Micro Machines V4 is a smash among the arcade-playing PSP fans. Sure, Gran Turismo racers aren't going to fly off their seats zooming through the landscape of brushes and sinks, but that's because, like I said, it's an arcade game! Here, we take a look at certain cool and uncool points that make Micro Machines the most playable miniature racing game in the world.

What's cool: The game play is pretty generous, since there are 750 collectable cars, the multiplayer mode, and the ps2">PS2 connectivity to keep you occupied. The game speaks of simplicity because your top objective is always to get around the track in the quickest and most efficient way. The tracks are more inventive than ever, since the real challenge is racing past the V4 landscape, whether they are kitchen or hairdresser's levels. It has the same simple controls as in the last installment, but you can take advantage of scattered weapons along the way to dismantle your enemies' car.

What's uncool: The animations are almost barebones and the graphics don't exploit the PSP's visual capability to the edge. Unfortunately, the menu is perhaps the least developed area in the game, complex navigation in contrast with its simplicity. Musically, there's not much to rave about since there are only generic tunes and some so-so sound effects.

With Micro Machines V4, Codemasters made sure that everyone gets a load of miniature racing challenge without getting put off by some less developed areas in the game. It's the micro racing concept that rules, anyway! As you can see, the bad points are more than compensated for by the ones. So go forth and race and have a blast!

It has been called "the most playable game in the world" and is now making a comeback in our handhelds of choice - Sony PSP and Nintendo DS - in the form of Micro Machines V4. This game from Codemasters promises to gives us all-out fun, racing gameplay. Just yesterday, it has landed on United States shores and are now available in major retail stores across the country.

Choose a vehicle for mayhem between sport cars, street racers, stock cars, 4x4s, beach buggies, lowriders and muscle cars and race through racing arenas like the breakfast table or around the rim of the bath. Aside from pushing the pedal to the metal, you also pick up a variety of weapons you can use to get ahead in the race.

Download: [Micro Machines V4 Weapons]
                  [Micro machines V4 Promotional Video]

Codemasters have today announced that Micro Machines V4 has been shipped to US retail stores for the Playstation2, PC (demo available) and PSP with the Nintendo DS version to follow shortly.

Micro Machines V4 is a fast, fun and light mini racer game that features hundreds of cars to collect, each with distinctive performance abilities, a stack of levels, an arsenal of power-ups and weapons (complete with a car-mounted giant hammer!) and lots of characters to play. Mixing the miniature mayhem with multiplayer racing, the game challenges players to race through wild tracks in such areas as the house, garden, supermarkets, museums and farms where everyday household objects such as breakfast tables, pool tables and bath tubs are huge in size and can become very big obstacles.

Micro Machines V4 is rated E for Everyone and features Mild Cartoon Violence.

Fans of micro racing gameplay can have the chance to take Micro Machines V4 for a test drive with the PC playable demo now available for download. This is just the right time to experience miniature mayhem and maximum multiplayer racing before the game ships on June 27 for the PS2. The PSP, PC, and DS editions will soon follow.

The PC demo lets up to four players race on three outrageous tracks: around the kitchen at 'Kitchen Caper'; on the rooftops at 'Rooftop Rumble'; and inside the chicken coop at the 'Peking Peril Race'. If you want to practice your miniature driving skills, you can do so with the single-player mode, or challenge AI opponents in Quick Battle races. Test drive of the PC demo calls for the following minimum requirements:

- Windows 2000/XP
- DirectX 9c
- Pentium 3 or Athlon at 800MHz
- 128Mb RAM
- Supported 32Mb Graphics Card
- DirectX 9 Compatible Sound Card
- 300 Megabytes Hard Disk Space

Micro Machines v4 is loaded with explosive weapon power-ups that can be used against opponents while racing. The game brings back the classic missiles and bombs and at the same time introducing new ones to attack with, including flamethrowers, plasma guns, heat-seeking missiles, and the threatening car-mounted giant hammer!

Be one of the first racers off the starting grid and download the new PC demo at Codemasters website, and while you're at it, check the latest videos too.

Download: [Micro Machines V4 PC Demo]

Codemasters have announced today that their new title Micro Machines V4 has gone gold (meaning the master copy of the game has been completed and is ready for mass production). The Micro automobile madness will start on June 30th when this title hits the shelves for the PC, PSP and PS2. The Nintendo DS version will follow some time later this year. Everything you've ever liked about the Micro Machines series is back, with tiny sports cars racing around crazy maps including the dinner table firing rockets, and causing mayhem!

To celebrate Micro Machines V4 going gold, Codemasters have released a few new screenshots and the first gameplay trailer for this amazing multiplayer racer. The beauty of this game is that up to four players can challenge each other on MICRO MACHINES V4’s ingenious domestic raceways, weaving between train carriages on a model railway or ripping up the baize on a pool table. It's what friends were invented for!

     

Download: [Micro Machines V4 gameplay trailer]

A few more Micro Machines V4 screens have surfaced for the PSP. The racing game looks to bring back some of the features on the classic Micro Machines games. There is just something really fun about a racing game where ordinary household objects are so much bigger than you.

Some of the new levels confirmed in this game are the house roofs, the sewers, through supermarkets, museums and even down to the farm to add to the usual house and garden tracks. When more information is released we'll be sure to keep you informed. Go ahead and check out these thumbnails and let us know what you think.

  

Codemasters today announced that they'll be bringing the video game "Micro Machines" to the PSP sometime during summer of 2006. Codemasters boasts by saying it's been called "the most playable game in the world" and was the party game of choice for a gaming generation, and now a Micro Machines video game is set to return to game screens with the revival of its classic series.


Mixing miniature mayhem with maximum multiplayer racing, Micro Machines v4 will arrive packed with knockabout, breakneck racing in the fastest scale miniatures, complete with explosive weapon power-ups. Letting you loose with hundreds of vehicles, each with distinctive performance abilities, you'll be racing your inch-long miniature motors on the wildest tracks where everyday household objects appear immense in size and can become lethal hazards.


Fans of classic MICRO MACHINES games will rejoice in the return of some of the series' most popular racing arenas. Spin out around the breakfast table littered with cereal spills, tear through the kitchen, turbo boost around the pool table (while avoiding the treacherous pockets), or hit the gas as you drive around the rim of the bath, carefully negotiating the ferocious waters pouring over the edge of the bath.

As well as the familiar feel-good environments, MICRO MACHINES v4 game sees your racing world expand further than any previous MICRO MACHINES game. Go beyond the house and garden tracks and discover what it's like to race across house roofs, in the sewers, through supermarkets, museums and even down to the farm, with its danger-packed chicken coop!