Small & speedy

Codemasters game Micro Machines V4 is an arcade racing game that will appeal to a wide range of gamers. It's a fun diversion that doesn't require a long learning curve or any special peripherals.

You can race against computer opponents or against friends which makes this game a party and family favourite. The race tracks are set in various locations around a house such as bathrooms, kitchens and rooftops. Each offers different challenges and hazards to avoid.

The gameplay is fun and covers everything you would expect from an arcade racing game. Power slides and power ups will help the player win a race. The single player mode allows the player to play out a race campaign through various challenges (76 in total) and various difficulty levels. All in all there is a lot of gameplay here. All the time you are winning races you are also collecting micro machines and unlocking tracks. There are 750 micro machines to collect and the game allows you to trade them with friends.

The only negative I found with this game was with the camera angles. There are different race types in the game. The standard "first to complete 3 laps" mode is here and is what you would expect. The only thing missing was a radar screen to see how far ahead or behind you are of your opponents. The other mode is a kind of elimination mode. If you get a screen length behind you are eliminated from that leg of the race. This is where the camera angles get a little whacky at times. In an effort to show all the cars left in the race the camera will pan out with the lead car at the top of the screen. Then when a car is eliminated, the camera will zoom in to the remaining cars. This can be very disconcerting especially when you are the lead car. The lead car gets no warning to changes in the track and must pretty much drive by memory. As the camera zooms back in it makes driving difficult as you are left trying to match a changing camera angle to your control of the racer. This one aspect will probably cause 90% of your crashes and accidental off-track falls. But as you get used to it, you do eventually learn how to handle your car through these changing views.

With over 50 tracks to play, the game offers a lot of variety, but if that isn't enough you can also build your own tracks. The track build interface is very easy to use and you can have your own custom track built in a matter of minutes.

The game is available on PS2 (the version reviewed), PC, PSP and DS. Check out this funny ad campaign: Size Matters.

Overall this is a great game to add to your party and family favourites collection. I play tested this with both my kids (Girl 10, Boy 11) and both agreed that this was a game worth having in their collection.

Terrorists have no rules

I have changed my position somewhat on this whole middle-east mess. I originally was feeling very bad for the innocent civilians caught in the cross-fire between Hezbollah and Israel. And I still do. But where I have changed is in my feelings that Israel should back off. They should not.

If you follow the rule of not negotiating with terrorists, then Israel has little option but to destroy the threat. A softening of Israel's attacks would only give the Hezbollah terrorists an opportunity to regroup for later. Fighting terrorists is like fighting an infection. You need to administer the anti-biotic until the infection is dead and gone or else the infection grows stronger and more resilient against the medicine. The Hezbollah terrorists would use any lull in the attacks to figure out a way to come back stronger and with more determination. Israel, and any country that truly despises the spread of terror, needs to continue the battle against those that spread fear and lies around the world.