Big guns and a pervy boss!
I'd seen pictures of this underwater shoot 'em up but didn't really know what to expect from what seemed a pretty naff James Bond wannabe. Released in 1991 by Domark, our villain is the busty Madame Q who desires nothing less than to rule the world. She's gone and kidnapped lots of gorgeous girls who are to be experimented on and turned into monsters. Okay, so our task is to find her secret base, kill all the baddies, and free the hostages.
Grab something rubbery to wear because her base is deep underwater which reminds me of Scuba Dive on my old ZX Spectrum! But these dangerous waters are patrolled by armed guards and robotic sharks. Harpoon everything that moves and destroy the automated defences before blowing open an entrance to her lair.
Grab something rubbery to wear because her base is deep underwater which reminds me of Scuba Dive on my old ZX Spectrum! But these dangerous waters are patrolled by armed guards and robotic sharks. Harpoon everything that moves and destroy the automated defences before blowing open an entrance to her lair.
Let's check out the initial screens...
A cool loading screen but where's the intro disappeared to??
Still, at least a 2-player co-op is still included which is ace!
The opening scene is underwater heading to the evil lair...
A cool loading screen but where's the intro disappeared to??
Still, at least a 2-player co-op is still included which is ace!
The opening scene is underwater heading to the evil lair...
Inside are lots of baddies and some great weapons to pick up - the punk girls scream lol
Wear your best flippers for the girls!
Inside, the game changes to a scrolling platformer which is basically a ripoff of Rolling Thunder (yikes, we all remember that dreadful conversion). Anyhow, this stage is better with henchmen and other strange characters chasing you. Weaponry remains the same and can also be upgraded to a flamethrower, uzi, rocket, and more. Finally, battle a boss and rescue yourself a few gorgeous babes - who will be extremely grateful.
Once completed, it flips back to the underwater stage and we repeat for similar missions. The difficulty level increases as we infiltrate through the base but it's now that I needed to activate a trainer because the later levels are crammed with an insane amount of baddies!! Also, the end-of-level bosses are tough and made worse by tons of other bad guys turning up to help out their boss. Argh, my screen is littered with too many brawling sprites!!
Once completed, it flips back to the underwater stage and we repeat for similar missions. The difficulty level increases as we infiltrate through the base but it's now that I needed to activate a trainer because the later levels are crammed with an insane amount of baddies!! Also, the end-of-level bosses are tough and made worse by tons of other bad guys turning up to help out their boss. Argh, my screen is littered with too many brawling sprites!!
Gimme a flamethrower and I'm happy...
Yikes, our evil villain looks freaky like something from Twisted Sister!
Rescuing the sexy girls produces lots of kisses and hugs for our hero!!
Later on, we're in dirty waters with toxic waste barrels.
This leads to a scary rock monster and naked firewomen. Nice!
Yikes, our evil villain looks freaky like something from Twisted Sister!
Rescuing the sexy girls produces lots of kisses and hugs for our hero!!
Later on, we're in dirty waters with toxic waste barrels.
This leads to a scary rock monster and naked firewomen. Nice!
Graphics & Sounds
The visuals are nice with gorgeous backgrounds and different artwork styles. I liked how each level looked and the sprites were always superbly drawn: nothing beats watching the girls falling to their feet for lots of comical kissing. The scrolling is smooth but feels a little lethargic, especially on later levels when there are lots going on.
Sadly, there isn't a chiptune bopping away in the background but the sound effects are quite good. Actually, no, they are crude but the grunts are deranged - I loved the haunting female's scream of death. Sonically superb!!
Check out these screenshots that demonstrate this game's stunning artwork...
The end boss battles are rubbish if I'm honest. You are forced to cheat which is a bit daft!
This is basically because there are far too many enemies. It's impossible!
Finally, we get to meet the flame-haired temptress. Gorgeous pixel art!
But it isn't long before she morphs into something hideously ugly. Like a dog turd with hair!
The end boss battles are rubbish if I'm honest. You are forced to cheat which is a bit daft!
This is basically because there are far too many enemies. It's impossible!
Finally, we get to meet the flame-haired temptress. Gorgeous pixel art!
But it isn't long before she morphs into something hideously ugly. Like a dog turd with hair!
The CryptO'pinion?
I must admit, I'm a little unsure what to make of Thunder Jaws. It's predictable fun and the addition of a two-player co-op is excellent. However, the later levels are impossible without cheating and I got a whiff of a lame port when things slowed to a sluggish pace. Having said that, it's not the disaster Rolling Thunder was and I enjoyed pretending to be James Bond, rescuing sexy girls, and saving the world from a busty flame-haired tyrant.
Yep, I enjoyed Thunder Jaws - it's not perfect but I played through to the end and loved every second of it!!
Here is the end screen... it's probably best I don't comment? :)
Is the trainer you used on 'Superior Menu Disk 091'? That's the only one I've
ReplyDeletefound & I couldn't get it to work no matter what settings I chose in Steem S.S.E.
Still a good & very challenging game!
Oh? erm? Sorry it's been a long time and I cannot remember. I probably used the hard drive version... If you want the floppies then try Stonish. I'll look to update the links here for those sometime. Glad you liked it :)
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