5 Crazy Celebrity Games

Ah, the cult of celebrity. Thanks to the explosion in so-called reality TV and talent shows, it’s easier than it’s ever been to become famous, and you don’t even need to have any discernible talent- ask the Kardashians. Many celebrities lend their name to a variety of products, fragrances, clothing lines and more. Several celebrities have however been deemed worthy of starring in their very own video games. It’s surely a win-win situation- the celeb gets their mug out there on shop shelves everywhere, and the game developers can cash in on the famous name. It’s sure to result in massive sales and not crushing disappointment… right? We’re not looking at the obvious ones here- not sports stars endorsing games based on the sports they are famous for, or anything like that- nope, this list if for the more out-there examples of celebrity video games. If nothing else, you have to give the developers behind these games credit for thinking outside the box!

Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City

In the 90’s Michael Jordan had a legitimate claim to being the biggest sports star in the world. At that time side-scrolling platformers were at the high of their popularity. The result: the Basketball star getting his own adventure on the Super Nintendo. The games saw Mr Jordan on a mission to rescue fellow B-ball stars who had been kidnapped. His weapon of choice? His ball of course! Oddly enough it didn’t set the gaming world alight, and Jordan’s platforming career was cruelly cut short.

 

Go!Go! Beckham! Adventure on Soccer Island

In basically every country in the world that isn’t America, association football (soccer) is the sport of choice. There are few players in recent memory that have been better known than David Beckham, and not just because he married a Spice Girl. In 2002 he got his own game from the Game Boy Advance. A colourful platformer that bears a resemblance to Super Mario World, the game was clearly aimed at Beckham’s younger fans. Although better received than other games on this list, it was only ever released in Europe.

 

 

 

Shaq Fu

Platform games were not good enough for the mighty Shaquille O’Neal Oh no, the Shaq went his own way and appeared in the other big genre in 16-bit gaming- the beat ’em up. Shaq Fu actually came out the month before Michael Jordan’s game (apparently Basketball players were where it’s at in 1994) and appeared on multiple formats including SNES and Sega Genesis. The game featured a story mode and a versus mode much like most fighters, but was generally perceived as a bit of a mess. To this day it regularly makes appearances on “worst game ever” lists.

 

Revolution X featuring Aerosmith

This shoot’em-up game was developed by Midway and appeared in arcades back in’94, later being ported to home-consoles. What would have been a fairly standard on-rails shooter was made unique by the bizarre inclusion of the big-haired rock stars. Players had to rescue the band from nefarious forces who have banned all music and video games. The climax took place in London’s Wembley Stadium. Although the arcade game was light-gun based, all the home-console versions were released without light-gun compatibility, forcing gamers to play with a standard controller.

 

Wu Tang Clan: Shaolin style

The Wu Tang Clan have long been linked to Asian culture, so I suppose if they were to appear in a game, it would make a kind of sense for it to be martial-arts related. None the less the Playstation 3D fighter is something of an oddity. Not a standard one-on-one fighter, it allowed up to four fighters to take each other on at once, but Smash Bros it ain’t. Originally based on the engine for Thrill Kill -a game that was scrapped before release due to the controversy it generated thanks to it’s shocking content. Eventually it was repackaged as a vehicle for the rappers and this game was the result. Although the game didn’t make too much of an impact at the time it can be seen as a spiritual fore-father for games like Def Jam Vendetta or 50 Cent: Bulletproof

 

[This article originally appeared on Rant Gaming]

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