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

Retro Gamer
(Image credit: Future)

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.

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.”

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.

Retro Gamer Team

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
Promo artwork for Colin McCrae Rally 2005 showing a car jumping above desert sands
26 years later, Codemasters' Chris Southall talks Colin McRae Rally: "We wanted to do something that was an authentic rally experience for the hardware of the time"
Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer celebrates Capcom’s greatest fighting games
Retro Gamer 270
Amazing PS2 gifts in this month’s Retro Gamer
Artwork of blobs to promote Archer Maclean's Mercury
"Sony would also turn to Mercury for all their tech demos for publishers": Jeb Mayers talks us through the creation of the portable puzzler
Women with lovehearts above their heads yearn for the player hero in Fable
"We would look at all the American RPGs and the JRPGs at the time and just go, 'Right, if they're doing it, we're not": Peter Molyneux and John McCormack talk the development of Fable 20 years on
Quartercade Taito Bubble Bobble arcade machine with marquee illuminated sitting on woodgrain surface
Quarter Arcades Taito Bubble Bobble review: “I’m head over heels for this adorable mini arcade homage”
Latest in Racing
Mario racing on a desert track during the Switch 2 reveal trailer.
Porting Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to the Nintendo Switch was "kind of an afterthought," and now it's so popular that getting fans to switch could be a challenge
Wreckfest 2
Devs behind beloved destruction-focused racing game Wreckfest launch the sequel in early access with a trailer full of physics glitches and fatal error messages
A decorated purple car speeding head-on down a road in Toyko Xtreme Racer
Tokyo Xtreme Racer is a novel throwback to classic PS2 racing games like Midnight Club, and I can't get enough of it
Rivals Hover League appearing in the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025
The spirit of Burnout heads to the future as Rivals Hover League brings destruction derby to the skies
Japanese Drift Master appearing in FGS Live From GDC
After a years-long way, this Initial D-inspired open-world racing game is now just around the corner
Bionic Bay appearing at the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025
Check out Bionic Bay's frantic physics fueled racing in this new Future Games Show trailer
Latest in News
Mario racing on a desert track during the Switch 2 reveal trailer.
Porting Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to the Nintendo Switch was "kind of an afterthought," and now it's so popular that getting fans to switch could be a challenge
Nick Frost in Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead star Nick Frost is playing one of the most beloved Harry Potter characters for the new HBO TV show
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
The Witcher 4 and Naughty Dog's Intergalactic are reportedly skipping 2026 and won't be ready until at least the year after
Lunar Remastered Collection
"Will today’s players still enjoy a game from 30 years ago?": JRPG icon Kei Shigema says he was thrilled to see Lunar getting a remaster even after all this time
Nick Offerman as Bill and Murray Bartlett as Frank in The Last of Us episode 3
The Last of Us season 2 showrunners tease a "gorgeous" episode akin to season 1’s Emmy-nominated Bill and Frank story: "Just you wait"
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
CD Projekt boss says "cutting-edge single-player games" – you know, like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 – will "continue to enjoy great popularity" despite industry shifts