And yes, the purpose of the game is indeed to embody a shark directly, and not to hunt sharks (even if you will happen to chew some congeners on occasion). And while this concept lends itself a priori quite poorly to a script, the developers have managed to lay a story that holds up. Because the shark that we embody is not just any shark. Any baby, and even more exactly a fetus, he received a nasty stab from Pierre Leblanc (also called Pete the scaly), a hunter who had just killed and disembowelled his mother. Admit that there is enough to seek revenge afterwards. But could it be that Pete's actions are also justified? The player will discover this during rather amusing cinematic scenes, which are particularly well staged. The design simulates a television report, with credits worthy of an 80s series, interviews with the hunter and his son, and related comments. During the gameplay, the narration continues even more beautifully thanks to a voice-over that regularly underlines our actions like an animal documentary. The actor is so good that we can easily forgive the absence of French dubbing, localized subtitles being fortunately included. The tone of the excellent Chris Parnell is always nonchalant, whatever his lines of dialogue. Some give more or less accurate anecdotes about underwater life, others tell real horrors (which pass cream thanks to the underlying irony), and still others play the humor card more clearly. direct. When you evolve your shark, don't be surprised to hear the narrator speak in all seriousness: "The shark has become an adult and should probably spend less, save more, and start looking for investment funds ". We're here to have fun, and it works pretty well.
GRAPHICS THAT REQUIRE
But while some games would have used the second degree as an excuse to throw half-ugly graphics at us, Maneater on the contrary offers us a good show. Atmospheric effects and the day/night cycle showcase beautiful terrestrial environments, our shark sports realistic scars, the seabed bathes in believable light, and the blood of our victims streams gracefully through the water. Overall, the Unreal Engine 4 has been put to good use. Honestly, we weren't expecting that much. The animations are not to be outdone since they are extremely dynamic, even "over the top" at times. And the splashes of water, sprays of blood and other violent movements are reinforced by delicious screams when attacking humans.
The atmosphere is bloody but uninhibited, the game perfectly assuming its status as a guilty pleasure. The player can also push the vice so far as not to completely devour his prey, in order to better admire their wounds. Watching swimmers beat stumps in an attempt to escape you as you circle them is a rare treat. The maneuverability is very correct for a game that requires you to really manage the three dimensions of space. It may happen that you find yourself on the surface involuntarily, especially during underwater combat, but you just have to press a button to dive back immediately. The game even features a command to automatically deal with hostile creatures, making it easier to deal with the toughest encounters. The palette of movements generally allows you to swim, leap forward, jump out of the water like a majestic dolphin, switch to Predation mode with the fin protruding from the surface of the water, bite, hold and shake prey (or even throw it away), swipe your tail, move about for a few moments on dry land (just to catch a passing golfer), or dodge an attack enemy or a shot. Because you won't just crunch helpless bathers. innocent sea turtles, peaceful groupers, slightly aggressive carnivorous fish, terrifying alligators, and other sharks to match your legendary ferocity. You will also have to hunt hunters...
A LITTLE CROQUE-MONSIEUR?
By dint of killing humans, you will raise a threat gauge. Once it is filled, bounty hunters armed with rifles arrive. The rather quiet pace of the game then noticeably races. You have to dodge the shots, jump out of the water to catch an armed man or a pilot, crunch the divers around you, eat a few fish on the way to regain health, and even try to destroy the boats with blows of jaw and tail. Except that by dint of destroying boats and swallowing hunters, it is your infamy gauge that will increase. And each time she crosses a level, the leader of the gang will come to join the pack, until you come to the end. Throughout your rise in power, it is thus ten human bosses that you will have to face. The principle is always a bit the same (jump out of the water, give a few bites, try to catch the guy and take him to the ocean….), but when your opponents start pulling out their guns pump, things get tougher noticeably. Underwater creatures are also entitled to "super predator" versions, which are more difficult to defeat than the usual poiscaille.
Thus, the game takes the form of an open world divided into eight specific areas, which seek to vary the scenery (from the bayou to the luxury condos built on the coast, via a golf resort or a sandy beach) . One can roam freely and without charging, or use a fast travel feature to get from region to region.
But since the game sports an RPG structure, we become more and more powerful over time, and the hostile animals that beat us up at the start of the game end up becoming almost common prey. Obviously, being a shark strongly limits the possibilities of dialogues and it is therefore not necessary to look for any literary aspect in the "role player" character of the adventure. Rather, we are talking here about the progression mechanics usually assigned to role-playing games. Thus, the game takes the form of an open world divided into eight specific areas, which seek to vary the scenery (from the bayou to the luxury condos built on the coast, via a golf resort or a sandy beach) . One can roam freely and without charging, or use a fast travel feature to get from region to region. Each area has its own set of quests to complete to advance the storyline, side quests and items to collect. Exploration gives pride of place to underwater caves, tunnels to unlock, and land areas to discover. The evolution of our shark also holds an important place.
HIS MOTHER'S TEETH
This character like no other goes through several stages (baby, teenager, adult, old), and gains power each time. Better still: crunching anything that moves allows you to gain nutrients (lipids, proteins, minerals and mutagens), which you can spend to improve your "equipment". Like a classic character, the shark can be equipped with different evolutions dedicated to its jaws, its head, its body, its fins or even its organs. It's up to you to choose between bio-electric or bone teeth, for example. Or to favor advanced sonar at higher speeds on land. The different forms of evolution act on five general parameters (mass, health, defense, damage, speed) and offer different special and contextual bonuses depending on their nature. Despite all these possibilities, some sad people will certainly criticize the game for its repetitiveness. And we can understand them because the latter is very real! The actions of a shark are necessarily limited, and all the quests revolve around the same concepts: crunch a certain number of fish of such a type, kill a certain number of humans in such an area, fight an overpowered predator, confront the hunters, and collect collectibles (license plates, landmarks, nutrient deposits).
Overall, the Unreal Engine 4 has been put to good use. Honestly, we weren't expecting that much. The animations are not to be outdone since they are extremely dynamic, even "over the top" at times.
Quite quickly, the game goes into "grinding" mode. But joyful grinding to which, for our part, we willingly submitted! Finding a landmark usually comes with some pretty funny text, some nutrient deposits require a good sense of direction to find, license plates are sometimes placed in unlikely places ("but how am I going to be able to reach this stretch of highway?"), the hunting quests allow you to enjoy very nice underwater walks, and each boss defeated brings us closer to the ultimate completion. In short, here is a game that you have to enjoy in small sessions and that you want to complete at 100%. Moreover, we regret that the PC version is not available on Steam, which would allow you to unlock Achievements. We can also regret the "too practical" aspect of the mini-map (which we tend to favor for placing markers whereas using the sonar makes it possible to locate oneself in a more immersive way) or, in a more anecdotal way, the absence of a musical theme close to that of Jaws when switching to Predation mode. But don't count on us to spit in the fin soup, especially since the developers could have done the sharks perfectly and transformed their concept into a real-fake free-to-play full of cosmetic micro-transactions!
