Jaws


by Dave Richards, David Whittaker, Jason Austin, Malcolm J. Smith, Steinar Lund, Rob Henderson, Leo Skirenko
Screen 7 Ltd
1989
Crash Issue 66, Jul 1989   page(s) 42,43

Screen 7/Intelligent Design
£9.99/£14.99

Jaws hits the Spectrum (Kerrang)! The deadly underwater monster is using his teeth the only way he knows how - by chomping swimmers in the waters surrounding Amity Island.

Brodie, Amity Island's Chief of Police, has to rid the place of this fishy foe. An easy task with big weapons, diving equipment and hard men; but, calamity strikes Amity, the shark-killing gun has been shattered into four segments and lost in the huge aquatic (ie under the water) maze. And you've got to find all the bits You're supplied with a high tech mini-submarine to help you in your search of the depths, but this sub is not invincible, in fact all the little fishies can blow it up at the drop of a hat for a maggot!).

Some underwater nasties leave behind treasure, bombs, gun bits and other icons which do strange things to the mini-sub but your troubles do net end there. With a limited air supply, you also have to keep an eye on the weather conditions and temperature if the mission is to be a success.

The 128K version has a control panel which provides messages informing you where sharks have been sighted and places of killings - it's your choice whether to close the beaches or not. Close too many and you will get the sack!

Having assembled the gun a diver replaces the sub. Armed with only four bullets, three must score a direct hit on Jaws to complete the game.

Graphics are of excellent quality and are similar to Cybernoid in style. The animation on the larger sprites (namely Mr Jaws) is good and all the colours hardly clash. The theme tune is in there too - on the title screen - a bit rusty, but recognisable. It seems that all the gun bits are in the same place each game so once you find them it may loose some addictiveness, but you have still got to battle through the fishies. Overall Jaws is offers some good blasting fun.

NICK


Surprisingly, Jaws doesn't appear very often throughout the game. The bulk of the game is really a map 'n' blast affair and a decent one at that. Attractive graphics, though offering little variety, and neatly executed and splash plenty of colour on screen to keep interest high. Gameplay is also of a high standard and should prove a reel delight for experienced cartographers. Great start for Screen 7.
RICHARD

Presentation: 80%
Graphics: 79%
Sound: 75%
Playability: 78%
Addictivity: 79%
Overall: 80%

Summary: Not so much Jaws the movie, more a playable underwater blast.

Transcript by Chris Bourne

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