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Micro Machines shows off tabletop fight-o-racing

Might be fun!

That there new Micro Machines World Series [official site] actually looks like it might be fun. When Codemasters announced the tabletop racing game without even a screenshot I did worry it might be headed straight for the cheap and cheerful carousel of licensed software near the checkout. Now the first gameplay trailer is here, focused on its scrappy Battle Mode side, and hey, this does look like it might be fun.

Warning: turn your sound down a touch, as this trailer contains Brian Blessed.

Or don't. Turn your sound up. Right up. Ram your earphones deep into the canal, hold them in with your fingertips, and blast The Blesser, his bellowing becoming the last sound you'll ever hear. Something has to be the last, right? Few of us choose our final sound but you, today, have a special opportunity. Make your choice then click:

Watch on YouTube

Battle Mode is the action-oriented side of World Series, with modes including capture the flag and 6v6 deathmatch. The game will support regular racing in four-player local play and online zooming for up to 12, while Battle Mode is made for up to 12 players too.

I do like that the game is tapping other Hasbro toy lines too. One vehicle is a G.I. Joe tank, for example, while a Nerf gun is a powerup and Hungry Hungry Hippos provide obstacles in one level. In games about toys, it is always jarring that none are recognisable. I liked when Mattel toys appeared in Toy Soldiers, though not the price of those DLC packs. More real toys please, game-doers. It's probably fine that I'm so used to swimming in brands that I protest their absence, right? Give me the brands. I want the brands and the brands want me.

In the absence of Micro Machines, mind, other toy racers like Toybox Turbos and Table Top Racing: World Tour have popped up on PC. You watch your back, brands.

Micro Machines World Series is coming in June, delayed from a planned April launch.

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