I grew up watching Little Soldiers and Toy Story 2, as well as the Army Men games. As children, everyone, without exception, played with soldiers/dolls and assembled Lego (some of us still do this to this day. This is a good hobby) so everything that was done “based on” our childhood adventures touches the soul and reminds us of the best, quiet days of our non-adult life. On my first Playstation I had one such game “based on” and it was called Micro Machines V3 (for some reason the disc with the game was in the box with the MM spinoff called Micro Maniacs). I spent a lot of time in this virtual world of small cars, big objects and tiny people (although I still can’t figure out if people are sitting inside the cars or if they are operating them from a distance in their normal size?). This fun racing series existed from 1991 to 2006 and has more than 11 games, including various branches and remakes. And with each new part the series grew not only in terms of quality, but also quantity of content. In MM V4, for example, there are more than 700 types of different vehicles. I think the developers thought they were making an alternative to Gran Turismo 4. Micro Machines has always captured the player’s attention with a variety of machines, levels and an arsenal of available weapons. It was never serious and did not require too much from the player in terms of understanding. And it is precisely for this, as well as for her cute visual style, that she became a favorite among players. So let’s take a look at the very first game in the MM series, as well as its 2002 remake, and try to find out how fun this game really is and whether it has changed in terms of quality for the worse after so many years?
ME VS MICRO MACHINES
The very first part was developed and https://busrcasino.co.uk/bonus/ released by Codemasters in 1991 on the platforms: NES, Sega Master System, CD-I and Game Gear. The first part turned out to be so popular and successful that it was updated and re-released until 2003. Not all players know that the series is based on the Galoob toy line (now these guys are part of Hasbro) with the same name. What was sold, of course, were small toy cars, helicopters, tanks, boats and other vehicles. Your humble servant even had one such machine (I only remember that it was red). All of them were on the market from 1986 until 2006 (that’s when the last game in the series was released). These cars even ended up in the first part of the movie Home Alone. In 2015 they returned in the form of a new series of toys. Codemasters, without hesitation, made a new game in honor of the return of the series and called it Toybox Turbos (it contains Micro Cars). Since we have dealt with the basics, let’s now look at the game itself.
Game features: Everything here is quite simple both in terms of mechanics and in terms of control. All those who are familiar with Rock n’ Roll Racing will feel at home here. At the very beginning, the player is given a choice of two game modes: One player or Two players. In the first case, you and I sit behind a vehicle in splendid isolation and fight with artificial intelligence in one of two available competitions. The first competition is called “Back to Back” and in it the player must go far ahead, leaving his opponent behind. There is only one, so the mode can also be called a duel. If artificial intelligence or a player greatly overtakes his opponent, then the one left behind is eliminated and the one who was able to overtake the opponent is counted one point in the overall table. At the very beginning, everyone in this table has four points and needs to collect four more (in total eight). A point is deducted if a player is left behind and returned to him if he has gone far ahead. A fun mode in which it’s easy to learn all the basic mechanics and arenas in which you have to race. The second mode is called “Challenge” and in it you already have to participate in full-fledged races with three (instead of one) opponents. A total of 25 cards with different vehicles. The player must be at least no lower than second place, otherwise he will lose a life (and will have to start this race from the very beginning). There are only three lives, but they can be collected during bonus competitions, which you get if you find yourself in first place more than three times. Artificial intelligence also has to try not to be in last place, otherwise it will leave the game and its place will be replaced by another character in the game. In Player vs. Player mode, the essence is approximately the same as in single player (except for the presence of artificial intelligence).
IN management It’s easy to understand: there are four direction buttons, a button that is responsible for the gas and a button that is responsible for the brake. Nothing more unnecessary. The choice of characters at the very beginning of the race does not affect anything except the level of intelligence of the enemy in single player mode. Vehicles are MM’s main trump card. For example, there are boats on which the player can cut through the surface of the water in the bathtub, you can ride SUVs in a backyard filled with puddles, try to get behind the wheel of a formula one racing car and cross a billiard table that looks like a minefield, and you can also climb into a car that looks like a vehicle from the Mad Max films and push your opponents off the table. Yes, all these options are prepared in advance by the developers (you can’t drive SUVs on a billiard table or drive sports cars in a sandbox), but despite these restrictions, it’s still fun to play and after completing all the tracks you’ll want to do them again.
Micro Machines is a fairly dynamic game, all the cars in it are unique, and the arenas look unusual and damn interesting (and they have a lot of all kinds of obstacles, like bowling balls, rubber ducks or water droplets that slow down the speed). The main problem, it seems to me, is how the camera is positioned. Top view, no map, many unexpected turns or traps on the road, as well as a huge number of abysses into which cars will happily fall if the player does not have time to press the brake. Over time, you can get used to it and study the map of the area, but this will not be possible to do right away. Needless to say, there is also a punishment for a player who stays behind the white line that represents a road on the terrain for too long. A few extra seconds over the line and the car explodes. All of the above is undoubtedly challenging, but with it comes adrenaline and, most importantly, fun. Having sharpened the skill of owning a vehicle, as well as having thoroughly studied all the most difficult locations, the player will no longer have anything to fear.
This is the cover of the PC version of the game with my least favorite level of the game. It still looks beautiful and true.
