Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • GamesRadar+ Replay
  • Mario Day deals
Don't miss these
James holds the Alice stuffie in concept art by Jean Walter
Adventure Games Alice Madness Returns creator American McGee is making a spiritual successor, and he's not worried about EA
Pokemon Red and Blue key art
Pokemon OG Pokemon devs struggled to fit their iconic RPG onto a Game Boy cartridge: "It was a fight against capacity"
Screenshot from Ratcheteer DX, showing a GBC-style cave with four pixelated characters finding warmth around a fire.
The Legend of Zelda The Legend of Zelda-esque game mimics the GameBoy to GameBoy Color transition, goes from retro handheld to PC and Switch
Hand holding Anbernic RG Cube with gameplay from Zelda: Oracle of Seasons intro on screen.
Retro Best retro handheld 2026: my portable picks for playing the classics
Evercade Alpha closeup with Ryu from Street Fighter on screen
Retro Best retro consoles 2026: my favorite ways to play classic capers
DS
Games The 25 best DS games of all time
ACEMAGIC Retro X5 mini PC on woodgrain desk with X5 text above and blurred NES box art in backdrop.
Desktop PCs It's no Steam Machine, but if you've got a grand to splash on a tiny rig, I'd check out this NES-inspired mini PC
Hand holding Super Pocket Data East Edition with Super Burger Time on screen.
Retro The Super Pocket is down to a no-brainer price, but I'd hang fire if you prefer N64 platformers like Banjo-Kazooie
best GBA games: A screenshot of someone playing Pokémon on a Game Boy Advanced.
Games The 25 best Game Boy Advance games of all time
Pokemon Red and Blue key art
Pokemon "We had no idea this would be such a phenomenon": As Pokemon Red and Blue turn 30, here's how Game Freak created one of the most important RPGs of all time
Best Sega Saturn games
Retro Best Saturn games of all time from Die Hard Arcade to Panzer Dragoon Saga
Dreamcast
Games The 25 best Dreamcast games of all time
Tony Hawk on the cover of the GBA edition of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Sports Games $1 million in debt, devs on handheld Tony Hawk's Pro Skater saved the company by pitching an impossible port
Gametank console plugged into CRT with Accursed Fiend game on screen.
Retro The Gametank just smashed its crowdfunding goals, and I'm thrilled at the idea of a new 8-bit retro console in the big 26
Star Wars Galactic Racer big preview
Racing Games Star Wars: Galactic Racer makes more sense for the Star Wars universe than Palpatine somehow returning ever did
  1. Games
  2. Racing

The latest Retro Gamer outlines how pub breaks led to Micro Machines’ best levels

News
By Ali Jones, Retro Gamer Team published 10 January 2022

Plus, a look at how Psychonauts started life as a Full Throttle fever-dream

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Retro Gamer
(Image credit: Future)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Issue 228 of Retro Gamer is on sale now and features a look back at the evolution of Codemasters’ Micro Machines franchise. 

Andrew Graham, Paul Perrott, Colin Nicholls, Joel Beardshaw, Mark Neesam and Steve Holley are just a few members who have been involved with the classic series since it launched on the NES in 1991. Originally starting off life as a top-down dune buggy game by Andrew Graham, the game evolved when Galoob’s Micro Machines licence was attached to it and Paul Perrott was brought in to create the games graphics. The two-man team worked in a portakabin at the back of a farmhouse in freezing weather conditions. “We used to play the game, and whoever lost had to brace the weather, go to the farmhouse and bring back coffees!,” laughs Perrott.

  • Get a first look at the best retro delights by subscribing to Retro Gamer today

Micro Machines proved to be an incredibly popular multiplayer game with the miniature vehicles racing on all sorts of crazy locations, including baths and back gardens. “The level designs were just whatever we thought of down the pub,” admits Perrott. “I literally suggested the pool-table level as we were playing pool there.”

You may like
  • Close up of My Arcade Outrun edition with mini steering wheel in glass cabinet at CES 2026. A bunch of new Sega mini arcade machines are inbound
  • Grim Fandango "The physical world gave us possibilities we didn't have before": How Grim Fandango's 3D world revolutionized PC gaming
  • A zoomed in screenshot of Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition showing Rayman punching a Dark Rayman copy in the cake world I didn't expect obscure level pack Rayman Designer to be my biggest nostalgia trip of the year, but it's become the highlight of this anniversary collection for me

In addition to covering the hit original, our feature looks at all the later games in the series, including Micro Machines 2, Micro Machines Military and the more recent Micro Machines: World Series. It’s an essential read for anyone that has enjoyed the series.

More highlights of issue 228 include an interview with Tim Schafer about the Psychonauts series, a look at the many videogames released to tie-in with Frank Herbert’s Dune and a look at the controversial arcade game Chiller and Doctor Who And The Mines Of Terror. We also have exhaustive Ultimate Guides on Streets Of Rage 3, Beach-Head and Ridge Racer Revolution and discover how Electronic Arts turned Peter Jackson’s The Two Towers into a classic hack-and-slash game.

Issue 228 of Retro Gamer is on sale now. You can buy it from Magazinesdirect.com or subscribe.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming Nintendo Switch Xbox Series X Xbox One PS5 PS4 Platforms Nintendo Xbox PlayStation
Retro Gamer Team
Retro Gamer Team
Social Links Navigation
Retro Gamer Staff

Retro Gamer is the world's biggest - and longest-running - magazine dedicated to classic games, from ZX Spectrum, to NES and PlayStation. Relaunched in 2005, Retro Gamer has become respected within the industry as the authoritative word on classic gaming, thanks to its passionate and knowledgeable writers, with in-depth interviews of numerous acclaimed veterans, including Shigeru Miyamoto, Yu Suzuki, Peter Molyneux and Trip Hawkins.

Read more
Close up of My Arcade Outrun edition with mini steering wheel in glass cabinet at CES 2026.
A bunch of new Sega mini arcade machines are inbound
 
 
Grim Fandango
"The physical world gave us possibilities we didn't have before": How Grim Fandango's 3D world revolutionized PC gaming
 
 
A zoomed in screenshot of Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition showing Rayman punching a Dark Rayman copy in the cake world
I didn't expect obscure level pack Rayman Designer to be my biggest nostalgia trip of the year, but it's become the highlight of this anniversary collection for me
 
 
Evercade Alpha closeup with Ryu from Street Fighter on screen
Best retro consoles 2026: my favorite ways to play classic capers
 
 
Rayman 2: The Great Escape main character smiling and running
How Rayman 2 "offered 2D gameplay situations in a 3D environment" to get the best of both worlds
 
 
Destroy All Humans!
"Instead of being 80% UFO and 20% on foot, we flipped it": How Destroy All Humans' sci-fi action oddity conquered all
 
 
Latest in Racing
Star Wars Galactic Racer big preview
Star Wars: Galactic Racer makes more sense for the Star Wars universe than Palpatine somehow returning ever did
 
 
Mario Kart Arcade GP key art, with Pac-Man and Mario racing against each other
Nintendo's forgotten Mario Kart game is finally playable again as the best GameCube emulator gets even better
 
 
Forza Horizon 4
Creating a new studio with former Forza and Codemasters devs is like "taking the best singers from the best boy bands"
 
 
Big in 2026 - Star Wars Galactic Racer
The Outer Rim is your highway in Star Wars Galactic Racer, but it's more than Burnout in space
 
 
Forza Horizon 6
Forza Horizon 6 is going full anime with Initial D-inspired Touge Battle mode and a full-sized Gundam
 
 
Forza Horizon 6 gameplay screenshot
Forza Horizon 6 adds Assassin's Creed Shadows-style base where you can build anything, if you fund it with tofu delivery
 
 
Latest in News
Dragon Quest 11
Dragon Quest creator says English is "a simple language," so "the flavor tends to get lost" when translating games
 
 
Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem is too scary for series veteran Hideki Kamiya, who argues Capcom "should make a 'non-scary' mode"
 
 
Yoshi and the Mysterious Boook screenshot of Yoshi smiling with eyes closed
The next big Switch 2 exclusive, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, gets a May release date out of nowhere
 
 
Monkey D. Luffy looking confused on an island in One Piece Egghead Island
One Piece season 2 answers a near 30-year-old manga mystery in surprisingly straightforward fashion
 
 
Runescape
MMO raises subscription prices less than 2 months after ditching microtransactions, causing a RuneScape fan revolt
 
 
One Piece
One Piece season 2 is a live-action adaptation to treasure as it debuts to perfect Rotten Tomatoes score
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Monkey D. Luffy looking confused on an island in One Piece Egghead Island
    1
    One Piece season 2 answers a near 30-year-old manga mystery in surprisingly straightforward fashion
  2. 2
    Corsair's two best gaming chairs have been hit with discounts in Amazon's Spring sale
  3. 3
    Resident Evil Requiem is too scary for series veteran Hideki Kamiya, who argues Capcom "should make a 'non-scary' mode"
  4. 4
    The next big Switch 2 exclusive, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, gets a May release date out of nowhere
  5. 5
    MMO raises subscription prices less than 2 months after ditching microtransactions, causing a RuneScape fan revolt

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...