Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection - first impressions

My copy of the Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection arrived yesterday, and I played with it for a few hours in the evening. My initial reaction:

:D

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I'm loving the Sega Megadrive Ultimate Collection for Xbox 360.

It seemed good enough when there were just 40 games in the collection, but it turned out that there are 9 more games to unlock! (Some arcade games, Fantasy Zone, and the first Phantasy Star game...)

The achievements have done their job in getting me to try and play games I hadn't played before, which is nice. Comix Zone for one looks really good and plays really well too, and I'd never heard of it before. I think I'll get a lot out of that one. Some games though..... must be included because they hold nostalgia value for other gamers but don't appeal to a newcomer like me. I'm thinking that the opposite will apply too, since I love Flicky but I don't know about everyone else!

Two slightly negative things:
* The box art in this UK version is all of US copies of the games. That's just weird! There are no notes / info pages on the bonus games either.

* I don't know whether it's the emulation or the clarity of my stereo system compared with my old equipment, but some of the sound doesn't sound right. I'm just saying because I played Fatal Labyrinth on a real Mega Drive a few months ago and the opening wasn't all uncomfortable noise. Some other moments in other games gave me that feeling too....

Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection

I just noticed that a game compilation called the "Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection" is coming out for Xbox 360 and PS3. It's out on the 20th of February 2009 and the preorder price is £24.99. Here is a list of the games on it:

# Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle
# Alien Storm
# Altered Beast
# Beyond Oasis
# Bonanza Bros.
# Columns
# Comix Zone
# Decap Attack starring Chuck D. Head
# Dr. Robotnik's MBM
# Dynamite Headdy
# Ecco The Dolphin
# Ecco II: The Tides Of Time
# E-Swat
# Fatal Labyrinth
# Flicky
# Gain Ground
# Golden Axe I
# Golden Axe II
# Golden Axe III
# Kid Chameleon
# Phantasy Star II
# Phantasy Star III: Generations Of Doom
# Phantasy Star IV: The End Of The Millennium
# Ristar
# Shining In The Darkness
# Shining Force
# Shining Force 2
# Shinobi III: Return Of The Ninja Master
# Sonic 3D Blast
# Sonic And Knuckles
# Sonic Spinball
# Sonic The Hedgehog
# Sonic The Hedgehog 2
# Sonic The Hedgehog 3
# Streets Of Rage
# Streets Of Rage 2
# Streets Of Rage 3
# Super Thunder Blade
# Vectorman
# Vectorman 2

Overall, it's a very good selection of games. I don't mind playing Fatal Labyrinth to completion so soon after the last time I beat it, but I can't see myself playing Altered Beast; that wasn't even fun the first time round, let alone now in 2009! >_<

Just the inclusion of Shining Force 1 and 2 make this compilation worth the price of admission; you will not find a 2nd hand copy of Shining Force 2 for so little money, on ebay. Even if I wasn't interested in that game, at under a pound a game, this is really good value for money. I preordered this morning and am looking forward to my copy!

(I preordered from play.com because my copy of Chrono Trigger I preordered from GAME only arrived this morning - though the game game out last Friday! It came with a bonus 2 track audio CD though, so it could be worse... but... I'm rambling off topic...)