Sonic Mega Collection - daytrum

Publisher: Sega, www.sega.com

Ages: six and up.

Parental Advisory: None

Like a trip back in time, Sega's Sonic Mega Collection for the GameCube is a "must have" for long time fans of the famous hedgehog, as well as newcomers to the series. The title offers a solid collection and fun classic gameplay, but more Sonic games would have made the collection even better.

To start, the compilation serves seven classic Sonic The Hedgehog games for the Genesis that include Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic The Hedgehog 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic The Hedgehog Spinball and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. If you played these games for hours at a time some years ago, you'll be pleasantly transported to another place and time. And those who have never before discovered the frantic joys of Sonic, will find lots to like.

While most titles that are collections of old games feel as if they're squeezing new life from long dormant games, Sonic Mega Collection is more like a nostalgic review. This is, after all, Sonic the Hedgehog, a beloved and appealing character in the history of video gaming.

The amazing thing is that the games look and play as you may recall them. Using the GameCube controller, you can use the analog stick or the D pad to control the main characters. Mega Collection translates the controls so each game is intuitive to play. And if you like, you can choose different control options.

The title comes with a Sonic museum that includes an illustration gallery filled with pictures of sonic characters; some videos; a brief "history of Sonic" video; and scans of the original manuals. While there are lots of fun Sonic games in this package, missing here are such titles as Sonic CD, Sonic the Fighters, and more.

But overall, Sonic Mega Collection is a blast to the past that is still fun to play. He's still crazy after all these years.

1/20/03 www.daytrum.com editorial staff