Ludography
51/100
Players17 ratings
50/100
Critics5 reviews
Jaws Unleashed cover

2006 · Appaloosa Interactive · Action · Action-adventure

Jaws Unleashed

In Jaws: Unleashed, the player assumes the role as the large shark Jaws. The shark first enters the island from the southern end and the player finds itself in a cove. The cove has tutorials to allow the player to become familiar with the controls, such as the ones for moving the shark and attacking other creatures. The shark has a menu for upgrades as well.

Released
23 May 2006
Platforms
Legacy Mobile DevicePlayStation 2WindowsXbox
Genres
ActionAction-adventureBeat 'em up
Developers
Appaloosa Interactive
Publishers
Majesco Entertainment
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Third person
Themes
ActionHorrorOpen world
Age ratings
ESRB M
Composers
Cris Velasco

About

Jaws Unleashed is a 2006 action-adventure video game inspired by the 1975 film Jaws. It was developed by Appaloosa Interactive and published by Majesco. This game features open world gameplay, with the player assuming control of a large male great white shark and being able to roam freely throughout the water, eating other animals and humans, while destroying everything in its path. Jaws Unleashed was released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox and PlayStation 2.

Keywords

  • shark
  • death
  • dolphin
  • based on - movie
  • licensed game
  • polygonal 3d
  • non-humanoid protagonist

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

In Jaws: Unleashed, the player assumes the role of the shark. The shark first enters the island from the southern end and finds itself in a cove. The cove has tutorials to allow the player to become familiar with the controls, such as the ones for moving the shark and attacking other creatures. The shark has a menu for upgrades as well.

These can be accessed from either the main menu or the pause menu. Upgrade points are earned by causing destruction around Amity Island (in levels and in free-roam mode), completing levels, and/or collecting bonus items, the most frequently found of which being treasure chests. There are numerous upgrade criteria to choose from. Players can choose to upgrade the shark's power, speed, hunger, health, or accuracy.

Story

30 years after the events of the first film, Amity Island is growing, making corporate connections with prestigious companies like Environplus to improve the island's economy. The increased population around the island and industrial activity has also attracted the Earth's most fearsome creature and the game's main character: an enormous, 35 ft (11 m) male great white shark. When the son of Environplus CEO Steven Shaw is eaten by the ferocious beast, Shaw hires renowned shark hunter Cruz Raddock to track down and kill the shark. Meanwhile, marine biologist Michael Brody tries to capture the shark for research.

Players are introduced to the controls and abilities of the shark in a tutorial, where the player kills several divers, learns to attack swimmers at a beach, and must destroy a set of docks. Brody shows up at this point, captures the shark, and transports it to Amity's marine theme park, similar to SeaWorld.

Reception

Jaws Unleashed received "mixed" reviews on all platforms, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Most complaints center around the game's glitches, freezes and camera problems.

Despite this, the game was a commercial success, selling over 250,000 copies on Xbox alone, therefore earning it GameSpot's "Worst Game Everyone Played of 2006" award.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Windows23 May 2006North America · Europe 19 October 2006
PlayStation 223 May 2006North America · Europe 13 October 2006 · Australia 26 October 2006
Xbox23 May 2006North America · Europe 13 October 2006 · Australia 26 October 2006
Legacy Mobile Device31 December 2006Worldwide

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Platform libraries

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.