The Goat House Presents: Maneater Review

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Many gamers enjoy open world games. They allow for exploration and overall freedom for players. Maneater is a bit different. It is open world, has tons of pop culture references, comedic moments throughout the game, and finally even varied environments to explore. The big difference? You take on the role of a baby bull shark that is literally thrown into this world, and tasked with surviving. As you progress through the game not only will the environment change, but so will your shark. Tripwire Interactive are the ones responsible for Maneater, read on to see if it is worth your time to dive in.

The premise of Maneater is simple. You are a bull shark that is tasked with getting revenge on the shark hunter known as “Scaly Pete”. Throughout your journey against him many other enemies will be encountered, these can range from human to other sea life that will be faced. The whole premise of the game revolves around getting revenge though. It is presented in a TV Show format, which is definitely different. It feels as though you are seeing something off of Shark Week, except you are on a reality show called Maneaters vs. Sharkhunters.

The gameplay for Maneater is pretty straightforward. You can attack, tail whip, and swim. Seems simple right? Well the “Evolutions” of your shark change all of that. These can be equipped to your jaw, head, body, fins, tail, and three different organs. It is up to the player how they want their shark to not only look, but play as well. The “Evolutions” can be leveled up as well by spending the in-game currency of Protein, Fat, Minerals, and Mutagens. The higher tiers of some of these “Evolutions” cost quite a bit, and usually more than just one type of currency. Below is the full list of “Evolutions” to use within Maneater:

Jaw:
  • Bio-Electric Teeth
  • Bone Teeth
  • Shadow Teeth
Head:
  • Bio-Electric Head
  • Bone Head
  • Shadow Head
Body:
  • Bio-Electric Body
  • Bone Body
  • Shadow Body
Fins:
  • Bio-Electric Fins
  • Bone Fins
  • Shadow Fins
Tail:
  • Bio-Electric Tail
  • Bone Tail
  • Shadow Tail
Organs:
  • Adrenal Gland
  • Advanced Sonar
  • Amphibious
  • Brutal Muscles
  • Fat Digestion
  • Hearty
  • Mineral Digestion
  • Mutagen Digestion
  • Protein Digestion
  • Reinforced Cartilage
  • Subliminal Evasion
All of these options can be interchanged however you see fit, allowing you to create the ultimate shark to traverse through the water with.
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Speaking of traversing waters, there are a total of 8 different areas for you to explore. Each area will have a set of the 133 total missions that are to be completed as you progress through the game. What is amazing is that each of these 8 areas has completely different environments, as well as sea life that you will encounter. Below is the full list of areas to explore:
  • Caviar Key
  • Crawfish Bay
  • Dead Horse Lake
  • Fawtick Bayou
  • Golden Shores
  • Prosperity Sands
  • Sapphire Bay
  • The Gulf
Many will want to simply just attack people with their shark constantly. This will quickly cause your “Infamy Rank” to rise. There are a total of 10 levels to progress through. Once the gauge is filled up you will be hunted by the next boss shark hunter. So early on in the game, it is best to be careful and make sure you are properly leveled up and equipped to take on these hunters. Because if you are not careful, you will quickly find yourself overwhelmed by hunters.

The same can be said for some of the sea life that will be encountered in the game. If you are only a level 5 shark, you do not want to rush into trying to battle a level 15 alligator. You will quickly be done for. That is why it is a good thing that escape is always an option. Live on to fight another day. Especially once you progress far enough in an area, when you unlock the “Apex Predator” for that area. These are enemies that are a lot more difficult than regular enemies encountered.
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Graphically the game looks great. Some of the underwater graphics are quite beautiful. It is easy to simply swim around and essentially hang out as a shark, especially once you level up high enough. One thing that was amazing was how different the environments are. Whether you are in a swamp, or swimming through a resort area, the detail is there. The sound of the game is great, both in and out of the water. You will hear people say things as your shark swims by, but also the underwater sounds are accurate.

With all of this detail the one issue that arose was with some of the “Apex Predators” or many high level enemies on the screen at once. The game slowed down quite a bit, and over the course of my journey to 100% completion, I had the game crash 3 times. I never lost progress or anything like that, and it definitely didn’t take away from the fun that I had with the game. but it is still an issue.

Overall, Tripwire Interactive has delivered one of the more entertaining open world games in years for players to progress through. So much to explore, attack, and even laugh at via the pop culture references. Maneater is a game that delivers a varied environment to level up and torment as a shark. Besides the minor hiccups, it is well worth checking out for any gamer out there.

THE GOAT HOUSE SCORE: 8/10
 
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