Game #1084: Jaws Unleashed

  Is this The Room of licensed videogames?

 Well, I wanted to sneak in a few more horror games in September, so I went for Jaws Unleashed but it seems like they either turned the license into a comedy or they made an unintentionally funny game, I'm still not quite sure what they were aiming for.

 You play as Jaws, the Shark, and it's your mission to... umm, ruin the town Mayor's reputation and eat people I guess. The game is made up of 11 short missions, but in between missions you are free to explore the Open Seas and take on side missions, if you want some extra points to beef up your stats.

 What makes the game so unintentionally(Or was it intentional?) funny is how ridiculous it can get. Heck, the very first mission tasks you with grabbing a scientist, with your JAWS, and before you eat him or snap him in two, you have to carry his body next to a card reader to use his ID card and open a door. Other times you'll have to grab exploding barrels and SHOOT THEM towards boats. You can also perform tricks, such as juggling people with your tail whips, or even unlock new techniques such as a twirling aerial tackle. And the first boss? An Orca. You are a Shark fighting an Orca. And giant enemy Octopuses, this game's got them. It's ridiculous, for good or bad.

 Sadly, it's a bit janky. The camera can be a mess and actively fight you, and since you are a big, thick shark, moving around can be imprecise. The minefield mission is an absolute pain in the rear. Heck, a lot of missions were downright annoying because it can be so hard to figure out how the game expects you to proceed. What to break or how to break it. One time I was trying to get into a room and the door wouldn't budge, so I checked a guide.... It said so tackle it three times. I had already tackled it three times and it didn't open, but I did it again and it did. There was no special noise, not sign that I was actually dealing damage to the door. It's silly what a poor job the game does at telling you what to do.

 Jaws Unleashed is more of a novelty than anything else, it's very clunky, some missions are poorly designed and it's hard to tell if it was supposed to be a tribute or a parody of the license, however, this mix of things is also what makes the game a bit of a meme, which is and of itself, makes it worth a look, doesn't it?

 4.5