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Micro Machines

A screenshot of this game.

Micro Machines was a video game released on a large variety of Nintendo consoles, with the game being released on no less than five consoles that include Nintendo Entertainment System and its Super Nintendo Entertainment System counterpart, and was also released on Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and GameCube. The game was based on the popular toyline of the same name.

Plot[]

Gameplay[]

Various different races involving small toy cars were provided, including speedboat and car racing.

Development[]

In 1990, the founders of Codemasters, David and Richard Darling, were at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and were impressed with the popularity of the Nintendo Entertainment System in the USA. They wanted to develop games for the system, but did not have a licence from Nintendo. In October 1989, programmer Andrew Graham developed a prototype, California Buggy Boys, a racing game with a top-down view on a scrolling dune-based race track. Its two player mode, based on the 1983 Adventure International game Rally Speedway, does not employ split screen, a technique that is hard to achieve on NES hardware. Instead, it features two players racing on a single screen, and hugging the screen edges as the distance between them grows. Once the distance is large enough, the winning player gains a point - a difference from Rally Speedway, in which the losing player gains a time penalty instead.

Reception[]

Micro Machines received critical acclaim. The multiplayer mode in particular was well received, and some reviewers complimented the graphics and addictiveness. Reviewing the Mega Drive version, Computer and Video Games's Steve Keen lauded the vehicle movement and sound effects, and Paul Rand praised the multiplayer mode. Both described Micro Machines as one of the better racing games on the Mega Drive. In 1994, Micro Machines was listed as their best Mega Drive driving game. The reviewer from Mega magazine eulogised the playability, but criticised the lack of a save function. Nevertheless, he thought the game was "destined to become a classic". In a later review, the game was described as "utterly wonderful", and the addictiveness of the head-to-head mode was praised. The game was listed at number eight of their top 100 list. GamesMaster's Jim Douglas lauded the graphics, "brilliant" controls, and the two-player mode, and James Leach described the Mega Drive version as "even better" than the NES version, and eulogised the addictiveness. A reviewer from Mean Machines Sega agreed with GamesMaster by complimenting the addictiveness of two-player mode, but believed the single-player mode is too easy. Sega Force's reviewer praised the visuals and "colourful" graphics and the two-player mode, but described the sounds as "average". The game was described as having an "undeniable charm" by a reviewer from French magazine Supersonic.

Visuals[]

The Micro Machines logo is displayed throughout the menus, but the cars themselves do not resemble the original toys.

Gallery[]

  Main article: Micro Machines/gallery

External links[]

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