If you grew up in the early ’90s or just have an affinity for the license, it does it justice and delivers a rock-solid racing experience as well. Its mode selection is impressive and there’s always something to do if you’re tired of racing.
Do I think that Micro Machines is a must play experience for everyone? Absolutely not. It’s a OK attempt at modernizing a somewhat niche, but well-loved 8-bit game, and that certainly won’t be for everyone. And unfortunately, modernizing that experience doesn’t work out too well, especially the heavy online focus that is too reliant on other players with a community that already seems dead on arrival. But still, the more I played, the more I enjoyed. Once I felt that I had some level of skill when it came to turning tight corners and lining up kill shots on opposing players, the overall experience with Micro Machines certainly improved. I don’t think I’d suggest picking it up at full price, but it certainly might worth it at a discount in the future.
The 2017 model splutters far too often. For starters, the handling rarely feels right – it’s a strange mix of too heavy and too floaty. [October 2017, p80]
The return of Micro Machines aims at the online market and falls flat on its face, due to mediocre connections, terrible matchmaking and frankly, a lack of players. Why the hell did they not include a singleplayer mode?
World Series is a hollow shell of a Micro Machines game. Codemasters has focused on an undercooked Battle mode and online play to the detriment of the core racing. The local multiplayer is when the game is at its most enjoyable, and zipping around the colourful courses in miniature cars remains a fun novelty. However, some glaring omissions and the small number of tracks and cars means you probably won’t stick around for long, and no amount of loot boxes will change that.
Lacking the various vehicle types, long list of stages and single-player Challenge mode of the older games in the franchise, World Series bets it all on multiplayer and doesn't deliver. There's a kernel of a good idea in transforming Micro Machines into Overwatch-style personalities that each have their own special skills they can use to work together, but if there's a way to jam that complex, strategic online play into the zany, top-down design of 26 years ago, this game isn't it.
SummaryWhether driving the Spy Car destroying a Hovercraft with a NERF Blaster in the Games Room, or the Dump Truck blowing up a Tank with a Dynamite Launcher in the garden, Micro Machines World Series will have players of all ages smiling from ear-to-ear while delivering absolute carnage.