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Once upon a time, there was a whipper-snapper. His name was Dizzy, and he got the console big boys in a bit of a tizzy. Under the tutelage of an impudent young company called Codemasters, he challenged the orthodoxy. And then Codies, as we affectionately know them, produced a wicked little racing game called Micro Machines. And a lot of people thought it was very smart, and a lot of people bought it.

And now... Codemasters are one of those big boys. People are prepared to take a sequel of Micro Machines very seriously - and thankfully so have the Codies. This second-parter has been in production almost since the original Megadrive success (which came a year after the NES version). Big trouble has gone into making these little cars streets ahead of their predecessors, making this the Meisterwork of matchbox mayhem par excellence.

The second Codemasters overhead racer based on the popular Galoob toy cars.

Race up to seven opponents over 26 treacherous microcosmic courses. Be first or second to qualify, and set track records.

Gameplay is basically the same in any of the game modes. Using B to accelerate and left and right to turn, make your way round some torturous curves. In single player challenge mode, it's a matter of the first two to the finish qualify for the next round. In the head-to-head mode, the game is won and lost by filling all the dots of the colour bar. You start with four, and gain or lose dots by pulling away from your opponent by a screen's length.

The multi-player games also use the colour bar, but three or four ways. Players who fall behind lose a dot and are suspended until someone gains a dot. The final option is a team championship with four teams playing in pairs for a joint victory.

The courses in the original Micro Machines were imaginative, but pretty straightforward. In the sequel, most courses hove specific hazards that can snare an unwary player, in addition to the stationary objects and narrow precipices, of course. Here's a selection:

1. Forest
   Knots. Areas of the course are weak and are dislodged by cars, leaving a potential chasm for others.
2. Pinball
   Flippers. Straying too near these risks being spanged off course by an unseen player who fancies himself as a pinball wizard.
3. Workshop
   Drills. These bits encroach on a narrow area of the course and require exact timing and positioning for safe passage.
4. Beach
   Sandspits. Narrow promontories form part of the course, but erode rapidly with each successive lap, making crossing harder each time.
5. Roadsters
   Traffic Lights. Brilliant fun - the first car through triggers a lights change, placing the laggers in the flow of oncoming traffic.
6. Musical
   Xylophone. A perilous trip over the wooden bars, with the beaters playing a tune - musically-minded players can actually work out the movement.
7. Kitchen
   Ferry. Itchy fingers have to wait as players cross a brimming sink on a slow moving sponge. Embarkation is the tricky part.

The amount of people you can have playing Micro Machines roughly equates to those you can cram into a phone box: eight. The first four of these are accomodated by the nifty J-Cart, which contains two extra joypad ports for no extra charge (as seen with Pete Sampras Tennis). This allows four-player simultaneous racing. A further four players can compete in a series of 'Mano-y-Mano' tournament playoffs.

But taking a communal gaming to its utter limit, Codemasters have designed a full eight-player game, where two people share each joypad! The technique was successfully used on Game Gear Micro Machines, and should go down a storm with 16-bit owners. The only snag we can envisage is the expense of making tea and sarnies for all those mates you'll be inviting round.

The full battery back-up effectively creates 'careers' for each of the sixteen possible players. In multi-player mode, players accumulate points over successive races. These are recorded, along with any name changes. There is also a series of practice courses where fastest laps and races are saved as records on the cart.

You get to test drive more vehicles than the average Top Gear presenter - and not just cars! As well as trucks, roadsters, sportscars, buggies, Formula racers and Tri-cycles, think on about Hovercraft courses, helicopters and boats. The different vehicles are not just for graphic variety. Each has characteristic handling - a gliding sensation for the hovercraft, a slow acceleration on the heavy vehicles, etc.

The programmers at Supersonic would be great contestants on Brucie's Generation game, especially at the end: food mixed, cuddly toy, kitchen sink - since they seem to have packed everything worth remembering into this superlative sequel to one of the greatest games ever.

Without losing an ounce of the playability of Micro Machines, Turbo Tournament sensibly expands it in every area: more characters, more players, more game modes, loads more courses, new vehicles, more scenery and new elements like traps and power ups. Neat ideas like the xylophone and the traffic pile-ups on 'Crossing Chaos' make this much more than a bigger version of Micro Machines.

The graphics are considerably smarter, as is the sound (You'll love having a horn) and only Codies could countenance an eight player mode without the need to buy any hardware save your joypad.

Great value, endless playability even for a single player, and my candidate for game of the year.

Hard as it is to believe, Micro Machines II makes its predecessor look positively tired. There are so many incredible features in this turbo-charged sequel that is will be ages before you see them all. Every aspect and option has been expanded upon, with more players, extra courses and hazards, and better vehicles - yet none of these clutter the simplistic but madly addictive gameplay. My personal favourite idea was the addition of the Micro Micro courses, where the races are even smaller and the majority of the twisting course can be seen on the screen at once.

Quite simply, Micro Machines II is the best racer since... ooh, the first one at least. By concentrating on the playability and variety, Codemasters have left the likes of Combat Cars and its kin stalled at the lights whilst this sequel roars into pole position.

Graphics 84%
P. A vast array of backgrounds, from tree tops to sandy beaches, and rendered crisp as a cucumber with caramel-smooth scrolling.

Sound 82%
P. The music is pretty damned good and the engine sounds, though whiny, suit well. The rubber-wearing screeches are worthy of Starsky and Hutch.

Playability 95%
P. One of those magic formulas of gameplay, just like the original, but benefiting from expansion in every area.

Lastability 93%
P. The battery back-up and sheer scope of the game ensure single players are well catered for. It's also multi-play dynamite.

Value For Money 93%
P. The J-Cart is the best value for money product to appear this year for the Megadrive. Even if you have the original, this is clearly worth it.

Overall 95%
Micro Machines 2 exceeded all our expectations, and they were high! This will be the game you are playing most for many months to come.