It's the lull before Christmas . . . the period in which I don't buy any new games because my family will inevitably overdose me with them come December 25th. As a result, my primary gaming companion of late has been Sonic the Hedgehog, purchased via the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console. In glorious 480p (thanks to my jury-rigged component cable built using paper clips) and upscaled by my 5.1 surround receiver, Sonic has never looked or sounded better.