Developer(s) Gottlieb Platform(s) Arcade Genre(s) Shooter | Publisher(s) Mylstar/Taito Release 1983 Mode(s) Single Player | |
M.A.C.H. 3 is a laserdisc video game created by Gottlieb and released in the U.S. in 1983 under their Mylstar brand. The title refers both to the speed of sound, and is an acronym for "Military Air Command Hunter". It was released in Japan by Taito. The primary programmers and game designers were Chris Brewer and Fred Darmstadt. The overlaid graphics of the fighter were by Gottlieb's video graphics artist, Jeff Lee. Hardware enabling the graphics overlay on top of the background video was designed by David Pfeiffer. Clay Lacy shot the jet footage. Ron Waxman, Bill Jacobs and Jun Yum were the engineering management at Mylstar at the time.
Gameplay
The player controls a high-speed fighter aircraft, the "Military Air Command Hunter", in one of two missions, either a "Fighter Raid" seen flying forward at low altitude, or the "Bombing Run" seen in a top-down mode at higher altitude. In both cases, video backgrounds on the laserdisc were overlaid by computer graphics generated by additional hardware in the machine. M.A.C.H. 3 was one of the few laser disc games that made its way to the number one position in RePlay Magazine's "Player's Choice", and Play Meter's "Equipment Poll". The Backgrounds on the laserdisc were made on Motion Picture Film.