27 December, 2007

Review: Jaws Unleashed

Jaws Unleashed (2006 Appaloosa Interactive) was a game made to cash in on the 30th anniversary rerelease of the movie that destroyed Hollywood. (The initial weekend receipts proved that you could make huge money on the strength of marketing and a wide release.)

Gameplay
For a game about eating stuff, the controls are surprisingly complicated. You have separate buttons for biting, tail thrashing, ramming, shark vision, targeting, target switching, and body part targeting. Oh and there's a dodge button as well. It's a little ridiculous. But then, that's par for the course as you'll often find yourself grabbing explosive barrels and spitting them dozens of meters to accomplish your goals.

The objectives are fairly varied. You'll eat some people. You'll fight people or sea creatures. You'll navigate dangerous waters (sometimes against the clock). You'll blow stuff up. None of these objectives has much depth, but the variety was appreciated. Trying to navigate the occasionally cramped spaces and wrestling with the targeting system are the most persistent challenges. I tried to target as little as possible (only when I wanted to chomp heads to kill a lot of people quickly). Sometimes it was difficult to figure out what you were supposed to do, as well. Turning on shark vision often helped with that, but I did have to consult FAQs a few times.

In an attempt to add a little more depth to the game, there's also an upgrade system to make you faster, stronger, and healthier. It felt mostly tacked on.

Theatrics
This is probably the best part of the game. It may help that I have a curved, gray, textured mouse, but the feeling of controlling a giant, speedy ocean predator is pretty cool. I would waste time knocking guys off their jet skis or flipping their catamarans just because. And don't get me started on the water skiers. The amount of sea life they put in the game just for you to chomp on between missions is really impressive, too. I ate a walrus. How awesome is that?

Aesthetics
Appaloosa Interactive made the Ecco the Dolphin games, and they obviously leveraged some of that expertise here. The only problem is that the game has a distinct lowest common denominator feel (read "It was coded with the PS2's limitations in mind."), so the draw distance is pretty short, and the models and textures don't always look that great. The sea creatures are generally good, but everything else feels half assed.

Final Score
3 of 5

Ride the walrus!



To victory!

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