I really don’t think free-to-play is as bad as its vocal haters claim it is, but I totally get that it changes games’ structures. Look at something like the soft-launched Micro Machines; if you just wanted a way to play the classic Micro Machines game on your iPhone or iPad, all the games-as-a-service shenanigans might be distasteful. Still, I think you should keep an open mind, but I get it. Change sucks. Thankfully, indie developers who just want to make cool homages to the classics and only charge you once, and small amounts at that, do still exist. Pixel Machines ($0.99) will really strike a chord with Micro Machines fans by being pretty much the same game, but with mobile-friendly and modern features.
Pixel Machines follows the idiom of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it." Pixel Machines very heavily lifts the aesthetic and feel of Micro Machines. For those who didn’t play the classic racing game, this means top-down racing with toy cars racing around tracks like a bedroom, and a kitchen table. And the controls are very loose, as you wildly skid around corners, trying to stay on the track. But considering how you’re racing on improvised tracks, maybe that’s realistic. Well, as realistic as autonomous toy cars racing around bedrooms is going to be, I suppose. So, come in with the mind that entropy is well in play here. That was always kind of the point of the old Micro Machines games, and it’s what makes this so fun and compelling. The course are unique, and unexpected things will happen, particularly with the powerups that are in the game. One modern concession made here is that the game’s AI is a bit more forgiving than it was 25 years ago. In fact, this is one of the most realistic video game AIs ever, because they screw up just like you do, and it feels a lot like taking on real opponents with everyone skidding and spinning around the courses. I’m quite worried that this game’s AI could pass a Turing test with how effective it is at being a flawed real opponent. We could have Skynet on our hands, folks.
There are only 4 tracks in Pixel Machines, and it is quite possible to beat the game, so don’t expect a whole lot of longevity just from the singleplayer content. Still, the 4 tracks nail the feeling of racing around real-world locations at giant scale. And the tracks have nice touches to them. The music workstation level has instruments you run over play notes. The kitchen level’s different food items leave differently-colored trails if you run over them. There’s a lot of little effects and touches that go a long way in Pixel Machines. I do miss having a billiards table – how about that for a future update?
Where Pixel Machines does excel is in the features department. The game features classic button controls with left/right turning, gas and brakes, which can be controlled via virtual buttons, or via MFi controllers. Always welcome to have these controls, but the steering wheel control works shockingly well too, allowing you to basically point int he direction that you want to go, automatically handling braking while turning. This pointer-esque method is also the way that you play the game on the Siri Remote for the Apple TV. Thanks to a virtual arrow, this means that the game actually handles pretty well on just the Siri Remote. Many games are utter garbage with the remote’s controls, but this game is actually quite competent.
The problem with the wheel/pointer controls comes in when you fall off the course. The spot you respawn at is kind of random, sometimes penalizing you, sometimes skipping a tricky section. So, if you don’t completely know where forward is when you respawn, you might wind up driving yourself back off a cliff before you get your bearings. That could use some work.
Pixel Machines might be a bit sparse on the singleplayer side of things, but there’s plenty of stuff to do on the multiplayer side. On Apple TV, you can get up to 8 people racing against each other using a mixture of controllers and devices in the head-to-head mode, where you get points for being the last car standing as others fall off or get scrolled off the screen. And if Game Center’s working for you, you can do 4-player races online against other people. That might not be a killer feature until iOS 9.3.2 comes out, but the fact that a $0.99 game has implemented online play is a fantastic feature. And if you don’t have any friends, you can race against up to 7 other ghosts in the game’s Challenge mode on the 4 courses. Again, this requires Game Center to be functional for you, but it’s a really cool feature.
With that idiom of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it" comes a related one: “good artists copy, great artists steal." And Pixel Machines is by and large a copy of Micro Machines, albeit a fantastic copy job – and Codemasters has shown they’re not going down this route with their mobile Micro Machines. Pixel Machines scores zero points for originality, but for features and execution, it’s top-notch, though I need that billiards course. If you have any soft spot in your heart for wacky racing around household locations, you need to check this game out.
