With the new live action
Scooby Doo movie getting ready to hit theaters, I have seen Scooby Doo stuff
EVERYWHERE lately. Fruit snacks, chips, dog treats, t–shirts … all based around
the new film. Now, don’t get me wrong. That’s not a bad thing. However, us older
fuddy duddies tend to revolve around what we grew up on, which of course was the
original cartoon which came on during the Saturday morning lineup of Smurfs,
Thundercats, and a handful of others which make kids today go “huh?” when we
bring them up. Well, THQ has sent a Scooby Doo title out which caters to us
older folks out here and revolves around the original Scooby Doo cartoon.
Original characters, original songs, and some original special guests make an
interesting and humorous PS2 title that is fun for not only us grown up people
out there but for kids as well, despite a couple of issues which could not be
overlooked.
The game revolves around
everyone’s favorite four legged crime fighter / detective / scaredy cat and his
pals Shaggy, Velma, Daphnie, and Fred … once again on the way to solve another
mystery. This one involves one of Daphnie’s friends and the disappearance of her
genius inventor father, Professor Alexander Graham, who happens to live in the
mansion which appears in the very beginning of the Scooby Doo theme song on the
old cartoons. The gang decides to follow her into the mansion, while Shaggy and
Scooby decide to do what they do best … which is stay by the Mystery Machine to
avoid getting into conflicts with spooks or monsters. Well, Scooby and Shaggy’s
stomachs of course start telling them what to do, and they decide to go looking
for a box of Scooby Snacks to tide them over. Shaggy finds one stuck in a tree
branch and begins pulling on it to get it unstuck, which opens a trap door in
the grass. He plummets into the hole … and Scooby is left all alone outside in
front of the spooky mansion. He soon discovers that all of his friends, and
Daphnie’s friend as well, have now disappeared … and this is where you take over
to help Scooby find out what happened to his pals, the inventor, and solve the
mystery of the mysterious mansion.
The game basically operates
as a 2–D side scrolling platformer style with full 3–D graphics and 3–D roaming
environments thrown in here and there. Scooby can run, jump, slide, and swing
his way through not only the mansion, but some outlying areas like a hedge maze
and some haunted docks as well to search for his lost pals. Of course, nothing
is easy, and Scooby will have to pull off a various assortment of sneaking,
running, or jumping moves to knock out or avoid classic monsters from the old
episodes like the Ghost of Geronimo, the Scarecrow, or the Creeper. Along the
way, Scooby will pick up a large assortment of Scooby Snacks which are used for
two reasons … the first one is to unlock new areas of the mansion or outside
environments which require a certain amount to be collected prior to letting you
enter. The second is to unlock pictures in the “Monster Gallery” as an added
bonus. I’ll talk more about the “Monster Gallery” in a moment. Anyway, Scoob
will also pick up some other items in his exploring as well, like a various
assortment of “inventions” created by Professor Graham. These range from springs
to help you jump higher, a lampshade or some bunny slippers to hide or sneak by
monsters, or even a football helmet which can be used to smash through weak
areas or knock monsters unconscious. Another item to be collected along the way
are “monster tokens”, which picture one of the original Scooby Doo monsters that
the gang had to catch. These are also used in the Monster Gallery to unlock a
full 3–D image of the villain, as well as which episode it appeared in and even
a tidbit of Scooby trivia. Ever wonder which city Scooby Dum was from? Ever
wonder which two characters left the show in later episodes? Well, find the
coins for the Gargoyle and the Headless Specter and you will find out. The map
of the mansion and the surrounding area is big, but is broken out into sections
which operate as their own small levels and make maneuvering a little easier,
and most areas … once they are cleared … can be easily accessed again by use of
a warp gate. This comes in really handy since one particular area may call for
you to use the football helmet, but you may not have acquired it yet. So you go
to a new area, get the football helmet, then warp back to the beginning of the
stage to get into the area you couldn’t access before.
Overall, the platform style
of Scooby Doo works well and makes for a fun and entertaining title. They do a
good job of trying to mix up some areas and levels to throw some variation into
the gameplay. For example, one level will have you tediously jumping on
teetering platforms about a foot wide over a bottomless pit. The next level may
have you hopping on the back of an out of control lawnmower driven by Shaggy and
jumping over thorn patches or fire breathing garden statues. In addition, each
level has it’s own distinct look … even inside the mansion … which sets it apart
from the other areas you have visited. This all makes a fun and non – repetitive
game, but unfortunately … there are some control issues which keep it from
really hitting a top spot overall. Of course, as in any 3- D game, the camera
plays one of the most important roles in the overall fun factor. The camera for
Scooby Doo is not always bad, but it does tend to get a little annoying and
cause some headaches from time to time. The camera view is stationary and cannot
be moved around to give it a more comfortable feel. This can cause some major
problems in certain spots, such as being in a side scrolling section of the game
which calls for you to jump and swing across a series of 4 hanging lanterns …
all of which are varying degrees of distance away from the wall behind them.
Basically, you can’t just push the controller to the left, or you will plummet
into a pit or off the roof and have to start over. The more annoying piece of it
comes into play when you have to keep trying to judge the distance from the side
and either over or under compensate for the jump and keep having to “re-do” 5 or
6 times. It also can become a hassle in the full roaming 3–D sections as well,
since you may be running to make a jump across a pit or obstacle only to have
the camera change at the last minute which makes Scooby lean the wrong way into
the jump. If you are moving him right, and the screen rotates left 45 degrees,
you need to go up at that point … but you have already committed to the jump and
you sail to the right and wind up losing a life. In addition, it may cause you
to miss something you need, like a pull cord to open a bookshelf or other
various item which helps you progress. On a brighter note, you have unlimited
tries and start back at the door of the room, so you don’t have too far to go in
most cases. Still, it can go from a fun game to an annoying situation really
fast when those things happen.
Graphically, the game looks
more like a beefed up PS1 title rather than a PS2 title. It’s not terrible or
pixellated, and it is a very colorful game overall, but most objects and
environmental décor consist of 1 or 2 colors which gives them a kind of flat or
unfinished look. The FMV scenes look somewhat boxy, and the character’s mouths
just sort of randomly drop open and shut while they are talking which looks like
somewhat of a badly overdubbed foreign movie. There are some nice touches which
have been done to some areas, like blowing leaves, really nice fog and smoke
effects, and cobwebbed corners covered in dust. In addition, there are some
areas which will utilize an urn or a cabinet which blends perfectly with the
surroundings to have a monster jump out and scare you when you least expect it
to happen. Another nice thing which the game does is to make walls and objects
transparent at the right moment when you need them to be. For example, right
before you turn the corner in a hedged in area which would block your sight,
it’s gone. So you never have to worry about getting hit because you couldn’t see
what was going on.
The real winner in this
game is the sound and music. Everything that was done in the Scooby Doo cartoon
has been done in this game. The character voices are done by the original cast
and crew, and there are areas where special guests loan their voices to the game
as well, like Don Knotts, The background music consists of the same background
music they used in the cartoon to set the tone or atmosphere while the gang was
walking around or getting chased by a monster, and is utilized in the majority
of areas to set the tone for what’s going on. It will seem a little out of place
here and there, but I of course was really trying to nitpick and was purposely
listening for it. Realistically, it’s not that noticeable nor will it detract
from anything. In addition, the sound effects consist of the pitter – pattering
sound of Scooby’s feet when he runs (Similar to the sound Fred Flintstone’s feet
make when he’s running in his car), screeching tire sounds when he stops, and
the overemphasized springy banging noise when he comes to a sudden halt and hits
his head. They also included a canned laugh track into the game as well, so when
Scooby does something a little off like throw Shaggy up to catch a tire swing or
slide across a wet floor and into a monster’s legs, you hear the simulated
“studio audience” laugh in approval.
Overall, the good outweighs
the bad in this game. With a decent sized area to run around in, a challenging
and fun (but not overly difficult) gameplay setting, some interesting and fun
unlockable tidbits, and some humorous moments which were taken directly from the
original Scooby Doo episodes, any Scooby fan will enjoy this title even despite
a few flaws. Any fan of platformers will probably find enjoyment in it as well,
but if you are not much of a fan of either … I recommend renting this title
prior to purchasing it. So, kick back with a box of Scooby Snacks, grab a
flashlight, and have fun helping Scooby solve the mystery. Jinkies, maybe you
will find the originator of the “bad 3–D game camera” somewhere in the mansion
as well and solve that mystery for all of us once and for all!
Gameplay: 7.5
Despite some camera problems, Scooby
is easy to maneuver and the controls work well. The environment is large but
sectioned off to make it easy to see where you need to go back to or where you
need to move forward to. The varying environments and gameplay within different
sections also eliminates repetition. Again, the sometimes unfriendly camera can
cause annoyance from time to time and cause multiple do overs in certain areas.
Graphics:
7.6
While they
aren’t terrible, they are somewhat blocky and don’t seem to consist of too many
color schemes, and FMV scenes are blocky and look badly overdubbed. Lighting
effects are non existent for the most part, but there are certain areas and
effects which look really nice with fog or fire effects for example. In
addition, the various areas in the mansion have their own unique feel and look
to them, which helps to generate a feeling of variety.
Sound: 9.1
Well, all the original characters
are back and loaned their voice talents to this one. The background music is all
from the original cartoon and is used well to set the atmosphere most of the
time. Sound effects are taken from the original show as well, and there is even
a laugh track added in to simulate a studio audience. Definitely the high point.
Difficulty: Easy
Easy to pick up and start playing,
and easy to follow where you have been and where you need to go. The game also
has areas which will give you hints and tips to help you learn what you need to
do, and Don Knotts will pop up periodically to give you some direction and where
to go next. Kids and adults both will be able to get into this game with little
to no problem.
Concept:
8.9
Definitely a nice title for Scooby
Doo fans out there. They duplicated the cartoon sounds and antics from the TV
show accurately, and Scooby acts out some of his more memorable adventures
throughout the game.
Multiplayer: N/A
Overall:
7.8
Now, don’t get me wrong. This game
is extremely fun and entertaining, but a couple of points had to go due to some
camera and graphics issues which couldn’t be overlooked. The overall controls
are smooth and easy to maneuver, and you can tell that Renderware and THQ really
put some time into making this a good, solid, fun game. I would definitely
recommend you avid Gamezone readers out there to give this one a try before
passing it up as another kids game or a no go, or else you may miss out on an
enjoyable gaming opportunity.
