Mechanically, it’s actually pretty sound. You can party up with friends in any of these modes, and bots will fill up the empty spots meaning you never have to wait long to get into a game. There are straightforward, fastest-to-the-end races, elimination racing, and a new Battle mode which features combative skirmishes and the likes of King of the Hill and Capture the Flag. With the series roots entrenched in its same-screen multiplayer mayhem, that seems a worthwhile pursuit but its execution is lacking. The entire thing is made for online multiplayer. For starters there’s no single player content to speak of, with little more than training or sad, unfulfilling races and skirmishes against AI to keep lone gamers content. And just like the existential dread I face when I wake up every morning with the hard realisation that my own hopes and dreams have yielded little but disappointment, Micro Machines: World Series proves to be a crushing let-down.Ĭodemasters has tried to move the series into 2017, but they seem to have focused too hard on the wrong bits of modern gaming.

Having one of the most preeminent racing game developers making one of the most beloved whimsical racers is the stuff of dreams. When Codemasters announced they’d be bringing Micro Machines back, I was giddy.

It is, unfortunately, something that probably should have stayed dead. Lilliputian Micro Machines has been one of the most frequently requested games for digital zombification. Gaming franchises long thought gone are getting a shot in the arm. There’s a resurgence of gaming nostalgia thanks to Nintendo’s NES and SNES Classic consoles, as well as Crash Bandicoot helping people remember better times.

Micro machines world series game