"Sonic and low quality graphics just don't mix"

The complete failure of the Game.com is most attributed to its terrible graphics and no game shows this better than Sonic Jam. The Sonic series was definitely too complex a game to put on a puny, powerless system like the Game.com.

Sonic Jam is a compilation of Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic & Knuckles, all originally released for the Sega Genesis. Though the level designs are noticeably different in these games than their predecessors, they are still supposed to be direct ports. After you choose which game you want to play, you must then choose what character you wish to use. Unlike the originals, in all three games you can choose between Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails. The goal of the game is to collect as many gold rings as possible, while beating the boss at the end of each level. Ultimately, you want to destroy the evil Doctor Robotnik in the last level. I won't discuss the other points of this game seeing as how most people are very aware of the goals.

Graphics
The graphics show that the Game.com just wasn't ready to take on a game as powerful as Sonic the Hedgehog. The graphics slowed down. And I don't mean every once in a while. They slowed down a LOT. The graphics slowed down so much that the game almost comes to a stop. Other points of the graphics are just terrible. Since Sonic Jam is a fast paced game, the Game.com just couldn't keep up with it. The graphics were very blurry when running and it's very hard to notice enemies when running. Nothing was very well animated. The only thing that I was mildly impressed with graphically, was the fact that when Tails becomes fatigued, his face will actually accurately depict it.

Sound
Also, the sounds weren't very good. The music just mystifies me, because I have no idea where it comes from. To me it sounds nothing like other Sonic music, and it is very low quality. It even sounds like the Game.com is having trouble playing the music in more fast paced parts of the game. The sound effects are also very lack luster. They seem very poorly synced with your actions. For example, after you have touched a gold ring, the sound that denotes you picked one up is delayed by up to half a second sometimes. There was a very small amount of sound effects in this game and it was just sad.

Game Play/Replay Value
The game play just isn't fun at all. Because the Game.com really just didn't have the capabilities to display the game well, the game play really took a toll. The game is incredibly hard to play because of the crappy graphics and just isn't fun at all. I also found it silly how from a dead stop Sonic can't walk up a shallow incline. To go up almost any hill you must have momentum. Jumping occurs very slowly compared to other Sonic games. I also was very dismayed to find that there was no charged rolling maneuver, in which you would normally duck, spin your character, and then take off at a high rate of speed. For some reason even this was omitted from the game. This game isn't very fun to play at all. It's a lot easier just to buy the originals and play them! This game definitely isn't worth buying, and you won't play it too much after you get it.

Final Words
The Game.com is a sad story. It's games like this one that really brought it's value down and ultimately caused it to fail. A wonderfully popular franchise such as Sonic the Hedgehog was given a bad name in this game, and the producers just should have seen it coming.

Reviewer's Score: 1/10, Originally Posted: 02/06/06