Sonic Mega Collection Plus Review

7.0

Format Xbox

Developer Sega

Publisher Sega

Genre Platform

A pinnacle in my teenage gaming years - Christmas Day, 1992, and I'd just fired up my brand new Sega Mega Drive. Gone were the days of finger crossing and whispering "Please load" at my Spectrum (any noise might disturb it). I spent the remainder of the day locked in my room, being blown away by the slick speed of Sega's spiky blue mascot.

Fast forward 13 years, and us lucky Xbox owners can relive the plinky pop years with this ace collection from Sega. Featuring every Sonic title ever conceived (a staggering 18 in all, from both Mega Drive and Game Gear platforms), including Sonic The Hedgehog 1, 2 and 3, Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 3D Blast. As soon as the rings start chinging, you appreciate what fun and playable platformers they were, and indeed still remain to this day. Though a lot slower than we remember, these could still put a few Xbox titles to shame. The emphasis is just as much on exploration and collecting Golden Rings as speed, but we found ourselves recklessly blasting through levels in a bid to recapture our childhood excitement.

Whilst the other games do provide a ton of alternative excitement (the Mario Kart-esque Sonic Drift is a blast and Spinball features some zany levels), they can't really compare to the original four platformers in the series. Our pick of the bunch is Sonic 2, featuring superb, exhilarating level design and the choice of single-player or split-screen co-op, signalling the arrival of the ever-loveable Tails. There's tons of bonus material on offer including comic covers and illustrations, and the option to save your game at any point is a godsend. Old-skool maybe, but these are defining titles that younger gamers who missed out first time round really owe it to themselves to check out.

Official Xbox Magazine staff