Micro Machines V4 Comments by Kristan Reed

2d Xbox Live Arcade version on 360 would be perfect, thinking about it...

Seconded.

And the psp to ps2 linky thing sucks ass.

MMUK: I think the point he was making is that while that might be the point for human players, the AI has no such restriction and therefore when in the lead has the advantage over a human player in the same situation.

his complaint sounds like a certain someone who moaned about the random pickups in mario kart that 'were never in the other versions' lol

It does look a little gash though.

Hmm...the boats and the helicopters were among the best tracks on all the previous incarnations. Seems a bit of a stupid oversight.

Oh, does anyone know if the PSP can be played 2 player on the same PSP, like the PS1 version, a la a cocktail cabinet galaga or something?

No Xbox version... weird!

Skip this one.

360 arcade would be a must buy though.

So not as good as Mashed then?

Why on Earth, MMUK, should putting the player in an impossible scenario [in CAPS, people] be the "ENTIRE POINT OF MICRO MACHINES GAMES"?

Like you I've been playing these games since they came out and the fact that the camera has "ALWAYS HAS BEEN" this way doesn't make it [CAPSLOCK ON] RIGHT. The advancement in tech and design sensibilities should eliminate this curse eight years down the line from V3. You sound like the guys who defended the old Resident Evil games for their shit control system.

What's the view like on that high horse of yours ol' buddy? Probably better than the view that the crappy cameras give you in this game, I'd wager ;)

So not as good as Mashed then?

Seems that way, especially since you can pick up a copy of mashed for a tenner these days...

Arganoid - no, nowhere near as good as Mashed. Get Fully Loaded, much better than this, and cheaper as well.

The first PS2/XBOX version was shocking so how this dying franchise got another sequel is beyond me

and no xbox version, WTF. theyre just pissing money away

I agree with Gizmo on this one.

I dont want a XBLa version of this. The originals would go down very well though. ;)

Agree with Krudster. Mashed Fully Loaded is an awesome multi player game. Buy that, unlock the tracks with a cheat and you're in post-pub heaven.

No characters? Definite oversight. It removes a lot of the charm from the game. Very upset about that.

Also, can't play all the tracks unless you have a PSP?! HATE that. It's bloody stupid, I bet less than

It's very possible that the PS2/PSP unlocking mechanic is something 'pushed' onto the dev team from Sony. Speaking from experience.

Smackdown! Vs RAW 2006 was the same. You couldn't unlock Jake the Snake on the PS2 version without unlocking him on the PSP. And you couldn't unlock the Million Dollar Man on the PSP without the PS2 version.

Which is frankly shocking.

MMU - what are you gibbering about? Of course the AI is meant to be as human like as possible. That's what makes it fun...to feel like you're playing against fellow humans because you don't have any mates of your own to play with.

If you watch you'll notice that AI does make mistakes. Are you saying that's not based on humanlike behaviour. Should the AI cars be perfect all the time? Where would the fun be in that?

Sounds to me like you're one of those people that realises they've said something daft but refuse to back down on it and will defend what they said to their last dying breath.

I thought the demo sucked personally and I was really dissapointed. It didn't have the same endearing feel to it that the previous incarnations did which was really sad. Give me Jethro! Yeah mon!

I have to agree with ManicMinerUK regards to the camera, it may not of been fair, but was one of the best features of multiple player. It's not something I want changing, but what do I know, I loved Micro Maniacs.

Krudster - the top-down camera thing is probably the defining characteristic of multiplayer Micro-Machines. Aside from the cars/baots/choppers being small and racing round kitchens/pool tables/bath tubs/etc. , the multiplayer mode where the guy who gets to the front scores a point or the guy who goes off the back of the screen loses has always been a defining chracteristic of Micro-Machines.

Saying that they should change that is a bit daft really - it's like saying the next version of Counter-Strike shouldn't have a first-person camera :-/

I do, however, take the point that the AI should "play fair" and it would be nice if they made "humanlike" mistakes - but that's a bit of a misnomer really. If the AI cars kept falling off people would get annoyed the AI was too stupid or the game too easy. I think it's fair enough if they race the same way a reasonably adept human player who knows the tracks quite well would race (i.e. once you know the tracks you know the layout, corners etc.). However, getting that balance right must be a pretty tricky design task.

As long as the game is challenging but not too hard (given the game difficulty level that you have selected) - I don't see much of a problem with the AI cars "knowing the track", in the same way that a human player would remember the layout.

However, this is all academic really for me, as I haven't playe dthe demo or the game ;-)

"Next time, Codies, please show a little more ambition and give fans more than the rehash that this so evidently is."

This line would have gone well at the end of another Codies rehash that got released recently but shockingly got given 9/10!!!!! Won't mention which one for fear of my post being deleted once again!!!!

Online play and a create a character mode along with designing your own car would be cool.

They should make it top down but with 3D graphics...that'd be cool.

Every time Codemasters bring out a "new" game, I just despise them a little bit more. God, how they suck. SUCK! IN CAPITALS!!!!

That's the thing, DJ Chump, what we're dealing with here isn't a top down camera, but a dynamic panning, zooming mess that is just plain confusing in its default state (there is an unlockable 'retro cam'). Play Mashed, then play this and you'll be alarmed at the difference.

ok Krudster, I'll take your word for it - If the camera's all over the shop then that's pretty bad, especially for a racer relying on twitch-reflex driving ;-)

Too late. Mashed 4tw

Lets race dem cars

Eh?

PLAY have an Xbox version on their pages...

Oh well, another missed opportunity. As with most of Codemaster's recent releases.

Peej

I've said it before and I'll say it again-

(in CAPTIALS)

BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE MASHED DAMMIT

Yeah, I suspect that the "PSP required to unlock" thing was forced by Sony or someone else applying pressure. That said... it still stinks!

I'll wait for the Nintendo DS version, which will not doubt have all the tracks. And online play, hooray!

I'm also glad I'm not the only one to miss the characters... "endearing" is the right word. When I heard the game was in development I wanted to email them to see if they would include characters, but sadly couldn't find any way to get in touch. What a shame. No Spider, Cherry, Walter, Jethro...

Does anyone know how well the DS version holds up?

Since when were weapons a part of Micro Machines? It was always pure racing, I only remember weapons being involved if you were driving tanks... I remember pick up weapons being in various clone games but they always just dilute the experience.

Micromachines was about the great imaginative track designs and the close racing and barging for me. Sections of track where you'd have to share a sponge as it traversed a sink while constantly trying to push eachother off were genius.

Also - the points scoring thing has always been there, but not against AIs. When you raced the computer the camera just followed you and ignored them. The edge of the screen tension was reserved for two player.

I'd love a pure faithful conversion of the original games(1, 2 and 96 could be bundled as one I imagine, they all seemed to be the exact same engine with new cars and tracks each time) for xbox live, add in online play and you've got the ultimate game!

^^^^All of what he said

Barging>Shooting

If there is a God then the originals will be around Download/Live Arcade/WiiConnect. (Or in the Mega Drive section at my local Computer Exchange)