Sonic Mega Collection Plus

PUBLISHER: Sega // DEVELOPER: Sonic Team // PLAYERS: 1-2 // LIVE: No // MSRP: $19.99 // ESRB: E

The Xbox never found its platforming mascot. Blinx the vacuuming cat more or less sucked, Voodoo Vince��s masochism was hardly endearing, and nobody wants to see the ugly mugs of Whacked! or Kung Fu Chaos characters again. It��s no big loss, really; cutesy platforming characters matter less and less as games and gamers, grow up. It wasn��t always like this, though: Sonic Mega Collection kicks some history on to the Xbox, returning to the height of the mascot era��the Mario versus Sonic conflict of 1991. Sega��s sassy blue hedgehog was the first real competition Nintendo��s ubiquitous plumber ever faced, and replaying these classics reveals just how he did it.

Playing the original Sega Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog feels a bit limiting, as Sonic can��t do much beyond run, jump, and spin, but his trademark speed still impresses, and more importantly, the game still looks beautiful. Searing colors, art-deco backdrops, and creative level designs combine to give the game a real sense of aesthetics��something Mario titles didn��t even begin to tackle until much later. Sonic didn��t win with gameplay; he won with style. Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic & Knuckles offer a more complete package��classy visuals, tighter control, and an arsenal of cool moves for their characters. You��ll spend the majority of your time with these top-notch titles. A few of the unlockable non�CSonic games (developed by the same core team) also impress: Ristar and Comix Zone are two of the neatest Genesis games you��ve probably never played.

Collection delivers the goods, but discriminating Sonic aficionados are better off with the superior two-year-old GameCube version: None of the games runs in full-screen mode on Xbox, while the GC versions are identical to the 16-bit originals.

07 OUT OF TEN

Copyright © 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Xbox Nation.