SHARK! SHARK! Review (Xbox Series S)

by Jim Smale · Published September 26, 2023 · Updated September 25, 2023

For our SHARK! SHARK! Review, we play a game that is Inspired by the legendary SHARK! SHARK! game released in its original version for the Intellivision home console in 1982, this reimagined version for up to four players offers you modern and addictive gameplay, fantastic graphics, great sounds, lots of levels, and many underwater characters.

SHARK! SHARK! Review Pros:

Cartoon-style graphics.
1GB download size.
1000 Gamerscore.
Fish-eating gameplay.
Fourplay local and online play support.
Tutorial pop-ups before a level.
Four game modes – Voyage, versus, multiplayer, and high score mode.
Online leaderboards.
Game options – set which modes (voyage/versus/high score) you can eat each other.
Menu size slider.
Four fish types to unlock.
Voyage mode is level selection and you can replay levels.
Eight fish colors to unlock.
Simple controls where you just move with the left stick.
Earn bonus points by collecting pearls that appear randomly at the bottom.
Bonus points for biting the shark’s tail.
Bubble Shields can appear and drop down the screen allowing you to take a hit before death.
You get five lives per level in the voyage mode.
Eat upside crabs for more points.
Big boss encounter levels.
The gameplay is you start small and then eat fish smaller than you, you then grow bigger so you can eat bigger fish but still smaller than you.
Getting hit turns you into a skeleton fish that cannot eat anything, and then you start again small.
Scores pop up as you eat/bite.
Three areas to unlock – Coral Reef, Pirate Lagoon, and Sunken City.
High score mode is when you pick an area and then go for leaderboard placement.
The game play is the same as Feeding Frenzy which is a love letter to this game.
Easy achievements list.
Is a much better game in multiplayer.

SHARK! SHARK! Review Cons:

If you don’t have Xbox Live you get the prompt every time you boot the game up.
No settings for changing the stick used or sensitivity slider.
Getting knocked back down to a small fish seems needless and unfairly harsh.
The shark takes up so much room that it’s very hard to avoid it and it all gets claustrophobic.
As it’s inspired by an old game, it’s a bit puzzling why it doesn’t have many new additions person especially as we have had two feeding frenzies that are a love letter to this game.
The unlocking of fish and colors is not that enticing.
Fish types are just cosmetic.
No real variety to it all.
The achievements have no real thought put into them.

Related Post: RayLand 2 Review (PlayStation 5)