Shark or Die

Fun fact: if you turn a shark upside down, it falls asleep. It’s called tonic immobility, and it’s an evolutionary hangover similar to playing dead or 'possum', albeit involuntarily.

Of course, you’d have to get your hands on one first, and controlling a shark is not something a lot of people can - or want to - do. Until now, that is. Shark or Die puts you in control of a great white nasty, whose only concern is keeping his belly full and the waters red. It’s just as fun as it sounds, but also, sadly, just as simple.

A shark contrast

Slightly unusually, everything that takes place is viewed from the bottom of the ocean looking up. On the distant surface, swimmers and surfers splash around, unaware of the toothy danger lurking below. Until they see your fin at least – then the screams begin.

The aim is to gobble up enough of these poor blighters to keep your shark’s stomach full. A ‘meat’ meter at the bottom of the screen slowly empties, and if you don’t eat the next victim quickly enough, your shark will starve. Eat a lot of people in quick succession, however, and you’ll enter a ‘blood rage’, making you speedier and deadlier.

Gameplay is wave-based, meaning faster and more difficult prey is introduced as you progress through the game. Boats float around, too, waiting to save any paddlers lucky or fast enough to reach them. To help you prevent these types of successful rescue missions, you can increase your speed, blood rage timer, and endurance via an RPG-like menu.

Fin

The trouble comes if you expect anything more. It’s not that Shark or Die isn’t an enjoyable romp (it is). It’s just that it repeats itself to the point of seasickness.

This problem is exacerbated by the Xperia Play’s controls, which are not really suited to a game designed for touchscreens. By tapping on swimmers, your shark will swim straight towards them, but if you use the D-pad or touchpads on the Play, it becomes worryingly similar to a game of Snake.

Although these are important points, they aren't enough to detract fully from Shark or Die’s charm. It remains a strangely compulsive and simple game, whose sound effects might get you some odd looks on the train.