Not bad for a whacked out leading man and premise

I am pretty picky about what video games I decide to play. There are games I initially scoffed at and vowed to never play. But, because of a friend who was more of an equal opportunity player, I would have a chance to play the game without actually investing in it. Surprisingly, many of these encounters changed my view towards the game and I would actually find myself developing a fondness for it. Moonwalker is a text book example of that. The idea of Micheal Jackson as the protagonist based on the premise of his Moonwalker movie/video is just as strange or if not stranger today than it was in the early 90s. My first reaction when I played Moonwalker was to laugh incessantly. After my gutbusting laughter subsided, I was surprised to see that there was actually a game to be played. The synthesized version of "Smooth Criminal" was what started to win me over. The graphics are of average Genesis grade. Nothing great or noteworthy except the animation of MJ doing his jive walk and dance moves. Sound is the main showcase here. The faithful renditions of Jackson's songs are done well. Jackson's catchphrases (if you can call them that since they are mostly howls and oohs) add to the character, but I found that they provided more comic relief than anything else. Usually a game as dressed up as Moonwalker skimps on substance for style. The controls are simple and easy to pick up. Moonwalker also provides enough challenge to keep most players playing. Don't expect to pick this game up and think it will be a breeze. I am glad I was able to get the chance to play Moonwalker and see past any prejudice I had against it. Moonwalker has always had a novelty quality to it, but also had a solid game to back it up. That doesn't happen often, but it is nice when it does.Read full review