Sonic Mega Collection Plus.Release Date: 2004
Developer: Sega Of America, Inc.
Platform: Playstation 2
ESRB Rating: Everyone
ASIN: B0002EJ8FC
Summary:
Sonic Mega Collection Plus is a collection of Sonic the Hedgehog games. In Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic must find and defeat Dr. Robotnik and rescue the animals he has captured. In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic must again fight Dr. Robotnik, but with the help of Sonic’s new sidekick, Tails. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 introduces Knuckles, who is tricked into helping Dr. Robotnik by protecting his Death Egg and defeating Sonic. In Sonic and Knuckles, the Death Egg has been defeated and Sonic must attempt to gather all the emeralds before Knuckles or Dr. Robotnik can stop him. The player can also choose to be Knuckles while trying to stop Sonic and defeat Dr. Robotnik. Sonic 3D Blast also allows the player to be either Sonic or Knuckles and attempt to rescue an island of birds from Dr. Robotnik. Sonic Spinball is a pinball-like game featuring Sonic as the ball. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine is a stacking game where the player must match similar colored dropping beans to cause them to disappear before they overflow.
In addition to the seven games included in the original Mega Collection, this plus version contains seven classic Game Gear titles: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Labyrinth, Sonic Drift, Sonic Cards, Sonic Blsy, Sonic Chaos, and Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine. These games feature very primitive graphics and basic controls.
Critical Evaluation:
Sega has put together a great collection of games in Sonic Mega Collection Plus. It introduces younger players to games that were created before they were old enough to play them and older players can enjoy the games they played when they were younger. Putting the games all together in a series allows players to choose their favorite game or play them all in order to follow the storyline. Though the point of the game is to defeat the evil Dr. Robotnik, there isn’t any obvious violence. There is no option for adjusting skill level, but the game aren’t terribly complicated. The inclusion of the classic Game Gear games is a fun look at the early style of graphics and can appeal to anyone who loves the games of the early 90s. Playing these, a person is really struck by how far technology has come in the past 20 years. The games are no less fun for their primitiveness, either. This collection is a fun and nostalgic look at the Sonic line.
Annotation:
This is a collection of 13 Sonic the Hedgehog games, including 6 classic Game Gear titles, available all on one disc.
Developer Information:
Sega was founded in 1940 in Hawaii with the purpose of creating coin-operated games for service members stationed there. It was originally called Standard Games and later changed its name to Service Games. In 1952 the company moved to Tokyo, where the name was changed to Sega, using the first two letters of each word of its previous name. In 1956 it merged with Rosen Enterprises to form Sega Enterprises. In 1986 Sega of America, a subsidiary, was established to market to North American audiences.
In addition to developing games, Sega also develops consoles. Its first console, the SG-1000 was released in 1983. It was followed by 17 other systems released around the world, including the latest, Zone-40, a Wii-like console released in 2010. Sega’s development of consoles led to a rivalry with Nintendo. Though Sega experienced a lead over Nintendo in the early 1990s with the development of the popular Sega Geneses, it hasn’t been able to maintain the lead since then.
Genre:
Video Game
Curriculum Ties:
None
Booktalking Ideas:
N/A
Interest Age:
All Ages
Challenge Issues:
None
Challenge Defense Ideas:
If a challenge were to occur:
- Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
- If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
- Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
- Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.
Reasons for Selection:
This collection is great for anyone who loves the old Sonic games. Playing it reminded me of how much I enjoyed them when I was younger.
