Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, macabre fun., 11 Jan 2007
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
I am a shark enthusiast, so am probably a little bit more biased than some of the other reviewers, but I found this game to be thoroughly enjoyable. The aim of the missions is not always clear, but that doesn't really matter because I find it enjoyable just going off and munching on anything that passes. I think as one other reviewer said, it is perhaps best not to think too much about how to get round an obstacle, you play the part of a 25 foot fish, so you can smash your way through most things.
The graphics, especially the dappled water effects, are excellent, and the animation of Jaws is very nicely done too.
The camera panning can be a bit frustrating, but only in the early stages before you get the hang of controlling jaws smoothly. Initially, I was making him go round in circles, which confused the hell out of the camera, but once I cracked the controls then the camera follows the action smoothly.
One reviewer complained about the camera going from below to above water, but I've found that that only happens if you surface, and obviously that needs to happen otherwise you will not know where you are going.
And for the one reviewer who complained about his health reducing rapidly everytime he swam past a school of fish, err, they are Piranhas mate, steer clear of them.
All in all, a very good game, which is much in the mould of GTA, in that you don't have to follow a set story line, but can simply go along causing havoc however you wish.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eats everything else alive!, 21 Nov 2006
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
OK, I was fascinated by the pre-release news of this game, and knew I had to get it. When I read such wildly conflicting reviews, I knew there was something strange going on - so after a while debating, I finally went for it.
And was very glad I did - typing this up during my first break in playing the game for the past 4 hours non-stop!
I admit I was apprehensive as I began playing, but that soon became fascination, then pure excitement. The in-game graphics are awesome, the animation incredibly smooth when you consider you're playing a character large enough to fill up to half the screen at any time. The underwater feel is very good - the fish turns and moves with a certain amount of drag, making split-second timing essential to grab those goodies swimming past. The cut-scene graphics may be a bit blocky in places, but surely we don't play games for cut-scenes, we play them for fun. And at least the dialogue is better than the very dodgy 'Resident Evil' variety.
The game interface is simple. The controls seem a bit intimidating when you read the book, but the tutorial talks you through these in a very user-friendly way. In fact, I've never enjoyed playing a tutorial level in any game so much, and plan to replay it in future for the things I'm sure I missed first time.
And then, I think I must address a few of the points raised here, which I am sure are valid for those concerned, but with which I personally must disagree. Yes, sometimes it's not immediately obvious what the shark must do at every single stage in the entire game. Do modern gamers really need everything spelled out to them these days - "do this then pick up that then do t'other" ? Sorry, I always thought video games were designed to test one's logic, intuition, problem-solving and reasoning as well as manual dexterity and hand/eye co-ord. You're a giant fish. You can smash your way through obstacles...so that's exactly what I did! Didn't think it especially smart on my part, just obvious, sorry. The levels described herein as being unnecessarily difficult, I swam through in about 15 minutes. I could have done it in less, but was having too much fun breaking stuff up. I was killed once by the killer fish, then broke my way out on the second attempt. Job done!
Camera problems...er, ok, where? Maybe I'm playing a later release version of this game but currently I'm on the 5th level and haven't seen any camera-related bugs yet. Or bugs of any kind. Yes, when the fish is flipping about on the surface, the camera will shift from above to below. That's because a giant fish has mass, and sinks beneath the surface, so the camera follows him down. Again, apologies if this is not what others have seen, but to me, it seems an obvious game mechanic, that the camera functions on the level the fish is currently at. Maybe it takes a second or two to catch up, but stability is almost always restored without losing track of what's happening. Having stuck to 3rd person view almost all the time so far, I can't really comment on the effectiveness or otherwise of the 1st person view. But the times I've flipped it on have all looked fine.
I can't say I found it very easy to die either- so long as you watch your health, and snaffle anything edible when you can. Sometimes breaking off from the main objective to go hunt is a wise move, too.
For originality, this one wins for me. It's not another Doom/Tekken/Res Evil engine recycled with different graphics. The designers have put a lot of work into the environment here, and it adds so much. Yes, there are games out there more gorgeous to look at - Soulcalibur III maybe, or God of War (a game so awesome I bought my own PS2 on the strength of seeing it once). Maybe I'm just easy pleased. Maybe the thrill of playing a giant predator is too much for this reviewer, but for any serious gamer seeking something a bit different, I would recommend it without hesitation. It's almost a shame the gore can't be adjusted, because I think kids could get a lot from this as well - even if only on a pseudo-educational level. Remember, the movie is only a PG!
And in any case, I'd much rather play this game than sit through 'Deep Blue Sea' again...
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sharktastic!!, 10 Mar 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
I found this a great game. The controls are simple and easy to use, and, although I got slightly stuck on some of the missions, isn't the point of a good game one where it tests your logical and problem-solving skills?
There is a slight lack of plot, but really, how much can you do if you're playing a shark? I found this incredibly fun, one of the reasons being that, if you're tired of the missions, just go and attack some boats, scare some humans and eat some fish!!
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