I wanted to love Micro Machines: World Series, so badly. I have utterly fond memories of the top down racers of the 90s, and recently fell almost in love with VooFoo Studios Mantis Burn Racing, too. But it’s the zany antics and tie-in branding of Micro Machines that made me love the genre way back when on the NES. Sadly, Codemasters’ Micro Machines: World Series doesn’t control as well as it needs to, or offer up enough fun to make good on that nostalgia.
It’s not that MM:WS is a bad game. It’s perfectly fun in some cases, but somehow soulless in others. There are only 10 tracks to race on, with another 15 devoted to what Codemasters and Hasbro clearly thought would be its big selling point – battle mode. But the Battle Mode seems to get in the way more often than not. Due to how floaty all 12 of the Micro Machines are, actually targeting an opponent is purely an act of prayer and luck. You get weapons to use, but heat seeking missiles are what will come in the handiest.
There are some great moments to be had in Battle, with the fights on a giant Hungry Hungry Hippo board feeling particularly genius. A game mode where you collect and then run a bomb to the other team’s base is also a riot, even if it is ripped directly from the fun indie Heavy Metal Machines. But it’s the racing that I remember most fondly about my days with Micro Machines, and it’s the racing I was excited about.
Unfortunately, the controls are so loose in MM:WS that I can’t get any enjoyment from racing at all. And while you can play against AI, the online mode is where you level up, earn loot boxes (a reward system that’s basically identical to Overwatch with less flair), and so forth. Making matters worse, in most of my online races, which would take over a minute to queue up, I was almost always racing against one other person and several AI. All of the cars would sometimes fail to move, but the race would be happening – I just couldn’t see it. I was desynched from the action. This didn’t happen all the time, but enough to completely ruin what little fun was there.
This is all a shame, because of Toy Box Turbos from Codemasters back in 2014 on the PS3, PC, and XBOX 360. Toy Box has better-handling cars, more tracks, and was overall more fun. Now that Codemasters has the Hasbro license back, it’s amazing that the game feels worse for wear. Perhaps they spent too much time worrying about a Battle Mode, when the core of the brand’s fun has always been in the tight and whacky top down racing.
If you’re looking for a fun Micro Machines racing game, the best ones are still out there as ROMs. Heck, Toy Box Tubros is there, and it’s just missing the blatant brand placement. But even the Codemasters mobile version of Micro Machines plays better than World Series, and it’s free. You’d be better off there, too. Our copy of Micro Machines: World Series was provided on the PS4 for review purposes by PR.
One Hour Review Score – 5/10
Pros:
- Fun cast of cars and maps
- Battle Mode has its moments
Cons:
- Cars control like crap
- Poor online performance
- Really, loot boxes?
