Micro Machines World Series review: Just about scratching that nostalgic itch

Nostalgia, it ain’t what it used to be. Although in the videogame world it still does okay, with an entire section of the industry propped up by our lust for the old, from classic remasters, to entire consoles like the recently announced SNES Mini. Many of those who remember the Spring years of console gaming will no doubt have fond memories of the Micro Machines games, ubiquitous back in the day, and the cause of many a busted gamepad and childhood fallout. The series has been absent for over decade, so does Micro Machines World Series have a place in 2017 or simply serve as an aide memoir to past glories?

Micro Machines World Series is hard to control, utterly unfair, and incredibly frustrating. In other words, it’s classic Micro Machines. The area of view is so tight that unless you’ve got the track memorised you have no hope, and your hapless car will be careening off the table on the first corner. This should sound familiar to anyone who’s ever played previous titles, as will the fact that your car slides about on the track with all the majestic grace of a newborn calf navigating an ice rink. Again, classic Micro Machines. And yes, familiar characters Spider, Cherry et al will knock you off that ruler bridge inches from the finish line, turning your first place to last in seconds.

The tracks are reminiscent of those of old, with all the classics covered: kitchen table, garden, workshop and so on. Environmental hazards from buzzsaws to billiard balls are there to make your life a misery too, and while there’s some nice variation, the ten race tracks feels a bit stingy, and they soon repeat.

While there’s also a wide range of vehicles, gone are the races by vehicle type, instead it’s a free for all of tanks versus police cars versus hovercrafts and everything else. The lack of more exotic races, afforded by other vehicles types, is missed. I could have gone for a classic bit of speedboat racing in the bath, but you’re stuck with four-wheeled vehicles throughout (save for the hovercraft, which can’t even cross water).

There are three game modes: A straightforward race, with twelve racers, battle, and elimination. There are several different battle games, which are chosen randomly, including capture the flag, and a mode where a bomb has to be placed in the opponent's base, while they attempt to do the same to you. Elimination is the classic Micro Machines race to stay on the screen, with those who fall behind bumped off.

Codemasters really wants you to play Micro Machines online. Start one of the game modes from the main menu, and it automatically begins matchmaking, the seconds adding up as it looks for other human players. If it can’t find enough, the rest of the racers are made up of AI drivers. While there is an offline mode for up to four players, it’s tucked away and rather restrictive. For one, there’s no option to race for more than one player, and you also can’t level up in this mode. With the game putting so much stock in levelling up, and customising your car with goodies from loot boxes, removing these rewards from the offline mode just gives players one less reason to play it.

While the Micro Machines games undoubtedly served as glorified commercials for the toys back in the day, World Series takes this one step further. With more product placement than your average Bond movie, it’s hard not to be cynical about the constant promotion. Given the settings, some of it feels acceptable, such as racing across a copy of Hungry Hippos or maneuvering around a G.I. Joe. However, where it crosses the line is with the game’s weapons, most of which are Nerf products. In some game modes you’ll have the Nerf logo in each corner of the screen, and the constant surfacing of the brand reeks of the marketing department.

Micro Machines World Series will scratch that nostalgia itch for a few hours, but there’s not enough substance or variation here to keep anyone but the most devoted playing. The small number of race courses, coupled with the lack of any vehicle variation means that you soon see everything the game has to offer. For a mid-price release, it’s fine, but it’s not the glorious return of the Micro Machines franchise we’ve been waiting for.