To be this good takes AGES.
The problem is, Sega were this good 25 years ago.
Isn't it time to get better?
Yes, it's that time again, another compilation of games released 25 years ago.
This kind of thing should make me happy, shouldn't it?
It should make me moist with excitement.
But we've seen it time and time again.
Maybe this time, things are different, maybe this is the compilation to end all compilations.
Urgggh, it's the Mega Drive again.
You know, I'd really like to see a Sega Saturn, or a Sega Dreamcast compilation for a change.
Maybe even a compilation dedicated to the Master System.
That would be amazing.
But I know, the Mega Drive (or Genesis if you prefer) was their most popular console
and it's a cash cow, but I think it's time for slightly newer compilations.
People are thirsty for it.
Still, that intro animation I've seen flying about looks all kinds of awesome.
Let's approach this as a fresh piece of paper.
The game is developed by D3T.
A work-for-hire development group who have helped with a number of well known titles,
but with few games completely attributed to them.
Although they have listed the classics collection as SEGA Mega & Genesis Drive Classics.
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?
Errrr.
Well, this isn't going as smoothly on the Xbox as I'd hoped.
I've recorded this intro several times, and after several cold boots, and still it stutters,
putting the rest of the intro out of sync.
Maybe this is the fault of my Xbox ONE S. Maybe I need one of those powerful fangled
X editions to run it competently.
Or maybe it's just a glitch in this release, that will be fixed for the public release
on the 29th of May 2018.
Anyway, let's get to the gaming.
Immediately we're thrust into a kid's bedroom, to bring back those nostalgic memories.
Those of you sharp of wit, may also receive some memories starting from 2010, when a series
of Mega Drive Classic volumes were launched for Windows.
They're currently available through Steam, using the same interface as this console release,
and that's because, they're pretty much the same thing, albeit ported across with the
odd tweak.
The room is a little different, we've got some improvements such as emulation options,
but also, it's not quite up to the PC in terms of graphics, or attention to detail.
Check out the flickering from the TV on the PC version....
I like it.
A more pleasing tweak is the price.
Whereas through Steam, each game you wanted was essentially DLC.
This new outing comes with 50 games on the slate.
Although on the downside, not all the games available through the PC edition are here,
whether because they'll be released later as their own DLC, or because of licencing
I couldn't tell you.
Although given Sega have to pay royalties for parts of the Sonic sound track, you'd
assume they simply didn't want to fork out for Sonic 3.
But regardless, it's still one of the titles you can get through Steam.
You can also install MODs through the PC version, which is pretty darn awesome.
Anyway, let's have a look around.
There's some detail to this environment.
We've got a Super Soaker clone under the desk there.
A couple of posters.
It would be nice to be able to customise this room, maybe put up some Spice Girls posters,
even be able to swing that Golden Axe around and wreck up the place, but unfortunately,
you can't.
One nice feature is how the time of day also syncs with your own, so you can play in the
middle of the day, or at midnight.
You can also set this time manually, perhaps allowing you to re-create that early hour,
just before school, when you could get half an hour of gaming in before grabbing some
Ready Brek and speeding out of the house to catch the register (or not).
Also, before we do anything else, I need to get rid of these floating labels.
They just look crap.
Next to the TV we've got a phone laying on the floor.
This is our gateway to online multiplayer.
You can simply turn multiplayer on, then when someone else is online, you can challenge
them to a match.
When this happens the challenger takes control of proceedings, and the opponent simply acts
like they're holding the second control pad in a local match.
It's a nice setup which works well, but there aren't many people around to challenge pre-launch,
so let's move on.
Over here are your achievements and leaderboards.
Some of these I've already earnt, such as this one...
"WHAT ARE THE BUTTONS?".
The amount of times I've played a game and used the special weapon first is ridiculous.
The leaderboards are currently filled with people who have review copies of the game.
Looks there's RGT85.
It's also the only time I'm ever likely to appear on these boards, so I took the time
to enjoy this.
Back over here we've got audio settings, which opens up a screen where we need to press A
again to actually get the audio settings, before realising there's nothing here worth
adjusting anyway.
Up on that shelf are the credits, alongside a Magic 8 Ball and some refined literature....
Y2K, THE LIE....
The Interweb, Invest Now...
Ahhh, now there's some illuminating hindsight.
Cassettes: A Dying Medium - YOU TAKE THAT BACK.
Down here we can change our controls and the emulator settings.
We've got quite a lot of options, but we'll get to those in a bit.
including tweaking the border art, and even enable MIRROR mode where everything is reversed,
including your controls.
It's quite nice for freshening up proceedings.
OK...
TO THE GAMES.
Here's the entire collection.
It's not bad, but like I say, there are key omissions.
Likewise, there's also a fair amount of crap games.
Any which you don't consider crap, can be placed in a favourites section at the top
left of the shelving.
The rest, you can leave to rot, or maybe fire up to remind yourselves of the worst Sega's
16 bit era has to offer.
Whilst we're in the rack, we can look at individual leaderboards and achievements, whilst also
being able to choose the region on selected games.
It's a nice feature.
It means we can turn Streets of Rage into the Japanese Bare Knuckle on a whim.
Right.
I'm going to dig into the Golden Axe series, and explore some of these emulation modes
a bit more.
We get a lovely insert animation to kicks things off (ohhh baby), although the cartridge
label isn't authentic.
It would be nice to have the correct labels, especially for each region.
In fact it would be nice to see the box art as well, rather than this locked side on view.
But ANYWAY, by default we're launched into a full screen environment, I'm using the Mega
Drive tessellated square design borders here, although if you're not a fan, there are a
few options to choose from.
But in all honesty, I prefer the view from in front of the TV, and not just because it
feels more 90s.
The graphics actually look better in this view.
Here's Golden Axe II - very similar to the first outing, but with some notable improvements.
Now, here I'm playing with the standard pixel perfect graphics, but some of these other
modes are actually quite nice.
Bilinear just blurs pixels together, and as you'd imagine, it just makes everything a
bit fuzzy.
EPX algorithmically quadruples the pixel count, creating an image probably more suitable for
today's huge screens.
HQ4X is similiar, but also anti-aliases the output, creating smooth diagonals... and
XBR is like HQ4X but works better for complex patterns, and actually works really well.
Especially if you turn scan lines on.
Now this feels more like the CRT experience I remember.
Everything looked smoother on a smaller, CRT screen, so although turning filters off is
true to the original coding, it's not how we would have really experienced it on a 14"
CRT.
Anyway, lets go back to pixels.
We can also change the TV projection as well.
This is how curved the screen appears, again helping recreate the CRT experience, but this
really doesn't work in full screen mode, nor do scanlines.
In fact, it won't display scanlines full screen, even if it's turned on.
But at least you can still use drastically unmatched border designs.
YEAH.
FUNKY.
Perhaps wood-grain is more appropriate here.
What other options do we have?
Ahhh yes, MIRROR MODE.
Where the entire game is flipped horizontally.
Thankfully the controls are also flipped, so it's still playable.
An interesting feature.
It's actually quite refreshing to play games in reverse.
It feels like a new experience.
Although with some, the experience is pretty much identical.
Another interesting option is to Disable the Sprite limit.
I think the idea here is to eliminate the sprite flickering associated with having more
than 20 sprites on given line.
In fact we can see this in operation.
Sonic the Hedgehog pro-actively uses this limit to hide part of Sonic's body on the
Title screen.
If you remove it.
Bingo, you can now see his belly hanging over the title screen... along with a disturbingly
pumped arm.
Jesus Sonic.
Talking of which, let's move onto Sonic.
Now the level select cheat can be made to work here, but getting it right is more finicky.
Whereas the Megadrive is pretty forgiving when you hit A and START together.
Here, you need to hit A just before START, otherwise you'll get thrown straight into
green hill zone.
If you get it right, then you'll find yourself in Star Light Zone, because that's where everyone
goes, simply to enjoy the soothing music.
Which brings me onto SOUNDS.
Now, there are recognisable differences with the emulated sound here.
Take the spinning goal post sound here....
Here's what it should sound like....
Now, it's hardly going to ruin your week.
But it's a reminder that this is emulation and there will be differences.
What might ruin your day more is the noticeable slowdown and stuttering as you play.
It's not prevalent, but it does happen, and it's enough to irritate you mid flow.
Come on guys, we're using hardware many, many times more powerful than the Mega Drive, at
least use an emulator that doesn't get congested in it's own code.
But perhaps I'm nit-picking.
Once again, I'm taking a fun collection of games, and squeezing that enjoyment right
out of them.
But then, there aren't that many games which I really enjoy here.
I mean, there are enough for me to be content with.
Possibly even enough to pay the £25 asking price.
After all, you're getting 50 games for the price of one.
But I'm yearning for more.
I want to see a Mega CD attachment under that Mega Drive.
I want to be able to play Sonic CD, Lethal Enforcers and Night TRAP.
I don't want to be shacked up with Virtua Fighter 2, Alex Kidd and Phantasy Star for
the REST OF MY LIFE.
But let's end on some good points.
With the XBR Smoothing mode on and scan lines, games like Beyond Oasis look absolutely sublime.
Look, it's like experience the graphics of Aladdin all over again.
When it felt like a playable cartoon in your living room.
You can have a matching border for Sonic the Hedgehog.
Although it would have been nice to have appropriate borders automatically switch in.
You can rewind and fast forward action using the controller triggers.
Although you can't rewind, then fast forward to where you were again.
Once you rewind all forward progress is lost.
BUT, you can play the game whilst holding fast forward, if standard speed is just too
slow (GOTTA GO FAST).
Also, if you want to know what a ZX Spectrum game sounds like, then all you need to do
is rewind Sonic.
You can of course, save and reload games, with several save slots for each title.
You can even do a fast save and load using the right analogue stick.
You can Stare at the TV screen static for hours, contemplating life.
Seeing things in the chatoic cosmic background radiation.
Maybe the hand of god.
The face of Sauron.
Then after that you can play some
more Mega Drive.
It is what it is.
It's a collection of good and bad playable 16 bit games.
If you go into it looking for enjoyment, you'll get enjoyment.
If you go into it like a nitpicking bastard - like myself - you'll walk away sour, and
in a state of discontent.
The choice is ultimately yours.
But no matter how much grief I may bestow upon compilations like this.
This isn't a terrible one by any stretch of the imagination, and I had a pleasing amount
of fun re-living these old titles.
Well, some of them, at least.
Thanks for watching!
For more infomation >> ♫ Where Them Mobs At - Paroles FR ♫ - Duration: 3:55. 
For more infomation >> Growtopia | The Price Is Right ft. Youtubers - Duration: 13:15. 
For more infomation >> ខុសជំនាន់ - Tena [Official MV] តើអ្នកណាខ្លះខុសជំនាន់? - Duration: 8:24. 
For more infomation >> Mystery Show "Conditional Free Will" LIVE 10pmUK 26th May - Duration: 1:32:46. 
For more infomation >> North and South Korean leaders hold surprise meeting - Duration: 2:07. 
For more infomation >> FORTNITE// TURNING INTO A PS4 PRO PLAYER!!! - Duration: 2:38:32. 
For more infomation >> 🎧Jahrein Şarkıcı Ezhel'in Hapise Girmesiyle İlgili Açıklama🎧 - Duration: 0:30. 
For more infomation >> محمد صلاح من صعوبات الفقر في مصر الى افضل لاعب بالدوري الاقوى في العالم - Duration: 8:07. 
For more infomation >> Aloe Blacc - Make Way (Inas Nacht - 2018-05-26) - Duration: 3:50. 
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét