Game Reviews

JAWS.io review - "A weirdly entertaining io game"

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JAWS.io review - "A weirdly entertaining io game"
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| JAWS.io

As far as movie tie-ins go, JAWS.io has a somewhat tenuous relationship to its source material. And that's putting it mildly.

However, it's largely redeemed by the fact that it's a slick and enjoyable casual io game in its own right.

Spielberg, dead ahead

Yes, JAWS.io is directly linked to that film. You know, the one that put Steven Spielberg on the map, traumatised successive generations of kids, and arguably shaped the blockbuster-driven film industry we have today.

Not that you'd have any clue of the link were it not for the official branding and sweeping score.

Unless there's a cut of the film we missed whereby Roy Scheider tootled around in a cartoony tug boat hoovering up swimmers, occasionally morphing into his finned nemesis and chowing down on the very holiday-makers he had hitherto been busy rescuing.

That's the entire premise of JAWS.io. It's a bit weird.

Bite-sized fun

Once you've gotten your tiny head around the tonal dissonance, however, the game opens out into a highly entertaining io experience.

The whole Katamari-style consume-to-grow mechanic is present and correct, but there's a pleasing amount of variety in what you can consume. As well as swimmers there are boats, dolphins, and buoys to hoover up.

Entering the temporary Jaws mode feels suitably empowering, as you plough through your rival human-controlled boats and double-tap to launch quick attacks.

You're far from helpless in your boat, however. There are cannon-like power-ups that enable you to attack ol' big-mouth, and it generally pays to be aggressive with your fellow sailors.

Reaching the fin-ish line

JAWS.io looks the part too. The graphics are bright and chunky, though they don't exactly match the lush orchestral soundtrack.

But then, as we've already established, JAWS.io isn't particularly bothered about making sense. Its main problem is its inherent one-note simplicity, which will likely see you tiring of it fairly quickly.

Some might say that JAWS.io cheapens the beloved Jaws brand. Which might be a fair position to take were it not for the existence of Jaws 3-D and Jaws: The Return.

We say you should forget the whole tie-in nonsense , and simply enjoy JAWS.io for what it is: a deeply silly, rather weird, and highly entertaining way to waste a coffee break or three.

JAWS.io review - "A weirdly entertaining io game"

JAWS.io is rather weird, rather daft, and rather a lot of arena-based fun
Score
Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.