Shark Tale

Jaws Unleashed
Majesco, PS2, Xbox, PC


Just when you thought it was safe to spend countless hours vegetating on the couch, the videogame adaptation of the original summer blockbuster brings it all back home—the great white with a monster appetite, dimwitted Amity locals and Richard Dreyfuss in a wool beanie. Unlike the 1986 Jaws NES game, which centered on hunting down the toothy menace, this game is played from the other point of view.

The story, such as it is, takes place 30 years after the Spielberg classic. The first few missions start off easy: Gobble a few lesser sharks, attack divers and break into supposedly shark-proof facilities. Eventually the wily fish faces off against gigantor enemies (hel-lo, Orca!) and mega-fortified boats carrying delicious humans. When the story grows tiresome—and it does—there’s always gory mayhem to keep things entertaining. Try testing the bounds of the game’s “dismemberment engine,” which boasts 25 levels of violent limb-removal.

But the modern shark-about-town can’t rely on incisors alone—side missions require varying levels of stealth and speed as well as a healthy appetite for destruction. The death aquatic will appeal to the Steve Zissou in everyone, as will the return of the overly familiar but still deeply disturbing “dun-dun” theme song. To clumsily paraphrase Roy Scheider’s police chief Brody, you’re gonna need a bigger TV.