Video Game Review: Jaws Unleashed
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this action game places players in
control of a super-aggressive shark based on the killers from
the
Jaws
movies. The shark attacks humans and animals, dismembering
prey in a bloody cloud. To keep Jaws healthy, players must kill
innocent people and animals. Players are also rewarded for
destroying boats, piers, and submarines.
Families can talk about role playing in video games. Is there a
difference between playing as a violent good guy and a violent
bad guy? Is the violence more acceptable if it's in the service
of good? Families may also wish to discuss how games can be
used to promote the movies on which they're based.
In JAWS UNLEASHED, gamers have the opportunity to take control of one of the greatest antiheroes in movie history: the great white shark from the Jaws movies. As the game begins, Jaws is captured and put on display in an aquarium on Amity Island. After players break out, they roam freely in the waters around the island, swimming to story missions and side challenges, or simply cruising the waters looking for human and animal victims.
Jaws Unleashed is simply a mess. The story missions are only loosely connected, and the objectives can be tough to figure out. Players will quickly grow bored with ramming boats and moving explosive barrels around, all the while avoiding little fish or sharks that can rapidly drain Jaws's health.
Yet the controls are the biggest problem. Players often struggle to get Jaws in the right spot to eat a swimmer or place a barrel. The imprecise swimming and attacking is further undermined by a game camera that gets stuck behind objects or pops above the water when the action is below the surface. One of the more frustrating parts of the game is watching Jaws' health disappear while desperately swimming around, rotating the camera, looking for the man or beast that's doing the damage.
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