Shark or Die

What is it with HandyGames right now? First Guns ‘n’ Glory put the player in the position of morally bankrupt bandits attacking defenceless travellers in the wild west, and now Shark or Die puts them in charge of a morally ignorant shark preying on innocent swimmers filming Hollywood movies.

There’s another similarity other than the slaughter of innocents between the two titles, though – they’re both great fun.

As the titular shark your job is to munch as many divers, swimmers, and surfers as your guts can take. If you fail to eat one before your hunger meter drops to zero, it’s game over.

Everything is viewed from the bottom-up, so when your shark surfaces in the water he pulls away from the camera. It’s a bit odd at first – it’s not exactly the most common view for a game to take – but it makes sense after a few waves.

This is because every wave starts with your shark underwater – waiting, watching. A quick stab of the ‘5’ key sends him flying upwards, allowing you to take prime position to start munching and preventing the foolish humans from escaping your huge jaws and making it to a nearby boat.

Every few waves throw up a celebrity swimmer, marked by a star and a name above their character that awards more food for the kill. Brilliantly, these names can be fully customised from the main menu, so you can eat your friends/enemies or stick with the default comedy names like ‘Sharky Shark’ or ‘Jaws Clooney’.

Comedy is a major part of what makes Shark or Die a fun game to play.

From a movie-voice-over-man styled announcer that delivers such phrases as ‘Lethal Lunch’ and ‘Deadly Dinner’ pitch-perfectly, to the laugh out loud panicked shouts from the swimmers when they first spot you, it’s hard to play Shark or Die without smiling.

It’s not all smiles, though. The gameplay is shallow, with your victims unable to offer any kind of resistance to your munching, and with only the quickening depreciation of the hunger meter and a bell that rings when touched acting as any kind of obstacle to progress.

Some shark hunters, more emphasis on stealth, or a bit more variety in the reactions of swimmers you munch would have added another layer to the game, but as it stands Shark or Die is still a quick hit of amoral fun.