Version needed: 2.60
Players: 1-4
Wi-Fi Compatible: Ad Hoc
Micro Machines is certainly one of the few PSP games out there that will appeal to the younger generation, though some of you older gamers who liked to collect those little toy cars will be able to reminisce back to the good old days: when everything was simple, when Barbie was the queen of all dolls and when Micro Machines were at their prime.
Times have changed though: Barbie lost her crown to Bratz, and Hot Wheels seem to be “leading the way”, so the reappearance of Micro Machines probably isn’t going to be as widely welcomed as some might hope. That’s not to say the game isn’t good though. The features of the previous games that made it so appealing in the first place has been brought into V4 to make sure that Micro Machines stays a hit title. The problem is, apart from bringing in new levels, cars and weapons; there isn’t much to it that makes it unique to the rest of the series.
There are a multitude of cars available. Every different style you could possibly imagine is there, from sports cars and hot rods to desert racers and dragsters, so you’re spoilt for choice: especially when there are over 750 vehicles to collect. However, the majority of the cars, particularly the ones you start out with, look quite wooden and dull. Even street racers don’t look anywhere near as cool as what you’d expect. It helps that you can unlock these cars in different colours, but not by much, so it doesn’t feel like a car collection you can be really proud of.
Because there are so many cars to collect in Micro Machines there’s a garage to keep them in, which organises your cars into different types so that you can find specific cars without too much hassle. There’s not really a lot you can do with the garage though: you can select your favourite car to race with, check the stats, or just look at them. There aren’t any options to customise your cars, so you can’t make any of your cars unique, but there are so many different varieties available that it’s not very likely you’ll choose the same car as your opponents.
The cars handle quite well during races, which is important seeing as the tracks are filled with obstacles and holes that can cause you to fall behind or lose completely. You can feel the difference between cars with good speed and acceleration compared to those that are heavier and have better grip and so it’s easy to choose a car that suits your driving style or one that’s best suited for battles.
The graphics in this game aren’t the best; they’re not going to blow you away when compared to other racing games like Ridge Racer or Burnout Legends. But the different environments look bright and colourful, and with the camera angle being set at a high angle you feel more aware that you’re racing a car around a pool table or along a kitchen surface. It does sometimes take the focus off of what you should be doing and can make it a little difficult to see which way you should be heading, but the camera moves round before you take the corner so you have a couple of seconds to adjust. This makes the gameplay more unique to other titles and also a little more challenging, seeing as you have to keep your eyes on your opponents as well as the way the track changes and all the obstacles that litter your path. There’s also the different power-ups and weapons lying around, including missiles, machine guns and a giant hammer, that can make winning races easier or at least put your opponents at a disadvantage.
In order to win battles and races you need to put some distance between yourself and your opponents to win the point and one of the best ways of doing this is to keep attacking them until their speed starts to decrease, the wheels fall off and they become unable to race. The other way is to simply knock them off them off the track, which normally isn’t that hard to do once you’ve memorised where all the gaps in the tracks are. This makes Micro Machines a little less of a challenge for those that love to race and can easily out-manoeuvre their opponents, but quite difficult for beginner racers.
There isn’t really anything in Micro Machines V4 that makes the game feel fresh. There are several cars and tracks to choose from, but those familiar with the series will recognise some of these from previous titles. There’s not really much to the gameplay either: while the racing style is quite unique and can be a lot of fun, when you get a little tired of it you’re left with little else to do besides look at the cars you have in your collection. V4 is likely to be a hit with the younger generation, but older gamers should consider renting this first if they have a soft spot for those racing miniatures.
Overall: 65% Posted on 01/10/06 by Steph 
Linear Mode
