Sonic Mega Collection Plus

Platform: PlayStation 2/Xbox/PC (Windows)
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Release: 2 November 2004
Rating: Everyone
Price: $10-13

Sonic the Hedgehog is one of gaming's Long Runners, and like his rival Mario, Sonic himself is immediately recognizable to most. While the series hasn't been relevant in years--most likely due to horrible game after horrible game--the original games remain classics. They're all very flawed, but are still worth playing, if for no reason other than their enormous place in gaming's history. Personally, I hold that most of the games up through Sonic Adventure were quite enjoyable*, and many of them are collected here. The original Sonic Mega Collection contained seven Genesis (or "Mega Drive" if you're outside the United States) titles:

• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3
• Sonic & Knuckles
• Sonic 3D Blast
• Sonic Spinball
• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (which was actually Puyo Puyo, given a Sonic-themed "makeover" for its release outside Japan)

A decent collection, though it was missing many titles, keeping it rather incomplete. However, there is the updated Sonic Mega Collection Plus, which adds six more Game Gear games:

• Sonic the Hedgehog (Game Gear version)
• Sonic Chaos
• Sonic Drift
• Sonic Labyrinth
• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Game Gear version)
• Sonic Blast
  

There are also other, unlockable games that are unrelated to Sonic (such as The Ooze and Comix Zone) which make a nice bonus.
While still incomplete, this updated collection is still an excellent value (containing both the gems and the crap) and since Sonic Gems Collection holds most of the missing games, the Sonic Mega Collection Plus is a worthwhile part of gaming history.
Over a dozen games on one disc for a price of $10 on the PC or PS2, or $13 on the Xbox makes this an excellent deal.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.

--Kotaro