You might not know, but Micro Machines World Series will be coming to the latest consoles. This news has many excited. So, this is good timing to reflect on a past classic. Let’s begin the classic preview of Micro Machines V4.
A lot of gamers have fond memories of the Micro Machines series. My first memory is of playing the “J-Cart” Megadrive edition, which contained two extra controller ports in the cartridge, so that four players could play. More recently (but not too recently) Micro Machines V3 tore up the original Playstation sales charts, and is still a firm favourite in my household whenever four of us get together. No, I’m ignoring the last iteration of the game, which was an inkblot on an otherwise flawless copybook.
Supersonic Software are back on board as developers of Micro Machines V4 – and it shows. The game is in rude health, even considering the unpolished and early nature of the code we’ve had a chance to play with. Fans will be pleased to hear that the traditional “point match” is in full effect, where you need to get a screen’s length away from your opponent to gain a point – and that it provides just as much adrenaline and excitement as it ever did. The three tracks we’ve seen – ‘Kitchen Caper’, ‘Pecking Peril’ and ‘Roof Top Rumble’ – are all very pleasing on the eye, and feature a much greater level of interactivity than that of the previous titles. In the kitchen, driving over the electric hob will damage your vehicle, for example, and landing on the ironing board will cause it to drop to create a previously non-existent passage to the next section.
Moving outside, the ‘Roof Top’ track is something of a ponder. Hustling around the guttering, making an effort not to make excessively numerous sharp turns that will cause you to plummet to your doom, and clearing perilous leaps that are built to cause trouble for careless drivers is pure fun in a glass. The promise of the return of classic tracks such as the bathtub, pool table and breakfast table arenas is certainly something to look forward to when the game is complete. The option to switch between the game’s default “dynamic” camera, which follows the leader from an above-and-behind viewpoint and a more old-school “classic” camera, which makes you actually learn the tracks because you sometimes just can’t see where the next bend is – is a welcome one. Personally, I prefer the classic cam, since it makes for more furious action when everyone misjudges the turn and is scrambling to recover and be back on track first.
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Four-way multiplayer action is on offer, and whilst we haven’t tried that side of things out as yet, we’re sure that it’ll be handled with the same care and attention as Mashed: Fully Loaded’s foursome matches were. A track editor is also promised – I believe that this is a first for the series – and looks like it’ll be an awesome addition to an already action-packed title. Micro Machines V4 is due to hit the shop shelves on June 30th for Playstation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS and PC. From this early code, I would suggest that it’ll be a title well worth looking out for if it.
Do you love retro games? Maybe you are more excited about future consoles such as the PS5? Whichever you like, gaming is something that can be enjoyed by many. Micro Machines is such a franchise, and the upcoming game is sure to be very entertaining and full of excitement. You can see the trailer for this game below. I hope you enjoyed this classic preview.
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