I never had an Intellivision game console as a kid, but my cousins had one.  Only thing I really remember playing on theirs was Frog Bog, which I enjoyed very much.  Many years later, another Intellivision game I enjoyed on one of the PlayStation game collections was Shark! Shark!  In that game, you are a small fish and must eat enough fish to grow so you can eat even bigger fish.  Just watch out for that shark!  It was very similar to a popular PopCap game called Feeding Frenzy, too. And now you can play a reimagined version of Shark! Shark! on some modern game consoles and PC (reviewed on Switch here).

Gameplay is very simple.  Move around your fish with the control stick and that’s it.  When you start, you can choose the color and breed of your fish (you can unlock more by playing).  Up to four people can play at the same time, and you can even choose to be able to eat the other players if you’re big enough!  You can eat smaller fish but bigger ones you’ll just bump into until you’re big enough to eat them.  When you eat enough small fish, you’ll grow a bit, but if you are eaten, you’ll shrink down again.  Get eaten five times and it’s Game Over.  You can pick up a bubble shield that’ll protect you for a short while.  Sometimes clams will open up on the bottom of the screen, and if you can quickly nab their pearl, you’ll get bonus points.  Avoid obstacles like jellyfish, electric eels, and pufferfish that can stun you or even make you lose a life!  And then there’s the shark!  Every so often you’ll hear a growling noise, that’s when you know the shark’s about to come out to play.  The shark is harder to avoid, but if you can manage to get behind it and nibble its tail, you’ll get bonus points, too.

There are several modes of play.  In Voyage, you’ll tackle each stage and progress by eating a certain number of fish.  There are also versus and multiplayer modes, as well as a high score mode.  You can also view scores in the Hall of Fame or toggle options.  My main problem with the game is that the controls just felt a bit slow.  Your fish does not turn very quickly and it would’ve been nice to have a dash move or something you could use to avoid enemies and catch up to fish.  It also feels like it takes a long time to complete stages or unlock anything.  Maybe I was more forgiving of the original game since it’s older, but I seem to remember liking the original Intellivision game more.

Kid Factor:

Nothing too violent or objectionable here.  When you eat fish or get eaten, you or the fish just disappear.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, but not necessary just to play.  Shark! Shark! Is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews