[PS2] Jaws Unleashed

You would think that the premise of playing a shark in a video game would be a given sell.

You'd be partly right. If said game was perfect in its execution, the camera and collision detection were spot-on, and the controls a little tighter, you'd have a nigh-perfect game. "Jaws Unleashed" is not that game.

The camera is very spotty, being in perfect alignment with Jaws and his target one second, then annoyingly darting for an above water shot when it's least helpful the next.

However, at least the game is pretty thoughtful, as the big complaints I had about the gameplay conveniently occurred one right after the other. At level two, I just randomly attacked a scooner for the hell of it, only to bounce away after a successful hit and get halfway stuck in the hull of a sunken boat; after mashing every button in an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge myself from the solid hull (yes, collision detection is very poor), I was forced to restart. Take two saw me engaging in some side mission love, in a segment called "Night Attack" or some such. I can only assume it's a four part side mission, since I didn't make it any further than the fourth part. I was advised to break through the shark proof netting (did that); next, I had to attack some swimmers (which, after attacking only one swimmer, I was told my mission was complete ... that's criminally easy); then, I had to attack the tourist boats (while they shot at me, mind you, which tells you a story out the tourism trade at Amity); and then, (finally?) I was told to attack the refinery and destroy it. This was the most irritating part: after working my ass off to finish this task, with absolutely no advice on how such a thing is to be done (seriously, it's quite hit and miss), I completed my mission, enjoyed the following cutscene ... then the fucking game froze. Thank you, Appaloosa (the game's publishing house), that's about 30+ minutes of my life I'll never see again.

Now, is the whole game like this? Honestly, no. The first stage was actually quite fun, and even the tutorial stage wasn't as obnoxious as most of those beasts can be at times. But as for the rest of the game that lies ahead ... well, I can't vouch for it. I would assume, however, from the distance that I made to this point, that as the game becomes more advanced, the mechanics of the gameplay may possible be more frustrating. This dynamic is actually the opposite of how it should work, in my opinion; as a game goes on, the frustration is supposed to come in the form of the advanced level of skill you need in the gameworld in which you're playing, not from the camera or collision or graphics against which you have to struggle. It just seems that this game was rushed into release, rough edges intact, which, given that it's been around in some form or another since 2002 (as the Jaws-license free "Sole Predator"), is inexcusable.

All in all, a 2 count ... hmm, maybe a 2 1/2, based solely on the fact that it is a budget-friendly price ($30 ain't really that bad). Well, that and the visceral thrill of thrashing a human victim to pieces. Honestly, that latter part goes a lot farther than you'd think.