Review Date: March 12, 2021
Release Date: November 1, 1987
Platform: NES
Genre: ?
Anecdotes: I remember going into my brothers’ room and watching them play this game in there. I would hover around like a shark, but the game never really hooked me in. They didn’t know what they were doing, so I thought I (big brother) could come in and help. It turns out that I didn’t know what I was doing, either.
Description: Beat Jaws. That’s it. Nothing else matters. The game can be beaten in 5 minutes, unless I’m playing, at which point it can’t be beaten at all.
Positives:
Negatives: Take a look at the world map. I got questions:
- Where is the rest of it? Is it really no bigger than a single Gauntlet room?
- How and why is the ship blocked into this one little section? What is stopping the ship from exiting the area other than imaginary walls?
- Why are the only areas of interest two ports that serve the same function?
- What is with all the junk data tiles on the far right of the map?
I start the game. I have a ship, and not even 10 tiles away, I’ve “hit something.” This starts an underwater scene where I just shoot ocean life creatures for a few minutes. Some drop items, but it’s all just a big waste of time. The scenes are on a timer, so there’s nothing I can do to speed them up. I finally get back to the ship, and not long afterward, I hit something else. Rinse and repeat, until I get a “Bonus Scene,” which is an even bigger waste of time. Here, I drop balls from an airplane trying to hit jellyfish with them. This would be mildly amusing, but I didn’t get to control the plane! It flies automatically back and forth across the top and all I could do was drop the ammunition on them.
And then it’s back to the ship. Yay. Next up, I hit Jaws! I had two thoughts then: first, I just started playing 10 minutes ago, even though it felt like 8 hours, and second, I would get to see some special scenery for the Jaws battle. Wow, was I wrong. It’s just a standard dive, but with Jaws present.
Final Opinion: The game is a boring chore to play. Ending encounters only by timer is an awful idea. However, the game didn’t make my blood boil; it just merely put me to sleep, so I will not give it an F.
Grade: D