Micro Machines World Series

Overall, it’s a pick up and play game, with great user friendly controls, fun, addictive gameplay, witty one liners and carnage, it’s easy for any kind of player to pick up the controller and have some good fun, it won’t last forever as repetition is the game’s biggest shortcoming but it’s definitely fun and replayable, a great time killer or stress relief. The game’s value is great too, at $49.95 it’s priced well for the level of content and fun I found and had playing this game.

Micro Machines are back again with a new entry developed for PS4, Xbox One and PC (where´s the Switch version, Codemasters?) as fun as ever. Arcade entertainment for all kind of players, especially playing in multiplayer mode.

Micro Machines are back and Codemasters has now opened a new way for the series with the introduction of the competitive mode. With its unique style, the series is never growing old and this new game could be your perfect choice for the summer.

The game, however, suffers from some splintering that could undoubtedly undermine its grip on the audience.

The first Micro Machines game perfectly fitted for eSports, but if you're searching for a good-old-fashioned single player arcade title, you better look somewhere else.

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.

This promised so much more than it delivered. It's a good game, but it's just not as good as its predecessors. Whilst Micro Machines World Series is good fun, it doesn't offer enough to elevate it to the status of its forefathers.

Micro Machines World Series only shortly let us tune into that nostalgic feeling thanks to its wonderful tracks and fun multiplayer modes. It makes it rather sad that there are too many bots and AI present and that the controls are so difficult.

The appeal of the Micro Machines franchise is hindered by the lack of a championship mode and the few cars and tracks available. Everyone who was, after so many years, waiting for a great new game of the saga, will be left disappointed.

Micro Machines: World Series lacks content, although it is quite entertaining as a multiplayer (both online and couch) game. Codemasters takes no risks and offers an average game, that doesn't make enough effort in order to revitalize the small cars franchise in consoles.

With a colorful and wild presentation, Micro Machines World Series is a hectic and incredibly fun racing game that manages to be both challenging and light hearted. The level designs, details, vehicles, and game modes are all superb, and the game’s announcer has a wonderfully over-the-top comedic delivery that adds to the excitement. It’s a game full of laughs, but like a good joke, the laughter ends. Micro Machines World Series simply doesn’t offer enough to players to keep them invested beyond playing it as a party game with those who remember the original toy line from the 90’s.

Not the revival we were looking for. The nostalgia is strong with this one, but the spirit of the series is not. The oversimplification of the mechanics, lack of content and unbalanced cars in battles make this only a slightly decent arcade racing game. It's truly a pity, because - like its predecessors - it has its moments when played with friends, and the elimination mode is great fun.

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]

World Series tries to transplant hero shooters basics into a racer and kinda succeeds at that but as a whole is so bland that after an hour I was sure I will never play it again after I finish this review. [09/2017, p.75]

It's at its very best when you play it with friends, and the tracks are as fun as ever, but the racing is hit or miss, and ultimately that's what you come for. Shame. [Sept 2017, p.90]

In the end, Micro Machines: World Series is disappointing. The offline modes lack variety, so those who aren't interested in online play must contend with a shell of a game. Those interested in playing online will feel like they're playing offline anyway since the community just isn't there. While the racing is enjoyable, the increased emphasis on skirmishes hurts the game when you realize that your contributions have little to no impact on the overall match. You can still squeeze some fun out of this, but most people would be better off leaving this title alone.

The core racing is pleasingly intact for 16bit nostalgists, but that doesn't make Micro Machines a no-brainer for the new-school, season-based multiplayer model. [Sept 2017, p.119]

Micro Machines is a mediocre try to lure that nostalgic gamer back to the franchise. The difficult controls and the lack of content however make this game only fun for just a short while.

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 lot of fun playing with friends online or offline, but the lack of content and a not very well tuned control make the return of the series a little bit disappointing.

A lot of good ideas poorly executed, Micro Machines World Series is good and fun on its basis, but it doesn't have enough options to be enjoyed by the players.

This isn't a bad game, but there are some omissions that have been with the series forever which are strangely missing.

Micro Machines World Tour does just enough to live up to the brand but not much else.

Micromachines World Series tries to replicate the fun of classic games. 12 player online mode is not enough to compensate the absence of a career mode, the technical failures and some online design problems (such as the lobby system and menus).

A disappointing homage to the Mega Drive games of yore, that emphasises all the wrong elements in terms of both gameplay and game modes.

Mixing the old with the new, it’s clear that Codemasters have tried to bring Micro Machines up to date in World Series. While there’s plenty of charm to the classic racing and elimination mode, I feel they could have gone even further with the ideas in Battle mode and the variety of vehicles and weapons that it contains, bringing these back to the classic modes.

There's fun to be had, but the choice and variety are as micro as the machines, limiting your enjoyment. [Sept 2017, p.74]

Micro Machines was supposed to return in a blaze of glory and remind everyone why arcade racers from the past were so cool. As it turns out, the game blindly follows modern trends that don't suit it at all. World Tour has too little content and too much chaos, with boredom creeping in way too soon. Pretty graphics and decent driving model don't help. Too bad.

Micro Machines World Series could have been a great game, but it simply isn’t. Codemasters worked for the bare minimum, and it’s a shame. The formula still works and entertains, but the game has a saddening lack of content, an absurd online system, and it won’t be saved by some new, interesting game modes.

Do this game again, but shift the focus so that everyone can enjoy it without relying on others being online, and then we'll talk.

Micro Machines World Series succeeds in some areas, as the controls has been nicely revamped and the Elimination mode works fine and is fun... But for the rest, this game lacks so much content (modes, challenges...) we couldn't believe it.

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.

For the most part Micro Machines: World Series is very close to being a great game; all it requires is a proper single player championship mode. Unfortunately, the broken online ruins much of the experience. Anyone looking for local co-op action should pick the game up if it’s on sale, but if you’re playing on your own, it’s tough to recommend.

The matchmaking is currently a mess, ranked play is currently inaccessible for many, and there’s no semblance of a campaign to keep players busy while the online is being worked on.

Unfortunately, Micro Machines World Series has been forced into a corner where its online multiplayer only nature, buggy online play, and less than half features of the content of its non-licensed predecessor makes this a hard purchase.

Micro Machines World Series actually contains a great deal of enjoyable content but its lack of structure and dependence on a barren online community means that content mostly goes to waste. Add in frustrating AI and you're left with one disappointing game.

Micro Machines as a brand is still great fun but you’ll find that’s sustained only for the briefest of moments.