Sonic Mega Collection Plus (Video Game)

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.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Video Game)

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
Release Date: 2007
Developer: Activision Blizzard (Formerly Activision, Inc.)
Platform: Playstation 2
ESRB Rating: Teen
ASIN: B000TGB4V4

Summary:

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is the fourth Guitar Hero title released by Activision. It’s the first video game to exceed a billion dollars in sales and the best selling title of 2007. Players use a guitar-shaped controller with five colored buttons and a whammy bar. When the notes appear on the screen, the player presses the appropriately colored button to play the song. The player can choose easy through advanced levels of play. The game offers several different types of playing options. The single player career mode allows a player to complete all the songs in a level before being allowed to advance to the next level. The co-op career mode is similar, but players work together to complete the songs. The other multi-player options include a face-off and pro-face off where the players compete while playing the same song. The multi-player battle option is similar, but with the added bonus of power-ups and other tricks that can be used to attack your opponent in order to cause them to mess up. Songs in this version include "Anarchy in the U.K" by The Sex Pistols, "Barracuda" by Heart, "Hit Me With Your Best Sho"t by Pat Benatar, "My Name is Jonas" by Weezer, "School’s Out" by Alice Cooper and 68 other songs by bands the game makers classify as legends of rock.

Critical Evaluation:

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, like all of the Guitar Hero line, is a really fun game. The original line was such a unique idea for a video game. It also has a pretty wide appeal, since many of the traditional elements of video games are missing. There is no violence, little strategy needed, and it isn’t specifically targeted to either males or females. It’s a game that can be very simple or very complicated, depending on the player’s skill level; no player is left out because of lack of skill. The best part of the game is definitely the battle mode. Multi-player on its own is pretty fun, since the two players can work together or compete, but still play on their own skill level. When battle mode is introduced, they are given the option of “attacking” the other player with power-ups that can snap a guitar string, flip the notes around backwards, and many other tricks designed to cause them to mess up. This change in competition can give less skilled players an advantage, as well as just mixing up the typical game play. It’s also enjoyable to listen to the songs, rather than the typical annoying video game music. Players can hear old favorites or be introduced to new music. The use of both classic and contemporary rock ensures that there is something for all ages of rock music lovers. This is a game that players can enjoy either alone or with a group of friends or family.

Annotation:

You can be your favorite rock star with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Developer Information:

Activision is currently one of the largest third-party publishers of video games. It was founded on October 1, 1979 by Jim Levy, Richard Muchmore, and four programmers who left Atari. It was the world’s first independent developer of video games for consoles. Levy chose to promote the programmers and developers for their contribution, which wasn’t common at the time. They also led the way in developing platform games, with their development of Pitfall! in 1982. In the late 1980s, Activision attempted to develop other types of software, but decided to go back to focusing solely on videogames in 1992.

While developing other types of software, they change their name to Mediagenic. After a multimillion dollar patent settlement, they were taken over by an investor group, reorganized, and changed their name back to Activision. In 2008, they merged with French company Vivendi and changed their name to Activision Blizzard.

Genre:

Video Game

Curriculum Ties:

Music: Rock

Booktalking Ideas:

N/A

Interest Age:

13 and older

Challenge Issues:

Alcohol references
Sexual references

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• 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 is part of a popular video game line that appeals to all ages and sexes. It also appeals to people who don't typically play video games.

Boom Blox Bash Party (Game)

Boom Blox Bash Party.
Release Date: 2009
Developer: Electronic Arts
Platform: Wii
ESRB Rating: Everyone.
ASIN: B001TERJD2

Summary:

Boom Blox Bash Party has both single-player and multi-player options. The multi-player options include the ability to play cooperatively, competitively, or in teams. Each level includes a stack of blocks that they player must either knock down or add on to. The player has the option to throw items at the stack, grab the blocks, sling them, or explode them to knock them over. To build, the player can grab the blocks and stack them on top of each other. The levels become progressively harder as the player goes along. In competitive mode, the player must attempt to beat the other players by either toppling the blocks faster or being the last one with a tower standing. The game also includes the option of building levels. In this, the player can use items and rule options to create their own playing levels, either from scratch or from a preset template.

Critical Evaluation:

This is a game that will not only be enjoyed by teens, but their parents and younger siblings, as well. With the popularity of video game play among teens, the ability to appeal to all generations and allow for family play is an advantage in a game. The versatility of offering single-player mode as well as competitive or cooperative multi-player mode offers options that can satisfy any playing situation. The levels require some strategy to complete them, but they are neither so simple that they are boring, nor so complicated that they become frustrating. The ability to switch between several play “locations” with multiple levels of difficulty allows players to skip over any levels that they find too difficult or not enjoyable. The option to create levels is particularly enjoyable, as it isn’t a common inclusion in video games. It can provide endless opportunities, even after the player has completed all regular levels of play.

Reader's Annotation:

Bash, sling, and topple block structures in this single or multi-player game.

Developer Information:

Electronic Arts (EA) is an international developer and distributor of video games. It was founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins. By 2000, it had become one of the world’s largest 3rd party game publishers. Their most successful products are sports games published under the name EA Sports, though they also publish the popular Sims and Call of Duty, as well as fantasy games like Harry Potter. EA is notable for its promotion of the designers and programmers who work on its games.

John Riccitiello has been the CEO of EA since 2007. His success with the company is often attributed to the fact that he is a gamer, himself. EA currently has 29 subsidiaries across multiple countries.

Genre:

Video Game

Curriculum Ties:

None

Interest Age:

6 and older

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 a game that can appeal to teenagers as well as their parents and younger siblings.