Micro Machines World Series: The Review

Way back in the days of the NES, Codemasters released Micro Machines. It was an isometric racing game which featured the eponymous miniature model cars racing on tracks created from everyday household objects, such as pool tables, kitchen tables and work desks. It was a smash hit, particularly for its solid multiplayer mode, and created numerous sequels and spin offs throughout the 1990's.

I personally got into the series during the Playstation era with Micro Machines V3. The game used the same isometric racing as the earlier games, but with more tracks, vehicles, modes and a multitap support for up to 8 players on a single track. It was phenomenally fun, and ranks up there as one of my favourite racing games on the system.

*Spoiler Warning: I will be spending much of this review comparing World Series to V3*

It was with much surprise then that a new instalment, world series, was being released on current gen consoles, seemingly continuing the wave of reviving PS1 classics like Crash Bandicoot and Wipeout. So, at the cheaper price point of €30, I bought it and gave it a weekend of play.

And I feel quite disappointed with the end result...

First off, if you bought World Series for a solid single player like the older titles, you are in for a rude awakening. The game has no structured career mode of the sort, with only local skirmishes being the mode to play. You can choose between a meagre 10 tracks for racing, or a new battle mode that features a similar track count. Compared to V3's 48 tracks over 7 unique areas, a time trial, one v one and V3 challenge, it is scant pickings for the single player.

The appearance of the menu for xbox free members single player

This is a game aiming for an online audience, and it does accommodate its audience with quick play, special events, and a ranked playlist once you progress to level 10. There are standard races, battle modes in the arenas, and the classic Micro Machines game mode, elimination. Having six racers drive to the corner of the screen while knowing nothing of whats ahead is a staple and its very well done here. The screen even zooms closer in as time elapses, creating tense and more difficult driving if there are two neck and neck racers.

Thankfully, the racing controls at the core of the experience are exactly whats needed out of a Micro Machines game. The cars handle corners loosely, the weapons used are faithful (despite obnoxious NERF product placement) to the V3 formula, and the tracks are designed with 90 degree turns at the end of long straights, making for an unpredictable racing experience during your first few races. The AI is surprisingly difficult, and the environmental hazards are done just as well as their predecessors. A buzzsaw and moving billiard balls actually improve on the hazards in this respect, more than mere pitfalls off the edge of tables.

The fundamental concept of the vehicles in World Series is that instead of having every player in the same car, this time all of the cars have the same driving speeds, with differences in how the cars behave in battle modes instead. It is not a wise move, as it removes the unique quirks and stats of each vehicle in racing. F1 cars would be uncontrollably fast, tanks would have the ability to shoot at players, and only hovercrafts and boats could navigate the pond tracks in V3. Here, any vehicle can make the daring jumps and skillful drifts. Its interesting to give each vehicle four different abilities in battle modes, but it feels like it is made for a different game, one more in line with modern action shooters than Micro Machines.

However, a lot of tracks lack much of the creativity of the earlier games. While V3 had the blind turns beside the edge of tables, it also had long curved sections, crossovers and much more jumps than seen here, likely from having a jump button given to the vehicles. V3 also had races where you would use a lily pad as a makeshift ferry to cross a pond, a house of cards to jump over, boat racing, driving off a ramp to turn into a boat for the pond sections, shrink to microscopic size to race in a microscope, even TELEPORTATION!

But World Series online modes are limited compared to its contemporaries and previous games, and it brings me to the big frustration I have; There is just not enough here on day one in the game. Yes, the core racing is as faithful to the older games as it gets in 2017, and it is fundamentally more fun to play than say Super Toy Cars, but there is a severe lack of tracks, modes and vehicles for even the €30 asking price. If the developers had an extra few months reusing their current assets to create more tracks in the same environments, and a few single player modes to satisfy even basic gamer needs in a Micro Machines game, it would have done the game wonders. As it is, it is barebones, and a short shot of nostalgia with little meat on the bones to return. I guess getting Brian Blessed in for the voice overs must have blown the budget...

5 Exclusives Microsoft needs to bring back

Microsoft gets a lot of flak these days for its less than stellar exclusive titles. The Xbox trinity of Halo, Gears of War and Forza was long in the tooth even five years ago, and aside from the occasional Sunset Overdrive, Titanfall (before it became multiplatform) or the upcoming Crackdown 3, the system has been aiming for the multiplatform titles over in house exclusives. This is a real shame, since you can look back at the original Xbox and find a slew of exclusives that took creative risks or made strong arguments as worthy alternatives to multiplatform genre titans.

With Sony and Nintendo already unleashing strong exclusives this year, the high profile cancellation of Scalebound, and E3 approaching in a few months, I thought I could check out 5 Microsoft exclusive series worth resurrecting for new instalments.

1-Amped

In 2003, Microsoft launched their XSN sports brand, with the emphasis as an alternative to other sports franchises run by EA at the time. Links, Top Spin, NFL Fever and NHL Rivals are decent, but for the most part are second rate to your Tiger Woods or Maddens. Amped however was a standout of the bunch. Rivalling SSX, it decided to focus on a Tony Hawk style trick system and a more grounded approach to the slopes. Amped 2 expanded this to incorporate a very authentic snowboarding experience on mostly real world mountains, real boarder cameos, and a keen sense of what makes the sport so enjoyable from the inside. The third just lost the plot and went for a full on cartoony approach to boarding, with little approach to realism, but amping up (pardon the pun) the fun and insider references to insane levels. 

Time has sadly forgotten the series, with only games such as Steep keeping winter sports games alive to the public. Even so, adding a fresh coat of paint to the existing games could satisfy the old fans, and perhaps with enough interest could invigorate the series enough to warrant a fourth entry.

2-Crash Course

I never understood why Microsoft decided to leave this series alone. Released in 2010, it was a colourful platformer inspired by Total Wipeout that used the players Xbox 360 avatar as a contestant to complete various obstacle courses. The challenge was not in simply finishing each level, but finishing with a fast enough time to put on the leaderboards. Split screen was the games true strength, as having 4 players try to see who is fastest to the finish became a staple at house parties after a few drinks. Few Microsoft IP's cater to the more casual party gaming scene since kinects demise, and this series could do with a free download Xbox One instalment. Just avoid the always on, microtransaction filled approach of the sequel and instead add DLC levels like the original for revenue.

The original is still free to download, so check it out if you are curious.

Make it happen Microsoft

3-Grabbed by the Ghoulies

Lets face it, Rare has been wasted by Microsoft. One of the greatest game developers in the 90's has been relegated as a developer of family games and worse, kinect sports titles. Sea of Thieves looks promising, but I feel that a beat em up at least in the style of Grabbed by the Ghoulies may be worth revisiting.

The game was about a boy fighting all manners of ghosts, skeletons and mummies in a haunted mansion to rescue his girlfriend. It was a beat em up where you can utilise all manner of environmental hazards against enemies through creatively designed linear segments, with a cartoony halloween aesthetic and catchy earworm of a title song. The unconventional twin stick combat and dodgy camera was criticised, as was its apparent 'downgrade' for Rare from its previous titles, but honestly, this game is not bad, and the basic fighting was strong enough to warrant another outing. Maybe Rare could make another beat em up similar to GBTG, but the overall point of this entry is that they could do with actually making strong action adventures again, especially after the solid launch of Rare Replay. Get to it Microsoft.

4-Project Gotham Racing

Forza may wear Microsoft's crown as its top racing franchise now, but Project Gotham Racing was (and in some circles still is) the original killer app in regards to driving games for the Xbox.
While the series has been dormant for a decade, after PGR4 released every conceivable mode and street circuit imaginable, I still believe there is some life left in this series. Microsoft just needs PGR2's progression system of racing each car class, progressing to faster and faster cars, until you become the ultimate champion at the Nurburgring. Add in an inspired choice of cities to race in, a looser handling style comparable to Forza Horizon, and the all important kudos risk/reward system, and the game can shine once again. Playground games are the logical developer for this entry in the absence of the sorely missed Bizarre Creations.

5-Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge

Remember Halo Reach's space combat? Remember feeling frustrated that the section with a completely different set of mechanics to the shooting was only given 10 minutes of screentime before returning back to shooting so soon and never seen again? Did you wish to see more of it? If you said yes to any of these questions, then another Crimson Skies title may be for you. The game's mechanics were essentially copy/pasted and given an updated Halo skin for Reach, and those looking for a similar experience but with more variety and strategy should pick it up if they can.

Its easy to forget, but the title released on the original Xbox was a hit in the early days of online play, before Halo 2 took the world by storm. Up to 16 players flying around a huge skybox partaking in daring dogfights is something unmatched since its 2003 release. A new title could easily reinvigorate the aerial combat subgenre.
The game released at a time when a full single player was needed to carry a game, and it has all the swashbuckling, open ended adventure you could want, with fantastic aerial landscapes to explore and suitably challenging enemy pilots. Dieselpunk at its best, this game deserves a chance to shine on the Xbox One.

So there we have it, five game series I think Microsoft could do with being brought back to bolster its predictable exclusive lineup. We are at the time of year when games get announced before the E3 gameplay gets shown off so hopefully Microsoft can pull somethign out of the bag this year.