Characters and Vehicles

Characters
Frank N Stein
The product of a tortured Madman’s mind, this brain dead, looming ghoul races vehicles that are matt black and lime green. He is not murderous, he’s as tame as a kitten, but he looks as daunting as a lion.

Danger Ranger
A failed superhero. Or a failed stuntman. Whatever he is, he’s a failure. Hilarious in his attempts at heroism, this blundering idiot never quite pulls off ‘cool’. This is probably due to the fact that his underpants are pulled up under his armpits. Which is nice.

Aunt Betty
A typical dotty little old lady. Always wearing her winter overcoat, no matter what the weather, always ready to make a pot of tea, and always ready to shout ‘Bingo!’ Aunt Betty is the thinking man’s totty. At a stretch…

Elmo
A lively, but cantankerous old man, who has never been to the big city. He has lived up in the hills all his life, and wants it to stay that way. Snorts a lot, frequently loses his teeth and believes in the wilderness way.

Magenta
The dish of the day. Magenta is svelte, sexy and sci-fi. Her hair is magenta, she has big ‘come get me’ eyes, smooth hips, and a sussed, no nonsense attitude. Her vehicles are all silver and, like her, very curvy indeed. Hoo har!

Callaghan
Callaghan has been a US street cop for twenty years. ‘To protect and to serve’ is the mantra he has lived his life by since his Rookie days. He’s proud of his commitment to justice and he’s proud of his record. He’s a no nonsense tough guy, who’s passed on promotion to stay workin’ the streets he calls home.

Alligator Aberdeen
A raucous, rude, obnoxious and loud mouthed jungle explorer, Aberdeen fires off his elephant gun at all and sundry, while pile driving around the courses in his indestructible vehicles.

Miami Mike
A smarmy, revoltingly slimy and cocky 80s playboy. Everyone finds him nauseating apart from his Mother, who’s bound to be very proud. All his vehicles are extensions of his penis, which is almost certainly tiny in reality.

Vehicles
Vehicles are divided into categories that are suitable for particular kinds of races.

Standard Car
The standard car is the archetypal ‘all-rounder’ – not excellent in any one particular field, but perfectly suited to standard driving. This vehicle handles all terrain (except aqueous) adequately, and is the easiest vehicle to drive.

Sports Car
This is faster than the standard car, but not as fast as the motorbike. This vehicle loses traction and grip more easily when cornering, and takes longer to come to a standstill than the standard car.

Motorbike
While faster than the two cars, the wide turning circle and two-wheel deficit is disadvantageous in terms of traction, especially on corners. Players must master powersliding in order to be a successful racer on the motorbike. It takes a long time to come to a complete stop, and control is compromised when braking.

Off Road Vehicle
Big, heavy and the slowest of all the vehicles, the Off Road Vehicle takes the longest to reach top speed, but once it’s moving it’s virtually impossible to shunt. The turning circle is very narrow due to a four-wheel steering system, and this vehicle can take corners with no loss of grip. The braking distance is very short indeed.

Aquatic Vehicle
This handles similarly to the motorbike, with a very wide turning circle, and poor traction, so, again, powersliding is the key.

Characters and Their Vehicles
Each character has their own vehicle in each category, as detailed below.

Name Car Sports ATV M-bike Water
Frank N Stein Hearse Voodoo HotRod Hummer Chopper Nautilus
Aunt Betty Old fashioned 30s racer Army Lorry Motorbike and sidecar Row boat with outboard motor
Alligator Aberdeen Dune buggy Stock car Safari jeep Quad Swamp glider
Magenta Silver bug Silver bullet Moon buggy Spacey scooter Space boat
Elmo Pick-up Mustang Tractor Speedway Inflatable outboard dinghy
Danger Ranger Go-faster Metro Bluebird Jacked-up Allegro Rocket bike Bullet boat
Miami Mike Porsche Racing car Range Rover Sports bike Speedboat
Callaghan NYPD Police car Viper Riot van ChiPs bike Police patrol

Special Features
Hidden Vehicles
There is a fleet of extra vehicles (one per character), hidden as a prize at the end of the MicroMachines Championship Cup. Once all the vehicles have been collected, players can use them in all modes. The extra vehicle is like a hovercraft, so it can be used on all terrain.

Character Coupling
As default, the characters all have the same stats to equalise their performance. However, if the player wishes, he can choose to swap the characters set up so that they are paired off. The table below details this system, which is particularly useful for shelf life in the Bomb Tag and Odyssey modes. This means that players can have their favourite characters based on vehicle handling as well as just on aesthetics.

Character Coupling Handling Traits
Magenta & Alligator Aberdeen
Fast acceleration, low top speed, good cornering ability. For beginners.

Aunt Betty & Miami Mike
Medium acceleration, medium top speed, good cornering. For average players.

Danger Ranger & Callaghan
Low acceleration, high top speed, average cornering. For experienced players.

Frank N Stein & Elmo
Lowest acceleration, Highest top speed, average cornering. For expert players.

Race Modes and Weapons

MICROMACHINES RACE MODE (1 player)
The idea is the simplest possible: first across the finish line wins!

Time Trial
Compete in a single Time Trial race. Select the driver and circuit you want, and then try for the fastest possible time. You can choose whether to race a three lap Challenge or a Free Run before you start. Your best times will automatically be saved once the race is over.

Single Race
Select the number of competitors (up to three), your driver, and the track you want, and then put the pedal to the metal!

In this mode you get one race. So just rev up, drive off, and try to beat your opponents (controlled by the console). You can configure your opponents before the start. Once the race is over, either return to the Main Menu to choose another game mode, or race again.

Championship
Are you ready to become the champion of champions?

There are no less than four cups to win. Each cup championship involves four races. If you have scored the most points once all the races in the cup are over, the cup, the glory, and all the pretty girls you can handle are yours for the taking! Unless you’re Aunt Betty, Shudder.

Select your driver and the cup, and take your place on the starting grid alongside your rivals.
Watch out! The more you race, the harder it gets until you reach the Platinum Cup.

Bronze Cup Silver Cup Gold Cup Platinum Cup
Lofty Ambitions Up in the Eaves Def Con One
Meltdown!
Moonshine Madness Good Ol’ Boys Rivers of Babylon Jungle Fever
Crime Scene Capers Manhole Madness Moonshine Madness Good Ol’ Boys
Rivers of Babylon Jungle Fever Lofty Ambitions Up in the Eaves

Quick Start
Four contestants and only one winner. Driver and circuit are selected randomly. The rules are the same as for Single Race Mode.

MICROMACHINES MODE (1 to 4 players)
Up to four players can play this game mode. The idea is simple: all the players appear on the same screen and the player who gets out in front of all other competitors (so that they leave the screen) wins a point.

Single Race (1 to 4 players)
Compete against up to three other opponents in a single race. Select the number of competitors, your driver and, finally, your circuit. Once the race is over, you can either return to the Main Menu or start the race again.

Tournament (1 to 4 players)
Up to four players can take part in the tournament. After three laps, the player with the most points wins. There are four cups to win, and each cup tournament involves four races. If you score the most points over all the races in a tournament, victory, the cup, and a spot on the cover of a glossy sports magazine are yours! Maybe.

Select the number of players, your driver and the cup you want to compete for.

Bronze Cup Silver Cup Gold Cup Platinum Cup
Lofty Ambitions Up in the Eaves Def Con One
Meltdown!
Moonshine Madness Good Ol’ Boys Rivers of Babylon Jungle Fever
Crime Scene Capers Manhole Madness Moonshine Madness Good Ol’ Boys
Rivers of Babylon Jungle Fever Lofty Ambitions Up in the Eaves

MICROMACHINES GP (1 to 4 players)
Up to four players can play this game mode, where the screen is split into four. There are Checkpoints scattered round the circuit that you have to reach within the time limit to be able to carry on the race and make it to the finish line first.

Time Trial (1 player)
Select a driver and a circuit and try to make the best time possible. The mode – three lap Challenge or Free Run – can be chosen before you start the race.

Single Race (1 to 4 players)
It is possible to compete against three other opponents on GP Mode circuits. Select the number of competitors, your driver and, finally, the circuit of your choice. Once the race is over, you can either return to the Main Menu or start the race again.

Depending on the circuit, you may have to change your machine during the race. If this is the case, head to the hangar that appears just before the terrain of the circuit changes and head back out again behind the wheel of a new and better adapted machine.

MICROMACHINES BOMB TAG (1 to 4 players)
Watch out! The situation can get pretty explosive in this mode. Four players can play simultaneously with the screen split into four so that each player can follow his own machine. At the start of the race, one competitor (selected randomly) has a time bomb. The principle of the game is to win points by holding onto the bomb for as long as possible before it explodes - but make sure you pass it on before then! The bomb can be stolen, or transferred between machines whenever they collide. When the timer reaches zero the bomb explodes, taking the machine, and its unlucky driver with it. The winner is the one with the most points at the end.

Just select the number of players, your driver, and the circuit of your choice - and make sure you make it round in one piece!

Scoring (in MicroMachines mode only)
The principle of the game is to fill your points bar up before any other player beats you to it. The first player to score six points wins.

Winning points
You win a point each time you are the only competitor left in the race, or all the other machines have been pushed off the screen.

Losing points
You lose a point when all other competitors are so far out in front that you disappear off the screen.

WEAPONS & POWER UPS
Weapons add spice to the race, but don't forget it's the race not the fighting that really counts. To pick up a weapon, just drive over it (if you drive over another weapon before you use the one you already have, the new weapon will take the place of the old one). To use them press the R1 button.

Depending on the type of weapon, it is deployed at the front or the back of the machine.

Weapons

Bazooka
An ‘Up and Over’ style missile, the Bazooka travels in an arc until it collides with either a vehicle or a piece of scenery.

Homing Rocket
This is a front-firing missile which will lock on to an opponent’s vehicle and try to track them down. Some nifty driving is required to avoid one of these.

Fireball
This weapon turns your vehicle into a driveable fireball – your opponents had better watch out!

Electro Charge
Using this weapon will cause electricity to arc from your vehicle –anyone foolish enough to get too close will find themselves pushed out of the way.

Liquid Nitrogen
A cloud of liquid nitrogen will be dumped from the back of your vehicle; woe betide any player who drives through it – their vehicle will freeze solid, making steering somewhat difficult…

Magnet
This will add a powerful electromagnet on an extending arm to the front of your vehicle. Activating it will cause the arm to extend and grab any vehicle in front of you, flinging it back - be careful with your aim though! The magnet is reusable a total of three times.

Frying Pan
Fancy an enormous frying pan attached to your car so you can go through the level destroying any opponent who stands in your way? Pick up this weapon then! This weapon is reusable a total of three times. CLANG!

Weapon Description

Suspended Animation
This weapon is available in the GP mode only. Activating it will cause time to freeze for a few seconds – for everything apart from your vehicle. This should give you a chance to make up some valuable seconds!

Boxing Glove
Picking this weapon up will attach a boxing glove on a spring to the front of your vehicle. Pressing the Use Weapon button will cause the boxing glove to shoot out in front of your vehicle, sending any other vehicles who get in the way scattering. The boxing glove is reusable a total of three times.

Flamethrower
The vehicle that picks up this weapon will have a flamethrower fitted to the rear of their vehicle; activating it will cause a stream of flame to shoot out, affecting anyone unlucky enough to be stuck behind you.

Power Ups

Power Up Description

Turbo
Activating this power up will give your vehicle a brief, temporary speed increase.

Invincibility
This power up will render the holder temporarily impervious to damage or attack.

Universal Speed Up
Any player driving over this icon will cause everyone to experience a temporary increase in speed.