Jaws Unleashed

Written by Troy Matsumiya  on November 28, 2005

First Impressions: Ecco the Dolphin goes postal!

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Now, before you roll your eyes and say, УGreat, another lame movie tie-in,Ф first consider that you will get to play as the big bad shark himself, bent on destroying boats and munching on drunken fishermen. Yummy! Also toss in the fact that Jaws Unleashed is being developed by Appaloosa, the people behind Ecco the Dolphin, and you've got what could be one of the more interesting titles on current generation consoles.

Yes, you read that right Ц the creators of Ecco, that happy friendly non-violent dolphin who cheerfully saved the world, have apparently pumped him full of booze and steroids and turned him into an angry, brutal killing machine. You want blood? You'll get it Ц lots of it, in fact. When you bite into a hapless creature Ц be it man or fish Ц a big cloud of blood immediately spews into the water. You want dismemberment? Yup, you'll get that too Ц in fact, Appaloosa is quite proud of their dismemberment engine (that's what they call it Ц really) that allows you to chomp into a person and thrash him around until arms, legs and even heads are ripped off to float gently in the water. If you let people go before they die and they still have a limb or two, they will desperately try to swim to safety in an effort that is painfully futile yet morbidly funny. Now if that doesn't interest you, I don't know what will.

The game is set 30 years after the movie, where your main foe will be Michael Brody, son of former Police Chief Martin Brody (played of course by Roy Scheider). Michael has followed in his father's footsteps and has become the top cop on Amity Island. He has also taken a cue from Richard Dreyfuss' character and is an expert marine research biologist as well. If you recall from the movie, Michael is the kid who nearly got eaten in the pond and for some strange reason, he seems to have held a grudge against sharks all these years (what ever happened to forgive and forget?) and goes ballistic when he finds out a great white (you) is once again trolling the waters to dine on the townsfolk. When he sends out hordes of drunken fishermen to reel you in, this is when you say to heck with your kelp diet and go on a high protein people binge.

You will play in the third or first person view as you attempt to achieve the two main goals of any great white: to eat and survive. You must continually eat to grow and satisfy your big ass hunger, and luckily you will have a veritable smorgasbord of delectable treats to enjoy. In addition to people Ц and even dogs Ц you will get to choose from a vast underwater menu filled with 70 different kinds of marine life, including various species of fish, crustaceans, penguins (d'oh!), dolphins (Ecco sandwich anyone?) and aggressive enemies like orcas, barracudas, piranhas, other sharks and even giant squid. You can grab any creature and swallow them whole (which will fill your tummy the most) or do the old thrash Сn' sever move. While ripping people apart and watching their limbs and heads float around in a cloud of blood looks and sounds fun, you should be aware that the blood will attract other sharks who will try to eat your food or attack you.

Fortunately, a shark's life isn't just about swimming around looking for food, though you will have full freedom to do just that if you want. The underwater world will be a free-roaming sandbox where you can choose the missions you want. There will be 10 story missions and 30 side quests, all of which will help you earn redeemable points to level up your accuracy, defense, hunger, power and speed attributes, or to unlock bonus features like artwork and creature bios (every animal in the game will have an informational bio and character model you can view, so you can get a nice dose of education between your violent feeding sessions). You can also earn bonus points by collecting hidden items like tires, license plates and fossilized teeth from prehistoric sharks.

Among the story missions is one where you must fight against a fleet of fishing boats trying to capture you. You will have to ram the boats to knock people into the water where you can munch them up, or if you really want to show them who's boss, you can shatter the boats into splinters. Another mission has you trying to destroy oil platforms while avoiding underwater gun turrets. You can ram them until they fall, or pick up old torpedoes from the ocean floor and УthrowФ them with your mouth. No, the missions aren't realistic but seem to be surprisingly fun, as is just swimming around looking for lunch.

To help defeat enemies both above and below the water, you will be able to stealthily cruise just below the surface, perform a quick dash, jump into the air and onto boat decks, and even grab the landing skids of a helicopter to pull it into the water. How come we never see that on the Discovery Channel? You will also be able to use your Уshark visionФ to see blood in the water and special items.

Needless to say, the hair-raising John Williams theme will be used throughout the game. You'd think that by now people would flee from the water the instant they hear that music, but noooЕ