Maneater
It ’s a baffling life being a shark . clock time and time again , the media portrait of sharksshows them as grim monsters , whether through the tension ofJawsor the more absurdThe Meg . Maneaterlooks to lend some balance by cast the player as the aquatic marauder , acting as the protagonist of the story rather than as the perennial heel .
Developed by studio apartment Tripwire Interactive , Maneaterleans heavily into cheesy shark movie . Unthinking and strong-growing , the player consistently terrorize animal and human likewise in its seeking to become an ultimate predator . locomote from bayou to coast , before prompt into the deep of the ocean , Maneateris a condemnable and uproariously over - the - top experience .
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Maneater ’s Congress of Racial Equality premise of destruction come in the form of an open earthly concern sandbox . The player ’s bull shark does n’t quite have the same depth of the fictitious character ofGTA 5 , but the end result can be just as explosive . OnceManeatergets survive , the hope of being an unstoppable aquatic killer is an intoxicating construct that work fantastically well .
To get with it ’s quite sluggish , however . An prefatorial tutorial level , where the histrion has full control of an adult shark as it satiate its appetite with unsuspecting natator , abruptly ends when the shark is catch and butchered by our main opponent , Scaly Pete . This shark huntsman cuts a young bull shark out of its catch mother and bemuse it into the bayou - but not before the pup takes Pete ’s hand off as swift retribution .
After that , the actor engage on the function of the orphan shark , chomping down on an miscellany of unsuspecting wildlife as it rise bountiful enough to take on prominent fair game . It ’s surprisingly slow blend at this stage , funnily similar to the gonzo SNES gameE.V.O. : Search For Eden , as the shark get force - up rise , amplification story , and stealthily hunts its prey while avoiding with child marauder like alligator .
Before too long , Maneatergets into its groove . The game act as heavily on its flakey premiss , amping up what was examine in 2006’sJaws Unleashedto its coherent closing . Along the wayManeaterthrows in a fair bit of funniness , compose itself as a reality telly show following shark hunter and spitballing jab at everything fromFyre Festivalthrough toWaterworldand Pennywise the Clown .
The core gameplay then come down into a loop that ’s been seen many times before in open world games . The quest for vengeance leads the shark into various parts of the city , thin out out the universe of quarry or predators , kill some unsuspecting civilians to profit infamy , before taking down the boss and move onto the next area . Strangely enough , Maneater ’s penny-pinching morphologic match isMafia 3 , albeit replacing its complex human main eccentric for a slightly less nuanced portraiture of a furious Pisces .
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Tripwire Interactive’s Maneater is an open-world action RPG that differentiates itself from the many other games in the crowded genre by putting players in control of a shark.The game initially pits players against fishermen, before tasking them with defeating more dangerous enemies such as apex predators.
Rather than the mob bosses or terrible foes of other open world game , Maneaterinstead has two unique variety of challenge . Each part of the city ’s waterway is the home of a specific solar apex vulture that is significantly tougher than the usual enemies , such as a mako shark or an alligator , which is lure out after the player has completed enough quests within the area . Meanwhile , growing your infamy with human kills will attract the attention of list shark hunters that shew to be more difficult than the usual hunters that the musician faces , with this mechanic feeling almost akin to the Cult of Cosmos assassinations inAssassin ’s Creed Odyssey .
Maneaterdoes fall into the yap of becoming a collect - a - thon at times , which sure is n’t for everyone , and this adds to the sense of repetition that sometimes feels like unneeded padding . ThankfullyManeaterdoes a better Book of Job than most games that come down into this snare , thanks to the snippet of humor received via Chris Parnell ’s groovy voiceover work as the host of the titulary shark hunt show .
This sensation of repetition is the only major negative ofManeater , as apart from that the game lives up to the hope of an unrestrained puppet feature article experience . maturate from a vernal shark through to a terrifying senior is satisfying , and the biz ’s on - the - nose environmental message is portrayed with a tone that feels like abastardized rendering ofCaptain Planet .
The good way that this is showcased is withManeater ’s horrid upgrade system , with the shark turn over genetic mutation that are narratively tied to the defilement that seep through the waterworks of the game . The thespian can become a ivory - coated horror shark that would give the characters ofDeep Blue Seanightmares , and take upgrades that permit the shark to slow down sentence and release poison , or even give off deadly electric shocks .
Maneateris at its good when the player is to the full upgraded , and able-bodied to bring mayhem on the general universe . One of the best bonuses in the game make the cop shark amphibious , allow them to start onto land for longer periods of time and partake in such wonderful moments as gatecrashing an ocean - side rave and ruining the party . instead , the thespian could pick out to take their atomic number 10 expiry shark into the middle of an killer whale show , jump into the arse and mercilessly eating the audience .
Quite only , it ’s a joy to playact when unleashing the true great power of this ultimate marauder . A raft of the time , the actor will be best dish by snub whatManeateris recount them to do and rather just deciding to break someone ’s Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . When the alternative to jump onto land and join a beach assemblage is available , or to hop into a golf game trend and literally eat the fat , then it ’s easy to miss track of the principal pursuance .
It ’s these kind of present moment , much likeGrand Theft Auto , whereManeatershines . track down other aquatic creatures is all well and right - particularly with the challenge of such dangerous predators as great whiteness and orcas - but convey on humankind is the best part of the game . In finical , agitate back against H.M.S. Bounty hunters ferment extremely well , whether force sauceboat until they go down , eating harpoon - wielding diving hunters whole , or jump direct onto a boat and chowing down on the surprised Hunter .
That ’s without say how well - crafted other aspects ofManeaterare . When it comes to its ascendence schemeManeateris fantastic , with an intuitive lateral smell that gets players into the groove instantly . From a sound design linear perspective it also shines , with muffled subaqueous sounds and genuinely unsettling noises for incoming attacking predators that add tension to the early secret plan .
The earth ofManeateris also with child to look at . Its submerged set pieces , whether via claustrophobic , sea anemone - laden burrow or huge open water sphere , all attend wonderful , while even the flow of the water on the surface is very realistic . Maneater ’s shark protagonist ’s movements are also well - realized , with animations that never get dull over the track of the game ’s runtime .
Maneateris big , dumb , and terrific . Although the secret plan could have done with trim some of the fat rather than squeezing out as many 60 minutes of gameplay as potential , once the player gets through its early point it ’s a nonsensical and loveable open world experience that provides precisely the layer of pandemonium that its players will starve . It might not besafe to go back in the piddle , but doubtless it ’s a risk that is worth taking .
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Maneateris available for PC , PlayStation 4 , and Xbox One , with a Nintendo Switch waiver planned . Screen Rant was provide with a PC download code for the determination of this review .
Tripwire Interactive ’s Maneater is an open - world action RPG that differentiate itself from the many other biz in the crowded genre by set players in control of a shark . The secret plan initially mark player against fishermen , before task them with defeating more dangerous enemies such as apex predators .
Tripwire Interactive’s Maneater is an open-world action RPG that differentiates itself from the many other games in the crowded genre by putting players in control of a shark.The game initially pits players against fishermen, before tasking them with defeating more dangerous enemies such as apex predators.
