Micro Machines for Dummies (Micro Machines (PS))

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Product:	Micro Machines (PS)
Date:	04/02/01 (125 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great multiplayer game

Disadvantages: Can't design your own tracks

Micro Machines V3 is probably the best multiplayer racing game I have ever played. What makes it so good is that it's a simple idea that's easy for beginners to get into and still challenging enough for the more experienced player. If you're not normally into playing games it doesn't matter.

This game has been around for a few years now on various formats. Using the Micro Machines toys you race around snooker tables, chemistry labs, ponds and various other places which makes a refreshing change to the usual racing back drops. The originals were viewed from above in 2D. The latest version Micro Machines V3 still has the overhead-perspective but uses 3D polygonal graphics which are a vast improvement on the original.

The One player game is very similar to other racing games. In challenge mode you race against other cars and have to come in the top two in order to qualify for the next race. The difficulty settings are perfect. You start with easy courses and slowly progress onto the later tracks, which are very challenging. If you're not into racing opponents you can do a time trial and race against the clock instead. It can take a little while to get used to the overhead view but once your past that the controls are easy to use. Quite a few people I've watched seem to get disorientated steer in the opposite direction and go careering off the track at high speed. It's very funny watching people play this who rotate the upper half of their bodies to the direction they are steering their car.

The multiplayer options are where the game really comes alive. I played the N64 version of this game all over Christmas with my sister, brother in law and a friend. None of us had played any games for a while and my sister hadn't played for years. It didn't seem to matter though because we all ended up very evenly matched. Whenever one player gets to the edge of the screen ahead of the other players, they are awarded bon
us points. The players are then lined up again for a restart. Falling off a track also causes a restart. This might sound annoying but works really well and keeps the races close. If you make a major mistake on split screen races your out of the race for good and takes the fun out of the race. With Micro Machines you get more chances. It makes the game more fun for everyone. A player wins either by crossing the finish line first or by accumulating eight bonus points. If you want to you can also use weapons, which are dotted around the tracks. These range from missiles to hammers and deflector shields.

You can race up to eight people play with two people sharing a control pad. The cars go automatically and all you have to worry about is steering. Your teammate is the person you share the joypad with and you race against the other teams. If you haven't got eight mates to play this with then ask your enemies because this is a great laugh.

I have a few complaints about the game. Some of the basic tracks become dull if you are all evenly matched and have the weapons turned off. You end up racing for ages until someone gets bored and you either quit the race or let one person win just to finish it. The first snooker table track being the most obvious example. The animated drivers, who have been used in all versions, are pretty lame. One of the characters is meant to be Scottish but she sounds more Chinese to me. While the sound effects are good the music is really tacky. Also you can't create your own tracks which you could on an earlier version. The game is also very hard to play in anything other than turbo mode one. Turbo mode 5 is for nutters only. These are only minor complaints and don't really detract from a classic game.

Micro machines is a good one player game but really comes alive when you start playing against your friends in the various multiplayer options. It's also good fun just watching other people racing. The la
test version is now a few years old so you should be able to pick it up cheaply. Start checking those bargain buckets now!

Micro Machines V3
Available on Playstation, N64 & PC
43 courses, 31 3D-modeled vehicles
Hours of Fun!

Summary: