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Micro Machines: World Series comes after a long wait since the PS1 MM game, and is back after a lot of fans waited in hope for the franchise to return. Developed again by Codemasters, does the game bring back what the fans have long waited for? No need to stand on ceremony – in short, no. In long… nooooooooo.
Gameplay is s probably the only part I can say anything positive about. At least it’s solid with fun driving and usage of weapons depending on which vehicle and weapon add-on you’ve equipped. Plus, you can unlock more add-ons for your desired vehicle including weapons, paint jobs or vehicle variants.
Vehicle control can feel like you are driving on ice where you slide back and forth a bit, making gameplay a bit frustrating at times against the AI, which seems to play a bit too perfectly by flawlessly driving through stages and arenas, and being too accurate with weapons with no choice to change their difficulty.
Online gameplay is handy for the loot boxes needed to unlock new weapons, character speech and currency, but finding an online match might prove difficultm, since anyone who has bought this game now has it probably collecting digital dust on their hard drives.
While the chaotic gameplay can bring back that nostalgic feeling you loved when playing the games on the PS1 or 16-bit era, the fun is very short-lived with very few game modes available. Single player can get quite boring very quickly. The most you’ll get out of the game is if you have some sofa friends who would like to play the game in your house. Again, this will also become short-lived as there are many other multiplayer games providing more fun.
Interestingly, the weapons are Nerf-based and there are some GI Joe vehicles to play with. Now, it’s all well and good, but not enough to make the game any better. However, I think I would love to see a game where you can play with a lot of retro vehicles in a Battle Royale; Imagine KITT, the De-Lorean, the A-Team Van, ECTO 1, Batmobile, Turtle Party Wagon, Optimus prime and the Thundercats Battle tank raging battle. hey, I can dream, can’t I!?
Plus… there’s no campaign mode? Seriously? Are you kidding me??!
Beyond this, the graphics are very sub par. I can see them looking well on previous devices like the Xbox 360 or PS3, but that’s not to say that the graphics are bad or the environment isn’t enjoyable to look at, especially with some of the items found in the game being Hungry Hungry Hippos, Nerf guns and some recognisable ZX Spectrum Codemasters classic tapes. All in all…they’re just okay, and not up to the power of what the current-gen consoles can offer.
Sound comes across like a generic rock soundtrack grabbed from stock and stuck in there. It’s nothing special, nor stands out. Sound effects are pedestrian. Not even the godly Brian Blessed’s narration can save this one from crashing and burning.
Final Notes: Codemasters, like many others, know that the nostalgia bug is everywhere and has been here for some time and doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, so they decided to capitalise on this with a well-beloved franchise… but did so on the quick and cheap, so they could make a quick buck.
Micro Machines is an utter disappointment and brings back the term “shovelware” when it doesn’t belong in this day and age. If you want your fix, Toybox Turbos, also created by Codemasters is a much more fun game with more bang for your buck, and can be found on Xbox 360 and PS3.
- Graphics: 4/10 – Meh, that’s all I can say
Sound: 4/10 – Mediocre with nothing really there to talk about.
Gameplay: 5/10 – good but not as good as it was
Enjoyment: 2/10 – very few modes and too much work for loot boxes, when you will probably give up the ghost before getting what you are wanting.
Overall: 3/10 – I wish this game was a welcome throwback but, no, just don’t waste your money.
Thanks to the Youtube channels featured for the gaming footage.
Micro Machines: World Series is out now on PS4, Xbox One and PC, and click on the packshot for the full-size version.
Important info:
- Publisher: Koch International
- Developer: Codemasters
- Players: single-player, co-op multiplayer
- HDTV options: up to 1080p
- Sound: DTS 5.1
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GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT |
4 4 5 2 |
| OVERALL | 3.5 |
Retro game fan, comic book reader, board game lover and film fanatic. I have loved videogames since I was 5 years old after visiting my first arcade, I have grown up with gaming since having my Atari 2600 then Commodore 64. I ended up building my own career crafting pixelised characters and have had the pleasure of meeting many of my retro gaming heroes who developed some of my absolute favourite games.