Everyone’s favorite crime-fighting canine (no, not McGruff) finally hits the
Xbox in Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights. Night of 100 Frights on the Xbox is
essentially a straight port of the game released last year on the PS2 and
GameCube, so gamers hoping for any new additions or graphical enhancements in
the Xbox version will be sorely disappointed. However, Scooby fans who didn’t
get a chance to get a hold of this game last year on the other consoles will
find a fun experience that does well to mirror the atmosphere of the popular
show. The game is full of little details that enrich the experience and make it
feel as though you’re actually playing the cartoon show. So, while the game may
not offer any Xbox exclusives, what’s there should be enough for Scooby fans.
Night
of 100 Frights follows the Scooby gang to a haunted house in the middle of
nowhere (of course). Daphne’s friend Holly has asked Scooby and the gang to
look into the disappearance of her uncle Professor Alexander Graham, a
well-known inventor. In his absence, a great deal of monsters have made their
home the fishing town that the Professor’s mansion overlooks, causing the town’s
inhabitants to grab their things and take off. Therefore, it’s up to Scooby to
solve the mystery of the Professor’s disappearance and get rid of the monsters
which have claimed the town and the Professor’s mansion.
The
gameplay in Night of 100 Frights is pretty simplistic, but still pretty fun and
interesting. As Scooby, you run your way through various jumping puzzles,
disposing of baddies and collecting Scooby snacks. Along the way you’ll
encounter areas that you can not access without certain items, causing you to
then go recover the items you need and backtrack to the locations where you need
the items. This constant backtracking could’ve been a real pain, but the
developers but in a nifty warp system that allows you to go back to areas you’ve
already visited in a flash. The items you get are pretty cool and mirror the
show nicely. You pick up a football helmet that allows you to charge big
enemies, springs that allow you to double jump, and bunny slippers and a
lampshade that allow sneaking by enemies undetected.
The
graphics aren’t very complex, and by no means push the envelope on any of the
current consoles, let alone the Xbox. However, the game still looks very good
and looks a lot like the cartoons. The character models are made up of very few
polygons, but they are fluidly animated. Scooby in particular looks and moves
almost exactly like his TV counterpart, with all the goofy character that made
him famous.
The
audio department is where Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights really stands out.
The sounds are crisp and vibrant, taken straight out of any number of Hanna-Barbera
cartoons. The music is also lifted from the TV show, and changes with the
onscreen action. The voice acting is superb, featuring the original voice cast
from the recent direct-to-video movies as well as well known actors Tim Curry,
Don Knotts, and Tim Conway.
Given
that the Xbox port offers no changes from the PS2 and GameCube versions released
last year, if you’ve gotten your fill of those then there really isn’t a reason
to invest in the Xbox version. However, if you missed it last year and are a
hardcore Scooby-Doo fan, then now’s your chance to play his best video game
adventure yet.
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Gameplay: 8.0
The
gameplay is fairly simple platforming. As Scooby, you run, jump, and collect
Scooby snacks while exploring the mansion and fighting monsters. However, as
the game progresses, you’ll find various tools you can use to help you dispose
of bad guys and get to hard to reach places. Also, so much of the original feel
and style from the show has been preserved that you can’t help but feel charmed,
even when performing the most mundane tasks in the game.
Graphics: 7.9
The Xbox version unfortunately offers no graphical enhancements to the
previously released GameCube version (it doesn’t even support HDTV). However,
the graphics do remain impressively true to the feel of the TV show. All the
characters have been faithfully reproduced, and Scooby’s animation could have
been lifted right out of the show.
Sound: 9.0
The
sound is easily the best part of Night of 100 Frights. The voices and sounds
are crisp and clear with no compression, and the amount of attention to
maintaining the feel of the show from an auditory standpoint is very evident.
The characters are voiced by the same actors from the recent direct-to-video
movies, while such actors as Don Knotts, Tim Curry and Tim Conway lend their
talents to supporting roles. Also, a laugh track runs through the course of the
game and goes off whenever Scooby does something funny, which definitely
enhances the TV show feel of the game. The music is comprised of various tunes
from the original TV show as well as variations on the songs.
Difficulty: Medium/Easy
Concept: 8.5
Although the gameplay is a bit simplistic, nearly all aspects of the TV show are
accurately recreated, from the introduction to the animation. Plus, the audio
is right on par with the show. Fans of the TV show will be very satisfied.
Overall: 8.0
Night of 100 Frights is a simplistic, yet fun platformer that will appeal to
Scooby fans and children. The Xbox version doesn’t offer any real changes from
the version released on other consoles last year, but the game still stays
incredibly true to the TV show and offers all the fun and charisma that have
made the series so endearing and popular over the years.
