Whether it's music or video games, there's nothing that can quite compare to the feeling you get when playing the classics. Sega recently released Altered Beast and Sonic Spinball, originally made for the Sega Genesis console, on the iPhone. While, there's nothing inherently new about these two games, playing either through the iPhone's touch screen offers a different style of play that we thought we'd check out.

For me, Altered Beast is much like the original Super Mario Bros. Both of the games I can beat quickly in a single sitting and without dying, yet for some strange reason I always love playing them. Perhaps it's because Altered Beast was packaged with the premiere release of the Sega Genesis, much like Super Mario Bros. was packaged with Duck Hunt along with the first Nintendo Entertainment System.

Even on the iPhone, changing into a werewolf, weretiger, werebear or flying dragon is always fun. You transform by collecting orbs from the blue beasts you kill. Each time you collect an orb, you will receive a power up, bulking up your muscle and eventually transforming you into one of the Altered Beasts. However, the weretiger and the werebear were always the least favorite of the transformations. As a weretiger, you could only use your special power in an up or down dash motion, which didn't make for much fun in a 2D side-scrolling game. The werebear was equally lackluster with a Petri-breath attack that didn't travel farther than you could reach.

The control layout mimics the Genesis three-button controller. There's a D-pad in the lower left corner of the screen. Then the A and B buttons, used for punching and kicking, are placed in the right corner. The C button, located above the B button, is used for jumping. The main problem with the layout is that the buttons will appear above most of the screen. Also to perform a jump kick or jump punch, you have to press the C button before the attack button, covering up part of the screen. Fortunately, you can switch the view to a smaller screen layout that places the buttons outside of the playable area. Once you do this, you can play through the game with more control, which is preferable despite the smaller game window. If you exit the game entirely, it will still remember to keep the selected view so that you can continue your game where you left off or just start an entirely new game. I'd discuss the accelerometer controls if they worked to any noteworthy capacity. Unfortunately, it will only be a hindrance in playing a 2D side-scrolling game like this.

Of course, the best part is the voice over in this game. Starting the game with the guardian saying, "Rise from your grave," and ending each board with the boss saying, "Welcome to your doom," is shear bliss.

In 1993, Sonic Spinball was one of the most creative uses of pinball gaming. Combining pinball with an action adventure was a joy to play on the Genesis. It didn't catch on as much as the major Sonic releases, but it still delighted several home gamers. Much like Altered Beast, you'll have to switch the view to the smaller game window really enjoy this title. Otherwise you'll get stuck looking at your thumb most of the time, while Sonic whips through the board.

The object of the game is simple for the most part. Use Sonic as a pinball through the Veg-O-Fortress, collecting Chaos Emeralds and bashing robo-minions. Much like in a real pinball game, your only real way of dying is falling past the two pinball flippers. However, the difference here is that there is a ledge right below the flippers, which Sonic can grab onto and work his way up. If you do, you'll have a few moments to jump back up using any of the buttons, while pressing the D-pad either left or right to reach a flipper. If you fall past the ledge and into the water or toxic ooze below, you will immediately lose a life. There is also the occasional robotic sea monster to look out for as well as boss battles with Eggman.

Unfortunately, Sonic Spinball doesn't seem to have the same spin it did on the Genesis. The game moves with some lag that takes away from the whole idea of "Sonic speed." Also, since the two flippers are set to the A and B buttons in the right hand corner of the screen, you will have to place your thumbs unnaturally close to one another to use the flippers. It's somewhat of an nuisance to shift your left thumb from the D-pad in the lower left corner to be in nearly the same position as your right thumb.

While both Altered Beast and Sonic Spinball are throwbacks, only Altered Beast really maintains the full feel of the classic game on iPhone. Sadly, Sonic Spinball which has more longevity as a game, doesn't quite hold up as a Sonic port.