{{Short description|1997 video game}} {{other uses of|Tiger shark}} {{Infobox video game |developer = n-Space |publisher = GT Interactive |platforms = PlayStation, Microsoft Windows |released ={{vgrelease|NA|25 March 1997<ref>{{Cite web |date=1997-06-06 |title=Online Gaming Review |url=http://www.ogr.com/news/news0397.html |access-date=2023-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970606072617/http://www.ogr.com/news/news0397.html |archive-date=1997-06-06 }}</ref>|EU|10 August 1997<small> (PC)</small>|EU|1997<small> (PS)</small>}} |genre = Combat flight simulator |modes = Single player, multiplayer |image = TigerShark cover.jpg |caption = PlayStation Cover Art |alt = }}'''''TigerShark''''' is a 1997 video game published by GT Interactive for the PlayStation and Windows, and the first game to be released by its developer, n-Space.
==Story==
''TigerShark'' is set in the Japanese Archipelago in the near future, where the Japanese Economic Collective have turned to sources of geothermal power known as 'geothermal taps' in the faultline across the Japanese coast. A series of major earthquakes caused by tapping into this faultline destabilise and sink many of the Japanese islands. Sensing an opportunity, a rogue commander of the Federated States of Russia invades and occupies the remainder of Japan, planning to continue to mine the faultline for energy. The player is tasked to launch a counter-invasion by the United States against the rogue Russian commander, and in turn save the world.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McNally|first=Steve|date=April 1996|title=You're A Tiger|url=https://archive.org/details/playstation-pro-06/page/76/mode/2up?q=tigershark|journal=PlayStation Pro|issue=6|pages=76–77}}</ref>
==Gameplay==
''TigerShark'' is a naval combat game in which the player operates the titular Tigershark, a futuristic hydrofoil powered submarine. It features a unique mechanic in which the player alternates between navigating the vessel both at and below the ocean's surface in 3D. Players encounter varied enemies, including small and large ships, cruisers, fixed and moving guns, and mines, and can use a number of weapons, including torpedoes, flak, and main guns.<ref name=GDR>{{Cite web|last=Engel|first=Barak|url=http://www.gamesdomain.co.uk/gdreview/zones/reviews/pc/may97/tgrshark.html|title=Tigershark|website=Games Domain Review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970727235806/http://www.gamesdomain.co.uk/gdreview/zones/reviews/pc/may97/tgrshark.html|archive-date=Jul 27, 1997|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The game features one training level and nine regular levels, assigning players with multiple targets, from radars to large installations, which the player must destroy to reach the next mission.<ref name=IGN/> Some missions require the player to complete additional objectives, such as escorting and protecting allies, or escaping a volcano before it erupts.<ref name=GDR/>
==Reception==
{{Video game reviews | PC = true | PS = true |rev1=''Official Australian PlayStation Magazine'' |rev1_PS=7/10<ref name=OAPS>{{Cite journal|date=Autumn 1997|title=TigerShark|url=https://archive.org/details/Official_AUS_PlayStation_Magazine_Issue_003_1997_Next_Gaming_AU_autumn_edition/page/56/mode/2up?q=tigershark|journal=Official Australian PlayStation Magazine|issue=3|pages=56}}</ref> |rev2=''PlayStation Pro'' |rev2_PS=4/10<ref name=PP>{{Cite journal|last=Sharp|first=Andy|date=December 1997|title=TigerShark|url=https://archive.org/download/playstation-pro-15/Playstation%20Pro%20%2315.pdf|journal=PlayStation Pro|issue=15|pages=54–55}}</ref> |rev3=''Computer Game Entertainment'' |rev3_PC=76%<ref name=PGM>{{Cite journal|last=Mooney|first=Shane|date=August 1997|title=TigerShark|url=https://archive.org/details/cge-02/page/104|journal=Computer Game Entertainment|issue=2|pages=105}}</ref> |GSpot_PC=5.7<ref name=GSpot>{{Cite web|last=Gerstmann|first=Jeff|authorlink=Jeff Gerstmann|date=2 May 2000|title=Tigershark Review|url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/tigershark-review/1900-2549776/|website=GameSpot|access-date=14 August 2022|archive-date=14 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814075846/https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/tigershark-review/1900-2549776/|url-status=live}}</ref> |PCPP_PC=74%<ref name=PCPP>{{Cite journal|last=Sharpe|first=Peter|date=August 1997|title=Tigershark|url=https://archive.org/details/PCPowerplay-015-1997-08|journal=PC PowerPlay|issue=15|pages=72}}</ref> |EGM_PS=5.0<ref name=EGM>{{Cite magazine|date=March 1997|title=Tiger Shark|url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20092%20%28March%201997%29/page/n53/mode/2up|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=92|pages=52}}</ref> |NGen_PS={{Rating|3|5}}<ref name=NGen>{{Cite journal|date=May 1997|title=TigerShark|url=https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration29May1997/page/n151/mode/2up?q=tigershark|journal=Next Generation|issue=29|pages=150}}</ref> |CGSP_PC={{Rating|3|5}}<ref name=CGSP>{{Cite journal|last=Smith|first=Peter|date=August 1997|title=TigerShark|url=https://archive.org/details/computer-games-strategy-plus-august-1997/page/94/mode/2up?q=tigershark|journal=Next Generation|issue=29|pages=95}}</ref> |IGN_PS=6.5<ref name=IGN>{{Cite web|date=13 December 2018|title=Tiger Shark|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/09/05/tiger-shark|website=IGN|access-date=14 August 2022|archive-date=14 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814090226/https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/09/05/tiger-shark|url-status=live}}</ref> }}
Reviews for ''TigerShark'' were average. Positive reviews focused upon the novelty of the gameplay, with praise for the originality of its mechanics. Peter Sharpe of ''PC Powerplay'' remarked that "being able to quickly submerge and surface is enjoyable as the action dynamically changes depending on your depth".<ref name=PCPP/> A reviewer for ''Computer Games Strategy Plus'' agreed, praising how the "controls available expand considerably at the same time that you have to start thinking in 3D" when in the underwater mode.<ref name=CGSP/> A reviewer for ''Next Generation'' stated that ''TigerShark's'' premise is "promising and earns points for uniqueness".<ref name=NGen/>
Negative reviews of ''TigerShark'' critiqued the repetition and difficulty of the gameplay. In a particularly low review, Peter Sharpe of ''PlayStation Pro'' expressed that the game "plays badly", stating that "variation is something that doesn't feature strongly in ''TigerShark''", as "players will soon bore of blasting the copious, bland and uninteresting enemies".<ref name=PP/> Reviewers for ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' expressed frustration for the "unfair" and unbalanced difficulty of the game, as "enemy opponents are everywhere and are practically unstoppable".<ref name=EGM/> Jeff Gerstmann of ''GameSpot'' also expressed annoyance that "many of the missions are very difficult, and you must start each one from the beginning every time if you die".<ref name=GSpot/>
Reviewers provided mixed opinions about the presentation of the game. A reviewer for ''Next Generation'' critiqued the lack of detail in the game, noting "the undersea and surface environments are not very graphically compelling".<ref name=NGen/> Jeff Gerstmann of ''GameSpot'' stated "''Tigershark's'' graphics are decent, but the murky sea depths lack detail...The game moves smoothly enough, though the objects could have use more polygons - as it is everything looks square".<ref name=GSpot/> Reviewers also expressed mixed opinions on the graphics requirements. Peter Smith of ''Computer Games Strategy Plus'' stated "''TigerShark'' looks good normally, but throw a 3Dfx accelerator card into your rig and it looks spectacular".<ref name=CGSP/> Peter Sharpe of ''PC Powerplay'' critiqued the system requirements for the game with other cards, stating "a stock standard Pentium 133 will move the frame rate along at an acceptable rate, but the graphics are best described as average.<ref name=PCPP/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{moby game|id=/tigershark|name=''Tigershark''}}
Category:1997 video games Category:Combat flight simulators Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games Category:N-Space games Category:PlayStation (console) games Category:Underwater civilizations in fiction Category:Video games developed in the United States Category:Video games set in the 2060s Category:Video games set underwater Category:Windows games