Johnny Bazookatone

Review

by Shawn Sackenheim

While Johnny Bazookatone features your standard action/platforming bliss (albeit a little too difficult), what it offers is some of the most gorgeously rendered backgrounds and characters this side of Capcom. Also nice are the impressive character designs and level layouts.

Control is on par with Johnny maneuvering just right and not feeling too loose or too tight. You can jump or fire your machine gun guitar. You can also use a jump/fire combination to get higher int he air as well as being able to use a powerful shockwave attack.

While most of the levels take place in the Sin Sin Penitentiary, they're all diverse. From the spiked vine filled courtyard with loads of ghost-like enemies to the inner areas that have you scaling vast catwalk systems only to ride a 100 ton weight down through the ground, there's always something different, and lushly detailed, to see in Johnny Bazookatone.

Not all of the levels are your standard side scrolling fare either. Some levels have you riding a rocket powered wheelchair and navigating a molten lava-filled sewer.

Unfortunately, the difficulty is tuned to such a level that the game will be nearly impossible to all but the hardest of the hard core action/platforming fans. It really is a shame as Johnny is a gorgeous game that shouldn't be missed. If you can find it cheap or at a local rental outlet, by all means, check it out.