A History of Jaws in Video Games
Jaws is a perfect example of simple yet effective. Since it came out in the summer of 1975, it has plagued the imagination of basically every beachgoer at some point. Initially, the franchise showed enormous promise. Jaws 2 was one of the most successful sequels of all time, but as the series wore on, it spiraled into absurdity, and the ratings of each subsequent movie plummeted.
Unfortunately, Jaws did not have such a glamorous debut in its video game run. The first game released was Jaws for the NES, and although it probably stands as one of the better games to come out of the franchise, Jaws never really managed to find its footing after a shaky start. While Jaws can take credit for kicking off a new genre of game, fans that are eager to take the reins and control a ferocious, bloodthirsty shark should probably look outside the franchise to alternatives like Maneater.
Jaws (1987)
Jaws is actually one of the shortest games on the NES. The entire experience can last about 45 minutes in total, but almost the entire time is spent whittling away Jaws' life bar. For what it's worth, the difficulty of Jaws is both its biggest weakness and its greatest charm. For the generation that grew up on the NES, beating a game like Jaws was often a badge of household honor.
Jaws: The Computer Game (1989)
When Jaws hit the Amiga, things started to fall apart. Jaws: The Computer Game was a confusing and convoluted mess that featured the titular Jaws as more of an afterthought than anything else. The game mostly consisted of players going from screen to screen wreaking havoc on various creatures of the sea and pelting Jaws with bullets whenever he would show up. After whittling down Jaws' health bar, the game would immediately cut to a victory screen and the hi-score leaderboard.
Jaws (1989)
Jaws for the Commodore 64 is very much the same offering that was available on the Amiga. While the Commodore 64 had a handful of memorable games, Jaws is not one of them. For all intents and purposes, Jaws and Jaws: The Computer Game are identical, except that Jaws on the Commodore 64 has arguably worse graphics and the shark itself has a less imposing aesthetic. On the whole, the offerings of the 80s in terms of Jaws games were fairly weak.
Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure (2001)
Unfortunately, Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure is another failed outing for Jaws. The base game consisted of running around collecting trash around the theme parks in order to earn enough points to buy movie-branded hats. Once a player had accrued enough points and bought the correct hat, they could enter the related ride. The game featured other Universal Studios classics like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Back to the Future, but the actual games lack any depth and are presented mostly as mini-games. For Jaws, the player has to fend off the shark by throwing crates and barrels at it as it attacks their ship.
Jaws Unleashed (2006)
After almost 20 years from the initial game, fans finally got the ability to take control of the man-eating shark. This game probably came closest to capturing the terror of the initial Jaws film and shark movies in general. Jaws Unleashed had its fair share of minor problems, but the simple concept of taking control of Jaws and leveling up by causing mayhem meant that the franchise finally had a game that captured the essence of the films and paved the way for future games like Maneater.
Jaws: Ultimate Predator (2011)
If Jaws Unleashed straddled the line between absurd and believable, Jaws: Ultimate Predator completely jumped over it. The game bestows Jaws with action hero level abilities on par with John Wick that see the shark tricking a giant squid into wrapping itself up with its own tentacles and dodging a homing missile by leaping over a boat. For whatever reason, Jaws: Ultimate Predator sort of works in spite of its silliness, and is generally a fairly well-reviewed game compared to what players might expect.
Pinball FX 3 (2017)
Jaws' latest outing was in the form of a Pinball FX 3 table that came as part of the Universal Classics pack, which allowed players the chance to play on tables inspired by Jaws, Back to the Future, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective), this game is much more pinball than it is Jaws. At the very least, gruff captain Quint from the original Jaws film jumps around the table activating bonuses and cheering the player on.
A History of Jaws in Video Games
Source: Pinay Diaries PH
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