Sonic Mega Collection Plus

The Good
Sonic the Hedgehog has had other compilations of his older games in the past - Sega had already released Sonic & Knuckles Collection, Sonic Jam, and Sonic Mega Collection (the predecessor to this game, which has different extras and doesn't include the Game Gear titles) before. However, if you want to experience the blue blur's glory days and own a PlayStation 2, PC, or Xbox, this is the one to buy.

For starters, every Sonic game on the stock Genesis (aside from the obscure Meganet game Sonic Eraser and children's title Wacky Worlds Creativity Studio) is included, as well as most of the Sonic Game Gear games. The Ooze, Flicky, Ristar, Comix Zone and Vectorman for Genesis are also available as unlockable titles (some of the Sonic titles must be unlocked as well). For the price, that makes this compilation an incredible value, as it is obviously much cheaper to buy this game than to buy all of the included games seperately.

Thankfully, the emulation quality is usually top-notch. The games included mostly look, sound, and, most importantly, play like the original versions. While there are some minor flaws, you probably won't really notice them anyway. Also included are movies and concept art for the then-new Sonic Heroes and unlockable cheats and tips for each game, which are nice, albeit unoriginal, bonus features.

The Bad
Unfortunately, the bonus games are an absolute pain to unlock. I won't spoil how to obtain them - you can look it up yourself - but the procedures to unlock them are very tedious.

Also, when it comes to the games available, a few of the Game Gear games are mediocre. Sonic Labyrinth and Sonic Blast are both dismal games, and the Game Gear port of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine was pointless to include with the superior Genesis version available. The non-Sonic extras are a mixed bag, with the excellent Vectorman and Ristar, the decent Comix Zone, and the dismal Flicky and The Ooze.

The Bottom Line
Overall, this is a great value and way to visit or revisit the history of Sonic the Hedgehog. Most of the games included are excellent titles, and will give you hours of entertainment either again or for the first time.