Jaws Unleashed
Encyclopedia
Jaws Unleashed is a 2006
video game licensed from the 1975
motion picture, Jaws
. It was developed by Appaloosa Interactive
(developer of the popular Ecco the Dolphin
series) and released by Majesco. Like the Grand Theft Auto series
, the game is open-ended; the player can roam free throughout the water, feeding on other animals & humans and destroying everything in his path. Jaws Unleashed for Xbox
is not currently compatible with the Xbox 360
.
. When the Environplus CEO's son is eaten by the ferocious beast, the CEO hires renowned shark hunter Cruz Raddock to track and kill it. Meanwhile, Marine Biologist Michael Brody tries to capture the shark for research.
The shark has a menu for upgrades as well. These can be accessed from either the main menu or the pause menu. Upgrade points are earned by causing destruction around Amity Island (in levels and in free-roam mode), completing levels, and/or collecting bonus items, the most frequently found of which being treasure chests. There are numerous upgrade criteria to choose from. Players can choose to upgrade the shark's power, speed, hunger, health, or accuracy.
During gameplay, there is a HUD
in the lower-right corner of the screen. This HUD has four meters and a sonar that informs players of the positions of important objects, prey, and enemies. The two parallel meters above the sonar are for Jaws' health (right side, red-colored), and hunger (left side, green-colored). As Jaws becomes hungry, its health will diminish, forcing the player to "eat" constantly. The health bar will also diminish as Jaws takes damage. The last two meters are used to charge the shark's tail-whip and head-butt attacks. The more each meter fills, the stronger the attack is. The meters are on the left quadrant of the sonar, running along the arc with the head-butt meter on the outside and the tail-whip meter on the inside. The head-butt meter is orange when charging, flashing when fully charged, and is the same with the tail-whip meter, but it is purple instead of orange.
Jaws has unique attacks in its arsenal. The shark can ram objects with its snout, whip others with its caudal tail, bite (of course), and when the player earns enough points to upgrade Jaws' abilities, new attacks become unlocked, such as the "corkscrew" and the "body bomb." To perform a corkscrew attack, charge up the head-butt meter and tail-whip meter; head-butt first, then release the tail-whip button and the shark will spin around, causing damage to anything caught in its wake. To perform a body-bomb, simply charge the head-butt meter, point the shark upward, release the head-butt, and quickly dive down; the shark will then drive itself out of the water, and then dive downward, sometimes making boats explode if timed and positioned correctly.
, which rewarded the game with a score of 7.4 out of 10 while calling it "Grand Shark Auto"
. Some other reviews however were far more harsh such as GameSpot
who gave the game a rating of a 3.8 out of 10, while Official Playstation Magazine gave it a 1.5 out of 5. Game Rankings
's aggregate scores for Jaws Unleashed were 54% for the PS2 version and 53% for the Xbox version. Game Informer
magazine gave the game a sub-par 4.75, saying, "This game reaches a new level of video game absurdity, going well out of its way to make a complete mockery of the license it's based on." As the game was released on PC
, players experienced a better overall performance, handling, and fewer problems during game play were reported, thus indicating the later released PC
version to be better than the console versions, with an average score of 60%. The same has been thought to be true in the PAL (Europe) version as indicated by higher reviews scores (such as a 7/10 from OPN UK).
Despite this, the game was a commercial success, selling over 250,000 copies on Xbox alone, therefore earning it GameSpot's "Worst Game Everyone Played of 2006" award.
2006 in video gaming
-Events:* January 26, 2006 -- Nintendo announces its newly redesigned handheld, the Nintendo DS Lite. The new model is lighter, smaller, has configurable brightness and features an improved user interface.* January 26, 2006 -- Konami Corp...
video game licensed from the 1975
1975 in film
The year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London....
motion picture, Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
. It was developed by Appaloosa Interactive
Appaloosa Interactive
Appaloosa Interactive is a corporation, founded in 1983 in Hungary, that produced numerous console games, computer programs and Hungarian TV-commercials during the 1980s and 90's. The company's headquarters are currently in Palo Alto, California, and it is the parent company and owner of two...
(developer of the popular Ecco the Dolphin
Ecco the Dolphin
Ecco the Dolphin is a puzzle video game released in 1992 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. The central character, Ecco, is a bottlenose dolphin controlled by the player through a progression of side-scrolling aquatic levels...
series) and released by Majesco. Like the Grand Theft Auto series
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
, the game is open-ended; the player can roam free throughout the water, feeding on other animals & humans and destroying everything in his path. Jaws Unleashed for Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
is not currently compatible with the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.
Storyline
Amity Island is growing, making corporate connections with prestigious companies like Environplus to improve the Island's economy. Unfortunately the increased population around the Island and recent industrial activity has also attracted one of Earth's most fearsome creatures: a Great white shark the size of a MegalodonMegalodon
The megalodon and ὀδούς ) is an extinct species of shark that lived roughly from 28 to 1.5 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era .The taxonomic assignment of C...
. When the Environplus CEO's son is eaten by the ferocious beast, the CEO hires renowned shark hunter Cruz Raddock to track and kill it. Meanwhile, Marine Biologist Michael Brody tries to capture the shark for research.
Gameplay
In Jaws: Unleashed, the player assumes the role as the Megalodon-sized shark Jaws. The shark first enters the island from the southern end and the player finds itself in a cove. The cove has tutorials to allow the player to become familiar with the controls, such as the ones for moving the shark and attacking other creatures.The shark has a menu for upgrades as well. These can be accessed from either the main menu or the pause menu. Upgrade points are earned by causing destruction around Amity Island (in levels and in free-roam mode), completing levels, and/or collecting bonus items, the most frequently found of which being treasure chests. There are numerous upgrade criteria to choose from. Players can choose to upgrade the shark's power, speed, hunger, health, or accuracy.
During gameplay, there is a HUD
HUD (video gaming)
In video gaming, the HUD is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game's user interface...
in the lower-right corner of the screen. This HUD has four meters and a sonar that informs players of the positions of important objects, prey, and enemies. The two parallel meters above the sonar are for Jaws' health (right side, red-colored), and hunger (left side, green-colored). As Jaws becomes hungry, its health will diminish, forcing the player to "eat" constantly. The health bar will also diminish as Jaws takes damage. The last two meters are used to charge the shark's tail-whip and head-butt attacks. The more each meter fills, the stronger the attack is. The meters are on the left quadrant of the sonar, running along the arc with the head-butt meter on the outside and the tail-whip meter on the inside. The head-butt meter is orange when charging, flashing when fully charged, and is the same with the tail-whip meter, but it is purple instead of orange.
Jaws has unique attacks in its arsenal. The shark can ram objects with its snout, whip others with its caudal tail, bite (of course), and when the player earns enough points to upgrade Jaws' abilities, new attacks become unlocked, such as the "corkscrew" and the "body bomb." To perform a corkscrew attack, charge up the head-butt meter and tail-whip meter; head-butt first, then release the tail-whip button and the shark will spin around, causing damage to anything caught in its wake. To perform a body-bomb, simply charge the head-butt meter, point the shark upward, release the head-butt, and quickly dive down; the shark will then drive itself out of the water, and then dive downward, sometimes making boats explode if timed and positioned correctly.
Reception
Jaws Unleashed received a mixed to poor critical reaction. Most complaints against the game center around the game's glitches and freezing up and its camera problems. One of the most positive reviews came from IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, which rewarded the game with a score of 7.4 out of 10 while calling it "Grand Shark Auto"
GTA clone
Grand Theft Auto clone is a genre of sandbox action adventure video games characterized by their likeness to the Grand Theft Auto series, in which players may find and use a variety of vehicles and weapons while roaming freely in an open world setting...
. Some other reviews however were far more harsh such as GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
who gave the game a rating of a 3.8 out of 10, while Official Playstation Magazine gave it a 1.5 out of 5. Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
's aggregate scores for Jaws Unleashed were 54% for the PS2 version and 53% for the Xbox version. Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
magazine gave the game a sub-par 4.75, saying, "This game reaches a new level of video game absurdity, going well out of its way to make a complete mockery of the license it's based on." As the game was released on PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, players experienced a better overall performance, handling, and fewer problems during game play were reported, thus indicating the later released PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
version to be better than the console versions, with an average score of 60%. The same has been thought to be true in the PAL (Europe) version as indicated by higher reviews scores (such as a 7/10 from OPN UK).
Despite this, the game was a commercial success, selling over 250,000 copies on Xbox alone, therefore earning it GameSpot's "Worst Game Everyone Played of 2006" award.
See also
- Jaws (video game)Jaws (video game)Jaws is an NES game based on the film franchise of the same name, specifically Jaws: The Revenge, the fourth and final film in the series...
- MythBusters Shark Week Special