mission was around 25 minutes, and that's only because I took my time with the advance. Usually, one firefight quickly brings you to another as you complete your objectives, so most missions take around 15-20 minutes. And there's only around 20 of them, so it's safe to say that the whole Mechwarrior 3 game can be completed in under 8 hours, provided you don't spend too much time agonising over different Mech configurations. To be honest, now that I think of it, it's not too bad, actually, but I could've sworn I've only been playing this game for a few hours before completing it... Well, at any rate, I had the feeling that the missions ended very quickly, and I was sorry each time I had to press Ctrl+Q to exit a mission once it was completed. Then again, without saving points, this is for the better I suppose.

In my opinion Mech3 is a game worthy of revisiting, especially if you're a simulator fan or if you found Mech4 to be too 'arcade'y'. I'm still hyping myself up for the upcoming Mechwarrior 5, since it looks great and the whole idea is still there. I'm kind of sorry that the multiplayer for Mech3 is non-existant, as it would be a lot of fun to fight a 3v3 or 4v4 match from time to time... Anyway, this is a solid 8/10, not taking into account the performance issues (because that may be only my laptop, who knows, and it is a 10 year old game after all). Play it if you like what Mechwarrior is, or if you enjoy combat simulators. And, of course, if you can run it at all.

Games to play this year, encore

This is a list of premieres that I'm waiting for, from the most anticipated one, to the one I'm just mildly interested in. Next to each title is a percentage of how likely I am to buy the game this year. Otherwise I'll do my best to play it at somebody's place or borrow it from a friend who got it.

1. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (100% - I pre-ordered the Collector's Edition)

2. Batman: Arkham City (95% - I'll do my best to pick it up the moment it's out, a slight chance for a Collector's Edition if it's good)

3. Total War: Shogun 2 (80% - not sure if I'll buy it soon after the premiere, but a good chance I'll pick it up until the end of the year, for example from a Steam special offer)

4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (80% - was thinking about pre-ordering the Collector's Edition, but might as well pick it up later in the year, or just get the regular edition. Much depends on the reviews.)

5. Mechwarrior 5 (65% - provided it comes out this year, I'm willing to buy a regular edition unless the Collector's Edition [if there's going to be one at all] kicks ass)

6. Portal 2 (50% - not a very important buy this year, this can definitely wait until I can get it cheap)

7. King Arthur 2 (50% - much depends on the price and a bit on the reviews. The first part only recently had its price lowered.)

8. Space Marine (40% - not a big chance I'll try to get it this year, there's no rush, but I'm definitely interested in seeing it being played and trying it out)

9. Star Wars: The Old Republic (30% - being an MMO, I'm unlikely to try it right away unless it's going to be free to play which it almost certainly won't)

Also, I'm aware that I had to dust this blog before I wrote this entry. Sorry for that, I'll try to do better, though I can't promise much because... surprise, surprise, I may actually start working in the industry come March! But I won't spoil it by talking about it, anyway there's a good chance that the moment I get the job, I'll close down the blog or put it in 'hibernation' mode. We'll see.

Any games you're waiting for this year?

Ending the Gaming Diary

Yeah, so, as you can probably gather, the Gaming Diary format isn't exactly working out if you keep doing it for a month. Scratch that.

No King Arthur review yet, as I'm really not in the mood. But one's coming, I hope, some time soon.

In the meantime I finished Zombie Driver and installed and finished Zeno Clash. Both are indie games, both are quite enjoyable, with Zeno Clash having an original setting (with a punk / fantasy / tribal feel to it) but being very, very short (around 3-4 hours). Come to think of it, the campaign of Zombie Driver probably isn't longer than that, if at all that long. Both have additional modes, one I didn't try (Deathrace in Zombie Driver, my omission, but I can't fix that because, in my haste to create more disk space, I uninstalled the game shortly after completing it) and one I did try but didn't care about (Slaughter in Zombie Driver - a free-form run-and-gun on a preset level and seeing how long you can survive) and one I tried and may actually play some more (the Challenge mode in Zeno Clash).

I also played some more FEAR. I'm really liking it, but the horror / tension is right there on the border with me, so I've got to take it slow. Which means there's no way I'm going to finish it before Wednesday.

Also, GTA Vice City. Got to a point when I almost triggered the end game, but it seems I don't own enough businesses to forward the plot, so I'm doing small missions and making money off what I have (movie studio and print). Still having fun, but, again, the chance I'm going to finish it before going away is very slim. It's possible, but I don't think it's happening.

Summing up my plan for this month, it didn't work out. I got bogged down with some games, others I simply took my time with, sometimes I didn't feel like playing anything, I got back to older titles and installed some that weren't on the list... A good time was had, though I don't have as much reviews of games as I thought I'm going to. But well, I'm only human, and there's a whole new year to play games ahead of me...

Gaming Diary - Day 25 (01.01.11)

Alright, so a new year has started. Yay, I guess?

I got through that pesky mission in GTA: Vice City. I tried out a method I haven't seen anywhere on video, and it worked. Easy as pie, really, but I still think that cutscene should've been a save point. The game branches nicely now, I'll enjoy some more tomorrow.

I also played a bit of FEAR, got to a rather scary moment and stopped playing. The ambience isn't killing me, but I can still take it only is rather small doses, but that's me. The game still isn't half as scary as Dead Space, it's more a Bioshock kind of thing with added creepiness in the hallucinations / visions you get.

Company of Heroes, I got through another mission and right now I'm at the last mission of the basic campaign. I'm hoping to finish it this coming week, and maybe move on to the Opposing Fronts British campaign.

No King Arthur today, I'll fix that tomorrow.

Gaming Diary - Day 24 (31.12.10)

Company of Heroes - another campaign mission finished. Maybe I'll get to complete the basic campaign before I leave.

King Arthur - slowly digging myself out of the many quests. I still can't do some optional battles because of how demanding they are (they throw very powerful armies against you), but finally can do the stupid ghosts/wraiths battles, even though they are still going poorly. But at least I'm not losing each such fight! Another game I'm hoping to finish over the next week or so.

GTA Vice City... got to that irritating mission part. See, the mission itself is great. It works plotwise, it's fun to play and all, but I've tried doing it for around five or six times now, and always something goes wrong, some stupid random thing. My car gets hit and spirals out of control. I somehow lose all my armor when shot at. I am left with a silly amount of life and a stray bullet hits me. That's not my main problem. The main problem is this: watch this video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se6KP5xfcYM ), and tell me - WHY THE HELL ISN'T THERE A SAVE POINT WHEN YOU SAVE LANCE? WHY. THE. BLOODY. HELL? Each time you screw up, you have to do the whole thing again - going there, getting through the guys, saving Lance, listening to the god-damn short cutscene. And there's absolutely NOTHING you can do about it. I mean, look at it! You see what's happening when you leave that street leading to the junkyard? Seriously, it's a dice roll! I've seen videos where the guy doesn't even get hit on his way out and loses the tail, somehow, by some grace of the game, and it's a blue milk run. This guy - not so lucky. He basically gets gang banged by those cars.

I almost made it at one point. I lost the tail, I was way ahead. What had to happen? I stopped dead on a electrical post (because the metal lamp posts break like matches, but electrical posts in Vice City are made of titanium alloy - I'd say concrete, but you break the concrete signalling lights with no problem), and then when I tried to backtrack, I got hit into ANOTHER post and the car started to burn. I got out, Lance got out, but didn't follow me and died in the explosion. And this sort of thing happened to me at least three or four times!

Why did the people at Rockstar insist on ruining a perfectly good game like that? There's no way I can skip this mission, because it's a pivotal moment in the plot. There's no way I can make this mission easier, because there's not much I can do at all. So yes, this is my first major disappointment with Vice City. And to think that it could be made so much more bearable if they decided to add that one god-damn save point... I just hope this is the only mission which is ruined this way, though knowing the GTA series, I think I'm up for another disappointment.

Gaming Diary - Day 22 (30.12.10)

So I beat that one level of Company of Heroes I got stuck on twice. Wasn't that hard, just had to do some micromanaging.

I also played just a little bit of Serious Sam and FEAR, no Vice City at all, and a whole lot of King Arthur. Damn, that game sure draws you in. Problem is, I got to that silly moment again when you've got a sick amount of things popping out everywhere and you're supposed to somehow manage to do it all. Since I was doing very well until now, and it seems I have a plan for the quests, I'm just hoping the game won't spiral into chaos again, because I don't think I can do it a third time...

Also, there's not going to be a Top Experiences of 2010 list, because I simply cannot remember enough really great experiences to list. Stuff I do remember, was having fun with C&C3 (not enough for it to make such a list, probably), Bioshock (right on the verge of getting on such list), Escape from Butcher Bay (definitely on the list), Batman: Arkham Asylum (if we count my second playthrough, because the first one was last year, I think)... and King Arthur and Vice City (the latter would be low on the list, but still there).

Most stuff I played this year was old games. Either old, as in 'beginning of the century' old or old, as in 'two years old'. Depends on what you tend to call 'old'. Most of the games I bought in 2010 I haven't even played yet. What I have played usually left a lukewarm feeling. Even obviously good games, like Grim Fandango or Mass Effect had their flaws which stopped them from being on a list of top 2010 experiences, if I made one. On the other hand, stuff I rather disliked, like Age of Empires II or Anachronox or Gabriel Knight 2 made me think about different issues, like 'what makes an old game timeless' or 'how well classics age'. So it's all good.

There are two rather depressing things here. First of all, if you asked me to give you a comprehensive list of stuff I played this year, I wouldn't be able to do it. I'd come up with 15-20 titles before having to think hard on each next title. This year is a blur. Now, is it a blur because I haven't played truly memorable stuff? Maybe. Is it because I played too much games? Probably. Does it mean my brain's not working as it should? Possibly so.

And I forgot what the second depressing thing was, but it was probably something worth mentioning. Oh well.

At any rate, to those of you who read this and follow the blog: thanks for paying attention. I reckon there's not many of you. Maybe that's because, in the end, this blog is nothing special and it can't and won't stand out among all those other gaming blogs. This doesn't mean that I'll stop writing, though I have my doubts about continuing... but I think it's only fair to try and get to the first year before closing down. So I've still got around 4 months if I'm correct.

I can only hope you're getting more out of this than I am.

Gaming Diary - Days 20 & 21 (28/29.12.10)

King Arthur. Vice City. Serious Sam HD (yes, I got it to work). Thinking about FEAR. Thinking about Company of Heroes.

Also, I'm pondering a 'Most memorable 2010 gaming experiences' text. Maybe tomorrow.