Editing Jaws (Video Game)

'''''[[File:JAWS_Video_Game.jpg|thumb]]Jaws''''' is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System that is loosely based on the film franchise of the same name, specifically ''Jaws: The Revenge'',
<nowiki> </nowiki>the fourth and final film in the series. The box art is modeled heavily
<nowiki> </nowiki>after the theatrical poster, and the back of the box mentions "...like 
it's personal", perhaps as a reference to said movie's tagline. However,
<nowiki> </nowiki>it does take elements from the first. It is also one of the few 
LJN-published titles developed by a Japanese company.

There was a separate computer adaptation of the original ''Jaws'' movie called ''Jaws: The Computer Game'', released in 1989 by Screen 7 for the Commodore Amiga<sup>[3]</sup> and for the Commodore 64 as simply ''Jaws'' by Box Office Software.<sup>[4]</sup>

== Gameplay ==
[[File:JAWS_Video_Game_Gameplay.png|thumb|left]]In the game, the player pilots a boat across the sea, randomly 
encountering groups of hostile sea creatures. When the boat hits 
something in the overhead map, the perspective changes to a side-view. 
The player's boat releases a diver who battles various undersea threats 
such as jellyfish, rays, and smaller sharks. Occasionally, Jaws will appear on the map in the form of its familiar dorsal fin
<nowiki> </nowiki>breaking the water's surface. If players collide with Jaws' dorsal fin,
<nowiki> </nowiki>they can momentarily control their boat in the side-view encounter in 
an attempt to attack Jaws with depth charges. Jaws will always collide 
with the boat and release the diver into the water. Jaws will also 
appear after a brief moment if the player snags something in the 
overhead map with Jaws nearby.

Items encountered include crabs (increases movement speed of the diver), stars (bonus points), and conch
<nowiki> </nowiki>shells which are used as currency in this game. Equipment and upgrades 
are purchased by alternating between two ports on the map. The first 
port visit gives the player a receiver, which tracks the location of 
Jaws relative to the boat on the overhead map; the faster it beeps, the 
closer Jaws is to the player. Future visits to ports afterwards 
increases overall attack power against Jaws. Touching a hostile sea 
creature during the side view undersea encounters will kill players and 
penalize them with a power level drop by one (if they had upgraded their
<nowiki> </nowiki>attack power), the loss of the tracking device, the loss of half of the
<nowiki> </nowiki>conch shells accumulated to that point, and complete health 
replenishment for Jaws.

Killing a specific number of smaller sharks will trigger a bonus 
game. In this bonus game, an airplane travels back and forth in a 
side-view perspective and drops cannonballs on jellyfish, which assume 
formations and movement patterns similar to the enemies in the Challenge
<nowiki> </nowiki>Stage of ''Galaga''.
<nowiki> </nowiki>Players can adjust the speed of the airplane, depending on what 
direction it is traveling. The player is rewarded the number of conch 
shells equivalent to the number of jellyfish killed divided by three, 
rounded down. Hitting all the jellyfish awards 10,000 bonus points. An 
extra life is awarded for every 30,000 points.

The player can also find a submarine which appears at random places in the game map. The submarine is an upgrade with two weapons (torpedoes and depth charges)
<nowiki> </nowiki>and much less inertia than the diver. The submarine is fragile, 
however, and one collision with an enemy will destroy it and release the
<nowiki> </nowiki>diver (although this will not kill the diver).

Once Jaws' health has been reduced in the side view encounter, the game changes to a "first person"
<nowiki> </nowiki>view of the player's boat. Players are given three charges for their 
strobe device to force Jaws to breach the water's surface. Timing is 
essential in order to force Jaws to breach at the proper distance from 
the bow of the boat. Players can also jut the bow of their boat forward 
at any time. In order to fully defeat Jaws, the player must jab it with 
the boat's bow at the proper distance when it breaches from the strobe 
device. This can be quite difficult and require much patience. Jaws 
makes random movements backward, forward and side-to-side which makes 
for a hard final kill.

== Music ==
''Computer Gaming World'' praised the game in its review, saying, "The graphics, animations and game play in ''Jaws'' are all first rate."<sup>[6]</sup>

AllGame gave the game a rating of one and a half stars out of a possible five in their review.<sup>[7]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>The review commented the visuals in the game, noting a "dull overhead 
view of you sailing your boat" and "a repetitive side-view sequence". 
The review concluded that "by the time you reach the final 
anti-climactic scene, you'll be so tired that you won't care if you kill
<nowiki> </nowiki>Jaws or not. You'll just be glad the game's almost over."<sup>[7]</sup>