Micro Machines Turbo Tournament '96

"Micro Machines rolls on to 1996, and back into tabletop antics as before."

This is Micro Machines 96. This time there are more things than ever. First there are more tournaments than before, Construction Kit where you design and race on your own tracks, and enhanced multiplayer action. Instead of getting a control port extension accessory, there are two control ports built in the cartridge for you. Sounds good.

The tournaments you have are as follows:

Challenge-Race 3 other cars. Finish 1st or 2nd and qualify for the next race. Finish 3rd or 4th and lose 1 of 3 lives, and do the race again.

Head to Head-Race another car. You have a bar of 8 lights, 4 your colour (red) and 4 for the opponents colour (blue). Keep highlighting lights so they are all your colour by getting so far of your opponent so that he's not on the screen. Do it once, you highlight one light. Win and go to next race. Lose and lose 2 of 3 lives.

League-Race 3 other cars. Race four races against the other cars. Finish 1st & earn 4 points, 2nd & earn 3 points, etc. Get most points and get promoted to next division.

Time Trial Challenge-Race on your own. Beat time given before race on course and advance for next race. If you don't you lose 1 of 3 lives.

Time Trial-Race on your own for fun. 30 courses to pick from.

And if you've mastered challenge, league and head to head, you can do pro challenge, pro league and pro head to head! Plenty of options to choose form, more than any other Micro Machines.

In multiplayer mode, you do the head to head in two player, 3 player, and four player, where you get so far ahead so you get the rest off screen. And in 4 player teams, you have to get the other two off screen along with your partner. You also have an option called 'party play' where you have a tournament with some mates and have up to 8 players. Why 8? Well you share controllers, one controller. A bit annoying, but it is to get as many people playing as possible. And as I said before, you have two control ports built in the cartridge, so you don't have to worry about getting a multi-tap. You can do normal multiplayer, with lots of tournaments, from Rookie Racers to Monster Cup. Score: 10/10

Then you have the innovative Construction Kit. What you do on this is that you can design your own tracks and race on it. You can even give your friends a challenge by racing them. You have room to store 9 tracks, 2 default tracks which you can edit if you wish. You can pick which type of floor you want, like tiles, grass, wood, the background, which is the space you fall off the track and into, the track markings, like paint, peas or nails, and the obstacles, like plant pots, bricks, drink cans, etc. and choose what type of bridge you want too. You can have bumpy bits where you jump and skid points which are puddles. And another nectar feature is that you can pick the weather you want, along with the car speed and vehicle type. The Construction Kit feature is a pretty neat feature to have on this game, make a track that is easy to fall off, or a track which has so many tracks where it can lead off to nowhere and get lost? Up to you. There are its faults though. You can also use 2 of the many obstacles available, and you can only use one type of bump, puddle or track marker. That doesn’t ruin it too much, as it is one of the main sectors of the game. Score: 9/10

Like before, there is a huge number of tracks to pick from. On time trial alone, there are 30 tracks to pick from, from where you race around a toilet seat, to where you race in a tree house, racing on snooker tables to racing on the breakfast table. There is a lot more than 30 tracks on the game, so it’s unlikely you’ll grumble about the number of tracks. Score: 10/10

The graphics have hardly changed, they are still it’s classic birds eye view. Well that’s really the best you can do for a game like this if you don’t want to spoil it. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s all well laid out and it’s bright and colourful cartoony graphics are definitely very good. In some cases Micro Machines 2 was a bit better, but not that much. The characters you can choose form look well animated. Score: 9/10

The music is good, where there is only music in the menus that sounds quite neat. When you are racing it has all the reacting and collision sounds, so that should get a thumbs up. Score: 9/10

The gameplay has gone a wee bit down, as it’s a bit too difficult compared to Micro Machines 2, but not too much. The tracks are challenging and none which are too boring, and there are lots of things to do. The bird’s eye view means it is not too complicated to play. You even have the obstacles that get in your way, and you have ramps to jump over and objects to avoid. Make sure you put on the brakes on the tight corners, or you will fall off the side and get left behind. All this was on the originals, but I can’t guarantee you have played on them before. The original table top racer gets a well deserved update. Score: 8/10

The life span is long, as there is lots to do. Lots of tournaments in one player, a construction kit to use your imagination to make your dream track, and multiplayer to prove to your mates that you are the master on this game. Definitely lots to do on this game guaranteed. Score: 9/10

If you will buy or rent, I suggest buy. This is a great game, although a little dated, it’s still a great classic.

This game is yet another great Micro Machines game, and a great addition to the series. If you own a Sega Mega Drive and are a Micro Machines collector, this is an essential purchase. This is another great classic on Sega Mega Drive. Overall Score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/23/03, Updated 05/23/03