''Micro Machines'' is a series of video games featuring toy cars, developed by

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts. Founded by brothers Richard and David Darling in Oct ...

and published on several platforms (including

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few o ...

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...

Sega Mega Drive/Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eu ...

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

Sega Game Gear The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily competed with Nintendo's Game Boy, ...

, and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

devices). The series is based on the

Micro Machines Micro Machines are a line of toys originally made by Galoob (now part of Hasbro) in the mid-1980s and throughout the 1990s. Micro Machines are tiny scale component style "playsets" and vehicles that are slightly larger than N scale. The toys ...

toy line of miniature vehicles. ''Micro Machines'' games feature tracks based on household settings: for example, kitchen tables and desktops. The tracks also contain obstacles in the form of household items; often the possibility of falling off the track is a hazard in itself.

Games

''Micro Machines'' (1991)

''Micro Machines'', the first game in the series, laid the foundation of the gameplay: a top-down racing game with miniature vehicles. The race tracks are unconventionally themed. For example, some races take place on a

billiard table A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which cue sports are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables (whether for carom billiards, pool, pyramid or snooker) provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that ...

while others occur in a garden. The cartridge itself was sold in several versions. There was a gold (black in PAL regions) cartridge with a switch at the bottom in order to be compatible with the American and European hardware. In Europe there also was a version where the cartridge was in the form of a plug through cartridge, a cartridge you plugged on another, normal NES cartridge and then inserted it in the machine. It was also released as an add-on to the

Aladdin Deck Enhancer The Aladdin Deck Enhancer is a system-enhancing adaptor to use Compact Cartridges on the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was produced by Camerica and developed by Codemasters but not licensed by Nintendo. It is similar to the Datach system ...

created by Codemasters. A remake of this game was later released in 2002. This version features advanced graphics as well as drivers having unique vehicles. A

free-to-play Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...

port for

devices was released on 14 July 2016, and Android devices and Remix OS computers later on November. Published by EA subsidiary

Chillingo Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California, Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home comp ...

and developed by

, the game, based extensively on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 racing game ''Toybox Turbos'', allows players to compete against one another across the internet, local WiFi or Bluetooth in races and vehicular battles. Although free to play, the game features in-app purchases allowing players to speed up progress by purchasing coins and gems, which in turn are used to buy additional parts for a variety of cars, ranging from transportation such as

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es and

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

s to

rally car Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

s, military vehicles and construction equipment. Players can also join a club of other racers and compete with other clubs for weekly rewards. Plagued with server and coding issues, Chillingo retired the game and closed the servers in August 2018.

''Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament'' (1994)

''Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament'' was released in 1994 and featured vehicles which required different handling techniques for each course, including hovercraft and

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s. There are different playing modes including "head-to-head", in which each player earns points by driving a full screen ahead of the opponent. TV presenter

Violet Berlin Violet Berlin (born 2 January 1968) is a British television presenter, producer and script writer for films, games and immersive experiences, best known for her pioneering coverage of innovative technology and video games. Career Berlin first ...

features as a playable driver. The MS-DOS version featured a track editor which allowed players to create their own custom vehicles, backgrounds and obstacles and export and import tracks. A selling point for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version was the J-Cart, a cartridge including two control ports, thus eliminating the need for a 4-player adaptor. It also included a 'pad-sharing' feature which allowed 2 players to share a single joypad; thus it enabled 8 players to compete simultaneously, on certain tracks. An updated version of ''Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament'' was only released in PAL regions for the Mega Drive entitled ''Micro Machines Turbo Tournament '96''. The updated version featured new tracks combined with some updated tracks from Micro Machines 2. It also featured a track construction kit previously included in the MS-DOS version.

''Micro Machines Military'' (1996)

Only released as a J-Cart in PAL regions for the

Sega Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan as ...

, this game features all new tracks and military vehicles. These vehicles feature weapons enabling the player to attack opponents. The game is developed by Supersonic Software.

''Micro Machines V3'' (1997)

''Micro Machines V3'' featured 3D-graphics and 8-player multiplayer matches. It featured circuits in different areas of the household and had multiple weapons; it also included the controller share multiplayer option.

''Micro Maniacs'' (2000)

''Micro Maniacs'' is a

racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic ra ...

that takes an unconventional step considering it a near spin-off as part of the series by replacing the vehicles by running characters, though they occasionally use vehicles for certain tracks, such as jet-skis, skate-boards or even bees. It also features 3D graphics and up to 8-player multiplayer games. The 12 available characters each have different special attacks.

''Micro Machines V4'' (2006)

''Micro Machines V4'' is the sequel to ''Micro Machines V3''. It features over 25 tracks, 750 vehicles and a track editor, although the track editor is not present in the PSP or DS versions. Tracks also feature new settings such as a supermarket or swimming pool. The game was developed by Supersonic Software Ltd.

''Micro Machines World Series'' (2017)

''Micro Machines World Series'' was released on 29 June 2017.

Reception

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'' gave the Game Gear version of the first game a 6.75 out of 10, citing the variety of unique track settings, good graphics, and general fun of the game. '' GamePro'' was more critical; they commented that the game is very charming with its track designs and props, but that the sounds are average even by Game Gear standards and the races "aren't that involving", citing the sameness of the vehicles and the lack of a clock. They nonetheless concluded that "younger gamers will eat up this sugary game, though veterans may get a toothache from all the sweetness". The game was ranked the 14th best game of all time by '' Amiga Power'', while ''

Mega Mega or MEGA may refer to: Science * mega-, a metric prefix denoting 106 * Mega (number), a certain very large integer in Steinhaus–Moser notation * "mega-" a prefix meaning "large" that is used in taxonomy * Gravity assist, for ''Moon-Eart ...

'' placed the game at #10 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time. '' MegaTech'' gave the game 92% and a Hyper Game award. The 93% review in ''

'' described ''Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament'' as "multi-player fun at its best".

review, issue 26, page 39, November 1994

References

{{Electronic Arts Electronic Arts franchises Ocean Software games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Top-down racing video games Video game franchises introduced in 1991 Video games developed in the United Kingdom