Binding: Video Game Brand: SEGA EAN: 0010086511468 ESRB Age Rating: Teen Label: "Sega of America, Inc." Manufacturer: "Sega of America, Inc." Platform: Sega Dreamcast Publisher: "Sega of America, Inc." Sales Rank: 5917 Studio: "Sega of America, Inc."
Rating: - Disappointment City :(
Well, I've gotta say that I was hella excited about the Smash Pak when I saw it on Amazon the other day; it was a great excuse to break out my Dreamcast again, right!
In a word: No. No, it wasn't. It's a great idea on paper, but the sound reproduction is astoundingly bad. I actually compared several of the games on the disc to the originals, and there are missing sounds, added sounds (what's with the ridiculous "boing" noise when you hit the jump button in Streets of Rage 2!?), scratchy samples/noises, horrid music that, in some cases, has different notes and sounds than the originals.
The graphics are fine, and appear to be pretty much perfect, however, an option for bilinear filtering or interpolation sampling to clean things up a touch would've been nice.
I suppose there are probably worse ways to spend [...].
Rating: - Sega's Golden Age
All the games in this collection were loved by everyone the day they came out. Although not all of them have withstood the test of time, this collection is still worth it especially when you consider the price. Shining Force is a classic and one of the predecessors to games like Final Fantasy Tactics. Phantasy Star II is a RPG classic that no enthusiast should be without. Streets of Rage 2 is a classic beat em up that can still be enjoyed on a slow day when you have nothing else to do. Sonic is of course Sonic but Sonic 2 would have definitely have been better. Revenge of Shinobi is fun but not as fun as it used to be. Vectorman was one of the games that proved that the Genesis still had some life when the Genesis was close to being retired. Golden Axe is fun but can get frustrating after a while. Altered Beast is fun only for nostaglic kicks since the gameplay is severely dated. Virtua Cop 2 is alright but would be better if you had a gun peripheral. Wrestle War is just boring after five minutes and it will wear your thumbs out. Sega Swirl and Columns are entertaining if you like puzzle games but in my view no one has been able to top tetris. So if you are a fan of "retro" games, this collection will definitely be worth the investment. You'll get hours of entertainments from the jewels hidden in this game. I'm still trying to beat Phantasy Star II.
Rating: - Classic games, but not a classic experience.
No doubt about it, these SEGA games are classics. It will keep you entertained for hours and hours, specially if you're playing with a friend. The only thing I didn't like was the sound. It sounds weird and nothing like the classic games. Other than that... A must have!
Rating: - Streets of Rage 2
Take it old school to your friends... Streets of Rage 2 is the highlight. You'll only use 8 of these games.
Rating: - The only way to get Virtua Cop 2 in the US without importing
The title says it all. Even without all the emulated games (with the sucky sound), you still get sega swirl (which you may already have if you have a planetweb browser 2.0 or up) And, of course, the big benefit of getting this...: Virtua Cop 2! Like I said in the title, getting this disk is the only way you are going to get this game in the US without importing (unless you have the US Saturn version, which I would assume most people reading this don't). For that alone, get this game! You won't be disappointed (just make sure you have a light gun first as you can use it with this)!
- Disappointment City :(
- Sega's Golden Age
- Classic games, but not a classic experience.
