Micro Machines: World Series is that kind of game, flawed deeply with charm despite itself. I can’t help but love the art design and imaginative locations that bring you into that feeling of being a kid again, whipping your little cars around the attic workbench and sending them flying down the stairs or into each other. There’s a childish cohesion to the chaos and that is where the game shines the most.

"Micro Machines World Series feels slippery and like you never quite have full control."

World Series takes the form of a top down racer, mimicking the viewpoint that you have playing with the physical toys. They have all the control of a toy car too, which is to say not much. In contrast to Mantis Burn Racing which nailed the control but lacked almost everything else, Micro Machines World Series feels slippery and like you never quite have full control. You’ll point yourself around the 10 tracks or 15 battle maps and love the fun and varied locations, but frequently I became frustrated when I didn’t nail a turn quite like I felt I should have, watching other cars rocket ahead of me.

There is no single player championship to speak of in World Series, instead going all in on the online modes of play. Micro Machines World Series does smartly keep you from waiting in the menu too long by filling out slots in any game type with bots should no humans be around, and can drop some in mid match as they join.

The bots might be a little too smart, with no option to change the difficulty. They seem to be able to stick pretty close to the racing line and have nearly flawless aim with the weapons. Playing with other people such as the colleague I had cohered into this with me, does mitigate the problems somewhat as they’ll also be fighting the controls to various degrees, bringing the game more in line with the casual zaniness that it’s aiming for.

"Battle mode shares the same inventive location designs such as a garden or the drone workbench, and opens them up to wide flowing arenas"

Racing around the courses plays a lot like a Mario Kart, where you’ll do your best to stick to the best racing line while dodging and using a handful of fun, Nerf branded items such as gattling guns and squeaky hammers. Shortcuts can be found on each track, though items play no part in accessing them so once found they really just become the defacto method of racing.

Battle mode shares the same inventive location designs such as a garden or the drone workbench, and opens them up to wide flowing arenas with multiple paths and shortcuts that can launch you to key points. There are team deathmatch, king of the hill and bomb delivery modes which all change up the game in a few ways. Instead of relying on the same items, the 12 different vehicles are all outfitted with different load outs, including an ultimate earned by completing the goal and destroying enemies.

This does allow each vehicle to fit into its own niche, the ambulance is the healer, the tank is…the tank, the hot rod is the quick damage dealer, ect. Unfortunately the same controls issues hamper the otherwise excellent battle experience way too much. The quick movement that the battle mode asks for you to dodge enemy fire or quickly spin around to the objective or catch the moving bridge just isn’t a possibility and the struggle makes the entire mode more frustrating than it needs to be.

"you’ll level up for what bragging rights might be there, in game currency and of course loot boxes, because they’re the new scourge of gaming in 2017."

What is there to earn from participating in the online only shenanigans? Beyond the fun of seeing the different arenas and their environmental hazards such as the Hungry Hungry Hippos board, you’ll level up for what bragging rights might be there, in game currency and of course loot boxes, because they’re the new scourge of gaming in 2017. All of this to facilitate cosmetic changes you can apply to the 12 playable vehicles in the game, which is fine in and of itself, but doesn’t give the game an overarching sense of progression like unlocking new racers. You’ll have seen everything World Series has to offer within the first few hours.

Micro Machines: World Series has such inventive environments and a striking art design to bring it all alive, it’s really just a shame that the act of playing it isn’t all that fun thanks almost completely to loose controls. The online focused game is currently already nearly dead, removing the little worth the game had unless you want to talk friends into buying this somehow, just know that when we did that, it wasn’t much fun.

This game was reviewed on Playstation 4

Vicarious Visions’ remaster of the original Crash Bandicoot titles, namely Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy on the PS4, was the number 1 selling game in the UK for the week ending July 1st. This is according to Gfk Chart-Track and only taking physical sales into account.

In second place is Micro Machines: World Series, a new game in the franchise from Codemasters, while Grand Theft Auto 5 is in third place. Forza Horizon 3 was in ninth place last week and managed to rise up to fourth place this week. FIFA 17 found itself in fifth place followed by Blizzard’s Overwatch in sixth.

Meanwhile, seventh place saw Elite: Dangerous while Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, Dirt 4 and Rocket League rounded out the rest of the chart. It may still feature many of the games seen before but all in all, the past week’s charts have a few newcomers in the top 10.

What are your thoughts on the UK charts currently, especially with regards to Crash Bandicoot? Let us know in the comments.

GamingBolt spoke to Codemasters product manager Matthew Beckett to learn more about the game, what’s changing this time around and why you should be excited for World Series.

"On our forums, it has long been the game our players wanted us to bring back above all other titles!"

Though many know Codemasters for F1, Dirt and other racing titles, the Micro Machines franchise has been established since the SNES days (and saw a successful free to play iteration recently). What motivated you to return to the franchise with a full-fledged sequel on consoles and PC?    

The fans! No matter where we go, or who we talk to, over and over again we hear the same question: “When are you going to make a new Micro Machines game?” When people visit the studio and we ask them what they know about Codemasters, almost everybody at some point brings up Micro Machines, and how it was one of their formative game experiences.

On our forums, it has long been the game our players wanted us to bring back above all other titles! So after dipping our toes in the water with a couple of other titles, we’re really excited to be finally bringing Micro Machines racing back to the mainstream console audience, whilst also adding brand new styles of gameplay that will thrill the fans !

Arcade racing titles are still incredibly popular this generation. What is the most appealing thing about World Series for fans new to the series?

It’s no surprise that arcade racing remains popular – and Micro Machines World Series brings together the best elements of that category. Accessible, social, multiplayer and above all, fun! If you’re new to Micro Machines, the most appealing thing is going to be just how easy it is to get into the game. There’s a lot of depth for returning players, and a lot for players to master over time, but the new team battles mean that anybody can dive in and contribute

How many cars and tracks can we look forward to in World Series?

Unlike previous games in the series, where the cars were all fundamentally similar, in this game the 12 cars are the stars! Each one a distinct personality, with its own unique load out of weapons and abilities. That means each vehicle offers an entirely different play style, so there’s plenty to get your teeth into.

"The battle arenas let us mix the gameplay up and offer players a much bigger variety of game experiences, all centered around how cool it is to be playing with these miniature motors."

The game also offers 10 race tracks, 15 of the new team battle arenas and 5 smaller Deathmatch arenas used in the local multiplayer battles. Players who remember the original games will recognize some of the locations in-game – the classics such as the pool table and the kitchen are back – whilst there are new locations such as the garden, workshop or battling in arenas such as Hungry Hungry Hippos!

What unique skills, classes, etc. will each vehicle possess?

Each vehicle has access to a primary weapon (such as a machine gun, or laser) that can be used pretty much at will, alongside a pair of abilities that offer more powerful effects – but on a cooldown, meaning they have to be deployed tactically for best effect. Examples of these include Agent Atom’s Flashbang, which disorients and slows all enemies onscreen, or Lt. Shield’s Police Siren that grants all your nearby allies a damage reduction buff for the duration of the effect (plus it goes “NEE NAW NEE NAW” and lights everybody up in red and blue, which pleases the 5-year old in all of us no end).

Damaging and destroying enemy vehicles also helps build your ultimate ability’s charge meter, which when full lets you unleash the game’s most powerful and destructive abilities! Spin Hank N. Stein’s monster truck up into a screen-eclipsing tornado, or use Dr. Mel Practice’s ambulance to resurrect your fallen allies and push home the attack!

What can you tell us about the Battle Arenas and how much they add on top of the traditional racing experience?

The battle arenas let us mix the gameplay up and offer players a much bigger variety of game experiences, all centered around how cool it is to be playing with these miniature motors. While racing – even across multiple race modes – tends to centre on a single concept (go as fast as you can!), battles let us offer a wider variety of goals. Attack a position, defend a position, escort a moving target, manage a strategy over multiple locations – these all play out quite differently, and require players to think differently, and are all offered across the range of battle modes offered at launch: Capture the Flag, King of the Hill and Bomb Delivery.

A team battle also offers a whole extra layer of play to experience and master: how do you coordinate as a team? Do you want to use the in-game emotes, or form a group and use full voice chat? Or just play it by ear? How does your team pick its cars? Which cars can you pick in order to build interesting synergies, or to counter whatever the enemy team is doing?

All these different factors working together, means there’s always something new around the corner – something we capitalize on with the weekly Special Events, which pop up every weekend and offer players a fun tweak on the normal game rules for a particular mode.

"Micro Machines has always been a multiplayer institution, and we’ve chosen to spend as much of our resources as we can on developing that experience for players."

How do you go about balancing vehicles for the Battle Arenas?

Lots and lots of play, and lots and lots of feedback! We’re constantly playing the game in the studio, and every match nets us feedback that we feed back into the process. That feedback goes to our design team, who pick out the common threads and then discuss the changes we’d like to try in our next session. We have to be very careful not to let personal favoritism get in the way! We also keep stats that let us compare the vehicles on a more mechanical level (e.g. average time to kill with the primary weapon). But it’s important to us that the game feel right – those stats are a place to start from, not an end in and of themselves.

Will there be a full-fledged single-player mode for solo fans? 

Micro Machines has always been a multiplayer institution, and we’ve chosen to spend as much of our resources as we can on developing that experience for players. That said, if players are looking to play on their own, offline, the Skirmish mode (our local multiplayer mode) can be played as easily with 1 player as it can with 2, 3 or 4.

AI bots can be called into service (fans of the series will recognize old favourites such as Cherry, Spider, Dwayne and Jethro!), playing modes such as Race, Elimination (the sofa play classic!) and Deathmatch. Micro Machines World Series will really satisfy that desire for a social, offline, multiplayer experience that is fun – and Elimination mode does precisely that.

What kind of post-launch updates can we expect for Micro Machines: World Series?

Nothing we can announce just yet! But let’s just say that anyone who plays the game can see that it’s been structured in such a way as to offer us a lot of opportunities to build out from launch in interesting ways.

First hinted at with a new teaser image, Codesmasters officially confirmed that Micro Machines World Series is not only a real game, but it’s coming rather soon. The developers announced the title is going to be hitting the PS4, Xbox One and PC in April of 2017, meaning anyone excited about the potential of the game won’t have to wait long to see if it lives up to expectations.

Codemasters has said Micro Machines World Series is going to try and hold onto what made the series a fan favorite back in the day. At the same time, the company is adding better visuals and performance that can only be pulled off on current generation PCs and consoles.

The announcement of Micro Machines World Series appeared on the company’s official blog where it stated that, “the game’s been designed around fun and frantic play at every turn, meaning there will never be a dull moment on the racetrack or in the arena. Micro Machines World Series is the ultimate pick-up-and-play experience for players of all ages and abilities, offering intuitive, easy-to-learn controls that make the controller impossible to put down.”

Codemasters has released some new promotional images that seem to hint at the video game developers’ next game. It appears the firm is going to be reviving the Micro Machines franchise.

Xbox Achievements was the first site to report on the rebirth of the franchise. This would certainly make sense, considering Codemasters has long said it wants to double down on making as many racing games as it can.

The website says this game, dubbed Micro Machines World Series would be a “pumped up version” of a game that has been free-to-play on iOS for a couple of months. The site has gotten its hands on a promotional image and says this will be quite a bit like its other fun little racing game called Toybox Turbos. Finally the site claims the game will eventually be coming to the PS4, Xbox One and PC. For now we’ll just have to keep our eyes out for real confirmation.