Jaws Unleashed PlayStation 2
Metascore
52 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 29 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 29
  3. Negative: 15 out of 29
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  1. Worth Playing
    49
    What could have been a very neat idea is ruined by a bad camera, buggy gameplay, and totally ridiculous mission objectives.
  2. Game Informer
    48
    After this miserable showing, the only waters that Jaws will be patrolling are those of the great video game toilet. [Aug 2006, p.84]
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  3. Play UK
    48
    Dull and ever so slightly irritating. [Issue#146, p.95]
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  4. GameZone
    45
    JAWS Unleashed could’ve been a great game, given it’s unique premise and experienced developer. Unfortunately, the game is too buggy and has too many issues to make it one to recommend.
  5. Edge Magazine
    40
    With the exceptions of deplorably bad cutscenes and haphazard signposting, there are few significant flaws here that a steadier gestation couldn’t have resolved. [Aug 2006, p.90]
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  6. DarkStation
    40
    Cashing in on the Jaws franchise may have been a brilliant idea on paper, but this game struggles to entertain with a poor storyline and frustrating controls.
  7. Digital Entertainment News
    40
    Jaws Unleashed is a rather scant offering, but it could still be your new guilty pleasure. The field of shark simulators is rather narrow, and it’s entirely possible that Jaws Unleashed wins top honors just by showing up. Perfect for kicking back and turning your brain off, but not much more.
  8. Yahoo! Games
    40
    In the spirit of generosity, we'll offer that there's about 30 minutes of entertainment to be had.
  9. GameSpy
    40
    Spending 30 minutes aimlessly wondering around because you can't figure out what random part of the environment you're supposed to manipulate or sequence of moves to string together to topple a structure is unforgivable.
  10. GameSpot
    38
    Playing Appaloosa's ultraviolent and ultrastupid take on the titular killer shark is about as much fun as having your legs chewed off.
  11. The A.V. Club
    33
    The aforementioned camera and perspective problems are the worst, but the "hunger meter" seems to fill up and dissipate so arbitrarily that you never know what your stomach needs.
  12. 1UP
    30
    Just play the old NES game. We don't remember the Jaws movie where they had to collect seashells and bomb jellyfish with airplanes, but it was more fun than this.
  13. Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
    30
    Defending myself from a shark attack would be more entertaining. [Aug 2006, p.77]
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  14. GameCritics
    20
    If playing Jaws Unleashed has taught me one thing about game design, it's that if you're going to put a single fun thing in a game it's best to put it right up front where people can see it, and hopefully trick them into thinking that the entire game is fun.
  15. Game Revolution
    16
    It provides roughly fifteen minutes of absolutely gruesome, chaotic pleasure, then promptly nosedives into the Mariana Trench of bad design, bad graphics and bad control.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 31 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 15
  3. Negative: 4 out of 15
  1. WC
    7
    An okay game but isn't great neither. It kinda gets boring after a while of playing it as all you basically do is eat people. Fun if your in the mood for it or if you just want to eat people for the moment, otherwise a waste of money.… Full Review »
  2. laladoodielaladoodie
    0
    the carnage is bretty bloody and fun for half an hour, later youll be thinking what am i doing. it has plenty of bugs and glitches. it has bad graphics but da sound quality is ok, but da music dat cumz on after every time u attack something is so annoying. da controls are terrible itz all flimsy and flabby and an ablsoutly horrable camera angle and so on. u no what i bet these guys didnt even try to make this a good game, well dont u think if i made this i would only do it to make money. they gave it no good graphics on porpose. if anything this game should be given for free.… Full Review »
  3. Outraged
    0
    Wow. I'm shocked. It must take a hell of a lot of talent to take a game where you play as a SHARK and KILL OR DESTROY EVERYTHING and make it un-entertaining! Once I got to the first mission I knew this game was doomed. "Find an ID card to escape!" What the hell? So I'm playing as a big, dumb, bloodthirsty predator and I'm looking for ID cards? Jaws controls like crap, the graphics are worse than N64 graphics and killing people is not as fun as it should be. Also, if Jaws is so unstoppable, why can be killed instantly by a dolphin 1/8th his size? Or a gang of friggin' piranhas??? The whole first stage involves escaping a marine park, and this is done by head-butting heaps of glass walls, metal gratings and blocked exits. Wow, what fun. When I discovered the stage ended with a BOSS BATTLE against the marine park's ORCA WHALE, I almost threw the disc out the window. This game is so hilariously bad, it really is the PS2's answer to Superman 64- bad graphics, bad controls, laughable level design, and ruining a fantastic concept. If you're curious to play this game like I was, just rent it because you'll be sick of it within 30 minutes.… Full Review »
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