Well, D&D as it stands (4th Edition), is actually very MMO inspired, and it pretty much divided the community. Personally, I think 4E D&D is shit. Totally unimaginative shit.

In my case, we most often played a home-brewed version of D&D. We had a very talented DM, and everyone at our table was intelligent and creative. Unlike MMOs, D&D is genuinely a very social game, and it is one with few boundaries. First off, in an MMO, you don't create the world, you just play in it. You can't create completely novel items, personalities, political factions, etc... Our games ran into long campaigns, with intricate stories and histories that build more and more life into the game each time you play. It wasn't so much about killing monsters and gaining levels, as it was developing a living story. Of course, it included combat and death, but also lots of humor, intrigue, and just fucking around.

Really just solid good times with good friends about the table. We never did play much Battletech, Car Wars, etc. Some, but not too much. I'd agree that with those games, you might as well just have a LAN party.