Anyone who watches their box to any great extent can't possibly help watching the adverts that accompany your dose of soaps. Last Christmas one of the many toys to take the British public by storm were the Micro Machines. This range of miniature vehicles were billed as detailed models of the genuine article yet small enough to fit on your little finger.
These days where there's any scope to market a product further, you can bet your bottom dollar that the companies responsible will. Guess what, this is precisely what happened with the Micro range. They first appeared with jubilant applause on formats like the Sega Mega Drive. Now after a long wait MM has decided to materialise on the Amiga.
Being a product originally designed for formats like the Mega Drive, Micro has a very console style to it. When you first glance at it, Micro Machines looks fairly poor in relation to what the Amiga is capable of.
However, just because the graphics are of a fairly simple nature it doesn't mean to say that the game isn't highly playable. This is definitely the case with this title. The sprites are small and the sound doesn't stretch the Amiga at all, but it is damn playable.
Micro Machines is one of those games that really doesn't have much of a plot or much background, its theme is very simple. So having to write about it is quite tough. I mean I could sum up the entire scenario in about five words. It's a racing game featuring the Micro Machines (well OK, so it was eight words). But I can't do this because it would be a very blank page and yours truly would be back in the queue with the other millions!
All right, there is slightly more to it than has been mentioned thus far, so without any further digression let's spit it out. Micro Machines puts you in the tiny driving seat of a wide variety of different miniature vehicles. These vary from power boats through to combat tanks, Formula One Grand Prix cars and helicopters.
Now straight away you're probably jumping to the same conclusion most do, that this is nothing new; a race around the old tarmac in cars and boats viewed from the top.
But this is where you're wrong because the main novelty aspect to Micro Machines are the tracks. Rather than your typical road scenario, the courses are set over such things as breakfast tables, bathtubs, workbenches and porches.
Sounds odd but it works a treat. It's really very entertaining having to guide your dune buggy around a track composed of Rice Krispies, avoiding the beans and trying your hardest not to skid off the table cloth into oblivion. In total there are 27 tracks and they're all made up of as silly things as above.
As far as who you race against on these cereal (surreal - get it folks?) tracks, there's a full complement of cartoony style characters to choose from. There are two types of races you can compete in. The first is a four competitor-first-around-the-track affair and the second is a two player head-to-head.
Obviously in both types of race you race against either computer opponents or a chum of your choice. Really no amount of words will ever be able to justify Micro Machines - the proof is in the playing. It's simple in design, simple in the graphic department, but highly playable and highly addictive.