Jaws™ Review

By , on August 19, 2010


Jaws™
Download on the AppStore
4 out of 5

PROS

  • Great new twist on line-drawing gameplay.
  • Frantic pace recaptures some of the thrill from the movies.
  • Detailed (if distant) visuals.

CONS

  • Little replay incentive.
  • Frustrating boat controls.
  • Some minor AI quibbles for Jaws.

VERDICT

Jaws does a great job of trying to recapture the panic and mayhem of the original blockbuster film, but just like any popcorn thriller once the final scenes rolls you won't even wait for the credits to leave.


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Is there a new Jaws film I haven't heard about or is Universal studios just after a quick bite of the App Store market? Either way we now have an official Jaws game to play thanks to Bytemark Games, so lets get down to business.

You get to play the role of the poor overworked Police Chief Martin Brody in this summer blockbuster re-imagining and you need to keep the swimmers of Amity safe from the irrationally angry and perpetually hungry shark that is Jaws. To do so you'll need to direct swimmers to the shore or boats to escape their fate, dashing them out of the way with a quick flick if they become a target or shooting the shark to distract it from its meal. Boats can be moved around by drawing paths for them, but unlike the amazingly agile swimmers the boats seem to all contain 5 tonnes of lead and a rudders that are apparently incapable of more than shallow turns.

The graphics at least help to recover some ground lost by the game's frustrating gameplay, with clearly highlighted swimmers, boats and paths to make navigation easier to pull off. Jaws is also rendered cleverly, stalking his prey and jumping out to feed, leaving a tiny pool of blood as any indicator he was there.

While players could spend time on getting 3 stars on each of the game's 10 levels, there's not much incentive to do so once you complete the game and the lack of an endless mode means you'll be putting this game down once you finally deal with Jaws. A fun, if limited title for movie fans to enjoy.

Screenshots

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