Micro Machines V4 Review - PC

The illegitimate offspring of Hot Wheels and Polly Pocket, Micro Machines are tiny toy cars that fell out of favor in the late 1980s, along with the Bangles, Pop Rocks, and Knight Rider. No doubt encouraged by David Hasselhoff's longevity, the publishers at Codemasters decided to capitalize on the recent surge of retro-themed titles and tune up a once lucrative license. Micro Machines' small-scale theme and super-sized car list hopes to set it apart from the glut of other racing titles fighting for shelf space.

Sweating the Small Stuff

The heart of the game is the micro tournaments mode, which features four separate racing divisions with multiple cups held on different courses. The battle cup involves driving a certain length ahead of the competition to earn a point. The player who fills all 12 points in a horizontal gauge wins the cup. Purists will satisfy their need for speed with the race cup, which involves four cars vying for first place in a set amount of laps. The checkpoint cup, as the name suggests, consists of hitting each checkpoint on a course before time expires.

Traffic Violation

Each cup race is considered a "challenge," some more so than others, and there are a total of 76 challenges in the game. The car list is staggering -- 750 vehicles -- until you realize the majority are slight variations in color. While each car is individually rated in speed, acceleration, weight, and grip, there's precious little technique involved with guiding these shrimpy speedsters. One challenging aspect is dealing with the rather loose steering, but learning each track layout is easily the most important part of succeeding at Micro Machines.

Rooms with a View?

While the vehicles get top billing, the courses are the game's star attraction. The themed areas are all clever choices, as players will race atop a pool table, dinosaur museum, kitchen counter, and even roof gutters. There are more than 50 tracks in total, and most offer some light interactivity, such as avoiding working stove burners or a robin protecting its nest. Alas, it seems the developers were more concerned with quantity than quality. The problem is that these tracks are extremely short and offer little in the way of jumps, loops, shortcuts, or other fun elements. Even the elements that make the courses different, such as an animated rolling pin or a cue stick, ultimately disappoint. Once you've seen them the first time, they are easily avoided the second time. They all follow the same slow movement.

License to Nosedive

Due to the relatively short track design, power-ups aren't as big a factor in the action as one would hope. Courses generally feature precious few straightaways and it's more important to stay on the track's surface than to fiddle around trying to delay an opponent -- there's simply not enough time to make it worthwhile. The competition in Micro Machines is such that you can't afford to make mistakes on many of the challenges, but the biggest obstacle by far is the camera. The default camera view is set to "dynamic," which means those easily nauseous should keep a bottle of Pepto-Bismol nearby, as the game automatically zooms, pans out, and swivels to keep up with the four cars.

Steer Crazy

The irritating aspect of the camera is its insistence on showing turns from a side-view perspective, momentarily causing confusion and then a split-second of panic as your car invariably skitters off the glass, book edge, or other surface before falling to its doom. The only other option at the start is the "classic" view, which is far worse. The camera moves so slowly that it can't keep up with the car, making it extremely difficult to react to the turns. A top-down view also exists as an unlockable feature, which makes the action somewhat more bearable at the expense of some level detail.

Less is More

With its 750 cars to unlock, 76 objectives to complete, and 50+ courses to race on, Micro Machines V4 looks great on paper. Of course, games aren't played on paper, with the exception of Hangman, which incidentally is a far more entertaining experience. The stop-and-go gameplay here seems catered to those with Ritalin prescriptions than those yearning for Mario Kart-style action. The courses need to be larger and filled with random events; the cars need unique abilities; and the objectives and multiplayer action need variety. Micro Machines V4 proves that it takes more than winsome nostalgia to make a great game, and that some things truly are better left in the past.

Article by: Scott Alan Marriott
Video produced by: Ross Beeley