Music has been a major part of video games ever since the early arcade days. Many games have featured music from popular artists to add even more prestige to their games, and games like Guitar Hero let gamers play their favorite songs on stage from their own living rooms.
Some musicians have even taken things one step further and had games made entirely about them, to some mixed results. These artists gave fans a chance to play alongside or even as them on quests that range from grounded in reality to extremely bizarre.
Journey Escape
Journey's 1981 album Escape was one of the highlights of the band's discography, featuring several of their biggest hits. The album was so successful that it even inspired its own video game on the Atari 2600 the next year. Players take control of band members as they navigate a constantly scrolling screen, dodging obstacles like groupies and concert promoters while trying to reach their spaceship.
Players won by successfully getting all 5 band members to safety. The gameplay was not necessarily innovative, but it did feature an 8-bit version of the classic anthem "Don't Stop Believing".
Spice World
The Spice Girls were a popular act throughout the 90s and still have many fans. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for their video game project, Spice World.
The game centers on preparing the titular girl group for a television performance, allowing players to choose the setlist for the performance, choreograph the group's dance moves, and operate the cameras during the performance to create a music video. The game featured several popular Spice Girls songs and could save a large number of performances to play back. While the game was poorly received, it was fairly successful when it was released.
Queen: The eYe
Queen has been one of the most enduring acts in music for decades. Having already branched out into film soundtracks, going into video games was the next logical step for them. The Queen game that fans finally got however was probably much different than they were expecting.
Queen: The eYe is an adventure game set in an authoritarian dystopia where free expression has been banned. Players controlled a man sentenced to death for discovering old rock music and must destroy the villainous eYe. While the game was not well received, its soundtrack, comprised of remixes of original Queen songs, earned it some fans.
Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style
Whether fans were expecting a kung fu beat-em-up against mystical ninjas in a Wu-Tang Clan video game or not, that's what they got in this 1999 release. Up to four players could take control of members of the legendary hip hop group as they fought to stop a kung fu master from taking over the world.
The game featured fun multiplayer combat and some incredibly over-the-top violence, along with music from the group. Shaolin Style was well received upon its release, and still has some loyal fans today. Special editions even included a controller shaped like the group's iconic W logo.
Aerosmith Revolution X
Similar to Queen's The eYe, Aerosmith Revolution X also features a classic rock band in an oppressive dystopian future. The members of Aerosmith have been captured by an evil totalitarian government, and it is up to players to rescue them. The game was a rail shooter similar to many others at the time and featured a strong soundtrack of some of the band's biggest songs.
Revolution X was first released in arcades and was considered one of the best arcade games of its time, and although later console ports would not be nearly as well received, the game was still very successful.
Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
Michael Jackson actually was featured in several adaptations of his anthology film Moonwalker, but the Sega Genesis version may be one of the most popular. Playing as the King of Pop himself, players were tasked with traversing levels to rescue children from the clutches of the evil Mr. Big.
Jackson fought enemies with his various dance moves while versions of songs like "Thriller" and "Smooth Criminal" played in the background. The gameplay was ludicrous but entertaining, and the game was released to rave reviews. It has even gone down in history as one of the hidden gems of the Sega Genesis.
Def Jam Series
One of the most prominent video games based on musicians is one that may have the least to do with their music. The Def Jam series is made up of fighting games centering on hip-hop artists. Players can take control of famous rappers like Snoop Dogg, Lil' Kim, and Ice-T as they fight their way through New York's underground.
The games are surprisingly complex, featuring impressively deep fighting mechanics that have been expanded upon as the series has progressed. With a massive cast of playable artists and multiple games to play, Def Jam is one of the most successful musician tie-ins ever.
KISS: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child
Now that KISS has been featured on just about every product and made many hilarious cameo appearances, it was only a matter of time before they got their own video game. The Nightmare Child was based on a series of comic books by veteran comic creator Todd McFarlane and featured surprisingly little actual KISS in it, actually centering on a tribute band.
The first-person shooter gameplay was enjoyable but unexceptional, and the environments and enemies were macabre enough for the source material. While certainly not a bad game, Psycho Circus is a game fans will likely either love or hate.
Iron Maiden: Legacy Of The Beast
Iron Maiden is one of the biggest and most beloved metal bands of all time and has actually been featured in several video games, with 1999's Ed Hunter being another notable example. Their current game, however, Legacy of the Beast, is proof that the band is still going strong after over 40 years.
A turn-based RPG, Legacy of the Beast allows players to fight through enemies as the different incarnations of Eddie, the band's iconic zombie mascot. Featuring customizable characters, multiplayer compatibility, and the band's epic music, the game has even seen appearances from other metal mascots.
50 Cent: Bulletproof
An odd choice for a musician's licensed game, 50 Cent: Bulletproof is also admittedly far from the strangest. Bulletproof is an action-packed crime thriller featuring the rapper going on a quest for revenge after being shot by mysterious attackers. The game's third-person shooter mechanics were mediocre, but it makes up for it with a great soundtrack of 50 Cent's music and a surprisingly solid, if a little on the nose, story.
Bulletproof was popular enough to even receive a sequel in 2009's Blood on the Sand, which reviewed slightly better. Both games are seen by many critics and fans to be very flawed, but admittedly a lot of fun.