Common Sense Media Review
By Mark Raby
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Shark sim death match has relentless bloody attacks.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Jaws: Ultimate Predator
What's It About?
JAWS: ULTIMATE PREDATOR is based on the inimitable film Jaws, but make no mistake -- the connection is flimsy at best. Players are put in the role of Jaws, a shark that is fighting off a constant barrage of human divers. As players evade attack after attack -- while destroying as many scuba divers and other sea creatures as possible -- they explore areas ranging from the infamous Amity Island to Hawaii, the Great Barrier Reef, and beyond. The story is inverted from the original movie -- Jaws is the \"victim\" and has to avoid the humans who are trying to kill him. Of course, along the way players are encouraged to kill as many things as possible, from jellyfish to other, even bigger sharks. Players are successful if they kill everything around them and are not killed themselves.
Is It Any Good?
Jaws: Ultimate Predator is a repetitive, uninspired game that puts players in an unending loop of the same gameplay over and over again. Other games that follow this same basic premise have incentives for players to continue, and shake up the gameplay and strategy as they progress. This game fails to provide any of that. Even the background story, which unfolds as players complete each level, is sloppily packaged and is doesn't present a reason to keep playing. This is all assuming players can manage the awkward controls in the first place, which make performing any of the special attacks more of an exercise in futility than anything else. Plus, the graphics are somewhat crude and not on par with many other games on the current-generation consoles. In short, this game fails on every level to live up to the heralded franchise it tries to represent.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the level of violence in this game. Do you think this game glamorizes violence? How much different would it be if the scuba divers were not so easily killed?
Does this game change the way you think about the food chain and natural ecosystem?
Have you ever been confronted with a dangerous situation?
Game Details
- Platform : Nintendo Wii
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Majesco
- Release date : December 1, 2011
- Genre : Simulation
- Topics : Animals ( Ocean Creatures )
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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