Micro Machines 64 Turbo

They're small and easy to break but be warned- Micro Machines will blow you away!

The best things come in small packages." "Size doesn't matter." More often than not, those very words are spoken up and down the country on a Friday night in the hope that someone, somewhere will believe them. Maybe if more people experienced what Codemasters are about to unleash upon us, a lot more fellas would wake up happy in the knowledge that size really doesn't matter. We would!

Micro Machines, those compact collectable cars from Galoob, have been around for aeons. Getting sucked up vacuums, eaten by the dog and putting Uncle Frank's back out every time he's foolish enough to stand on the carpet -they've been there! But now scoop them up, put them in a box and turn on your N64... you are about to witness something special.

Micro Machines 64 Turbo is the first Micro Machines outing for the N64 and features all your easily-breakable favourites battling it out against each other in various (and often hazardous) parts of the house. Whether the racing course is the breakfast table, complete with cheesy ramps, or the garden pond inhabited by outsized, randy dragonflies, every one is a veritable hotbed of danger and speed. We never knew cereal could be so bad for your health!

The concept is devastatingly simple, though. Race!

Tiny Terrors!

Choosing from a selection of characters, all of whom have been present in Micro Machines' previous incarnations, you then get to decide which of the many games at which to try your luck. You'll need to try them all to fully appreciate what a little smasher this game is.

The options range from a one-player head-to-head against the computer, or a veritable oily orgy with you and seven mates all racing it out to the finishing line. Each option is reassuringly diverse too, and require some pretty dextrous finger flexing to become a success.

There are games where you have to make as much ground between yourself and your rival in order to gain points, there are single races, time trials, championships and even championship time trials! Every one is an asset to the game and should be experienced. These many versions of racing all take place over the same courses, which isn't quite as limited as it sounds because the tracks are so numerous. Different versions of competition simply give you an opportunity to use the course depending on which race you've entered yourself. Whether you have to rely on speed or special weapons entirely depends on which kind of race you are trying to win.

As you become better at darting about like a wannabe Fi driver, you then start seeing the superb design behind every course. Rulers are bridges and ramps, glue slows you down, Bunsen burners shoot you like fireworks into the air, bullrushes tangle you up, snooker table pockets are teleporters, cutlery stops you flying off the tables and wedges of cheese are placed to send the shortcut-taking driver into oblivion... There are also enough weapons and pick-ups to make Inspector Gadget look like Inspector Morse. From daft cartoonish mallets that crush opponents, to large pincers that pick them up and throw them to one side, they're all here and they're all waiting to be used!

Microgasmic?

The sweetest thing about Micro Machines is the ingenious way it manages to distance itself from the usual racing genre by presenting everything in a top-down view, yet at the same time remains quite an obvious racing game. This will not only appeal to the avid fan of racing games but to all those platform fans out there looking for something different. It is also a stunningly good-looker. Everything has been produced to such a high quality the game feels innately correct. Not for a minute do you question the vehicle dynamics because they move as you would wish. Nor do you question the surfaces of a kitchen table or sandpit, since the cars react almost is if was natural to drive all over a gingham table cloth covered in cornflakes! Gorgeous hidden touches too fleeting to notice in the heat of a race also show what amount of depth Codemasters have gone to. For instance, there's a bottle of wine called 'Belch' and a periodic table with elements on it called 'eggsarnium' and 'geranium'. Genius!

As far as the all round look of Micro Machines goes it's Kate Moss... in stilettos. Vibrant colours, sharp visuals and special effects to weaken the bladder, every one of them come together to form a visually exiting game.

Baby Beautiful!

Where Micro Machines really comes into its own is during games involving more than one player. Imagine eight friends pthered around the TV, everyone in control of a miniature speedboat and everyone wanting to win so badly they end up shouting at the screen and jumping around like a hyperactive chimp with a bad dose of crabs on a bed of hot coals. No, we're not exaggerating.

One criticism we do have against Micro Machines is the similarity to the other, much older, versions of the game. The PlayStation version has been out since the year dot and our version is virtually identical. You would have thought that after three years, the N64 version could boast of more than just looking 'a bit better'. That aside though, with the other versions all being little crackers was it any wonder that the N64 isn't radically different?

If you are saving your pennies and wondering what to do with them, buy this. If you are skint, buy this. If you have wealthy relatives, butter them up. Anything... do anything to own this corking little racer. It's true, the best things really do come in small packages.

Eight Ball

The wackiest feature of Mkro Machines has to be its eight-player mode. Yes, you read that right. How can eight people play when the N64 can only handle four controllers? Easy! Two people share a controller - the player on the left uses the O-pad to steer their car, and the player on the right uses the C buttons. It's completely frenzied fun, but for the best effect you really do need a big telly!

2nd rating opinion

There's only one problem with Micro Machines - when you have eight people playing, the one with BO will always be sharing your pad! Fantastic fun as a party game, and just as enjoyable even for one player. Now where's the Star Trek edition?

This early Micro Machines demo conveys the same mini-car racing action as previous incarnations did for other systems. One player faces off against four computer opponents on a Lilliputian scale, as you race atop a crowded kitchen table while avoiding giant obstacles such as utensils, toast, and pools of milk. Sensitive controls mirror the tiny scale with nice Rumble Pak effects when you run over and slam into various items. Micro Machines looks like it may grow up to become decent fun in miniature.

Fans of the Micro Machines school of mini-car racing won't be disappointed with Micro Machines 64 Turbo.

Trying to drive 32 miniaturized vehicles may not be everyone's racing forte, but this "tiny" game sports great multiplayer action. Racing against up to four friends is a gas, and it opens up many more gameplay options. On die other hand, racing against the computer can get very frustrating, particularly in the harder levels where the A.I. doesn't make any mistakes. The controls are tight, but require practice, practice, practice. Once you've mastered them, however, you can enjoy the game's fine sights as you race through 38 environments, which include table tops full of food. Luckily, the awful music only plays during the option screen.

Even if you're not a Micro Machines fan. this racer is at least worth a rental.