You may remember a succession of highly popular Micro Machines games from Codemasters, dating back to the dusty Sega Mega Drive and finishing with 2000's Micro Maniacs on PSone. Infogrames has since snapped up the licence, resulting in Micro Machines crashing onto the not-so-micro Xbox.

Despite new parentage, things haven't changed all that much but as the honest mechanic would say: "If it ain't broke..."

For the few unfamiliar with the game, a Micro Machines 101 summary lesson is in order. The game is top-down racing, with tiny cars zooming around oversized tracks. In previous games, courses have been carved out on kitchen tables and desktops that naturally have hazards much bigger than your tiny car. Think tomato ketchup bottles and open books as tiny tunnels, and you'll have a good idea of the formula - miniature racing with simple controls on madcap maps - that has been retained for the Xbox incarnation of Micro Machines.

Players have a choice of eight different cartoon-style characters, including a failed superhero, an 80s playboy, an American cop and the obligatory Frankenstein-like monster that seems to pop up in every game of this kind. Each character has a choice of five vehicles, tailored to their own style - the playboy drives a Porsche, the cop has a squad car, and so on.

Vehicles change depending on the track you're racing. Although only really a token gesture, vehicle types do have slightly different driving physics; it's harder to corner with the boat, the bikes are very quick and the off-road vehicles have better handling.

At the start of the game there's a choice of eight tracks, with additional courses unlocked by winning the Championship stages. The tracks are ace. Where else can you get the sheer nuttiness of racing over a fat man asleep on the beach or around the chalked outline of a dead alien in the 911 stage? D Track features (like crabs snapping at the drivers on the beach level) can have an effect on your performance, but in truth much of the scenery is cosmetic - on screen purely for aesthetic reasons rather than having any influence on the actual game.

Unfortunately, a very dim view is taken of short cuts, with your vehicle often automatically blowing up if you try and sneak an advantage.

This is a bit of a shame, as we think this type of fun-based driving title should have less rigidly enforced rules.

As with most driving games, there are various modes of play all based on the one existing theme of racing. In single-player, worth mentioning is the Micro GP, where a slightly different view is used (the camera is closer to the car and behind it, rather than always top down).

But you also get to race through gateways that automatically transforms one type of vehicle into another - from a car to a bike, for example.

But the real deal is in multiplayer. With four players, Micro Machines is a blast; quite literally the case in the Bomb Tag feature.

In addition to the normal racing options, lots of fun and plenty of laughter is guaranteed as your mate goes boom after you tag him with the bomb at the last second.

For what it is, Micro Machines is expensive and somewhat shallow. But it's also undeniably simple and addictive fun that retains an appeal for its quick jolt of madcap frantic racing. With a few friends, everything easily develops into raucous shouting matches in multiplayer. All told, this is a fun game that'll get played after the bell at school, or after the bell at the pub, but not that often at any other time.

1. Frantic, playable multiplayer fun
2. Oh-so-easy to pick up and play
3. A great party game

1. Scenery could be more interactive
2. Not much single-player lifespan

Power
Nothing special. An optional first-person view would've been nice, and load times are a bit long.

Style
The tracks are obscure fun and the characters' personalities are pretty amusing.

Immersion
It's a quick fix game, not one for epic racing adventures or career mode progress.

Lifespan
Later races are tricky, but it may sit gathering dust unless you often have mates over.

Summary
A game offering disposable fun by sacrificing longevity for the sake of arcade action and short-term entertainment.