Publisher/Developer: Warner Bros. / Torus Games
Platform: Nintendo DS/DSi
Genre: Mystery/Fighting
Cost: $29.99
Verdict: Great game to keep in your collection for light-hearted goodness
Pros: Totally replayable; great graphics
Cons: Can’t save in the middle of levels
As I struggled with the slippery, tight shrink wrap, I wondered what I’d gotten myself into this time. Scooby-Doo was my grade school nemesis. I NEVER managed to the guess the bad guy correctly, I hated Velama’s glasses, Fred was a moron, and Scrappy needed to be stepped on; or punched. In fact, about the only good thing I could note from Scooby-Doo was Daphne. And that’s cause she’s a redhead like me! So the question weighed in my mind; Why did I agree to do this review? After the first chapter, I had my answer.
The game starts off in the clubhouse with the gang. They’re all prepubescent kiddos at this point. At first, they’re on edge due to not having eaten recently. So Velma brings news of a castle with an eating competition. Unfortunately, Daphne’s cousin is in trouble at St. Louis High: she’s trying to win the talent competition and needs help. The gang uses the state’s largest cafeteria as a lure to get the digestively inclined Shaggy and Scooby to agree to going there first. This first cut scene sets the game up for at least two fo the upcoming four episodes.
Each episode has a few levels, a chase scene, and a boss fight. True to Scooby style, you seek clues using each of the characters’ special skills, Shaggy and Scooby get chased down a crazy corridor, then the gang fights the bad guy and Shaggy and Scooby manage to accidentally finish them off for the unveiling. You have to use the clues to infer who the culprit is and receive your reward. Four episodes in all make for a very entertaining game, with lots of extra motivations for playing and replaying such as trophies (very much like achievements on the 360), costumes, and playable monsters. Money is in the form of none other than Scooby Snacks, of course!
While playing, players have no control over which two characters they are able to play with in any given scene, which is a bummer. However, players are encouraged to switch between the two playable characters that ARE in each scene. Shaggy uses a sling shot for a ranged attack and can swing with a grappling hook. Fred uses little bomb/firecracker type explosives and can push heavy objects. Velma uses books to throw and has the ability to deal with whatever computer processes that become necessary. I will note here that when Velma uses the computer, you should be ready with your stylus to press the buttons on the bottom of the screen that change color. This is how she manipulates the controls. She’s using you… I always knew she was devious behind those huge glasses! Daphne uses Karate to kick major butt but is also able to shimmy up/across/down any pipes that you come across with a purple glow. Finally, Scooby swings sausage links and can take any of the several doggie doors in the game.
Now let’s talk technically for a minute. The layout of the game is great. You can have three profiles at a time. Within each profile, you have the option of going to the episodes, joining an online game (more on that in a minute), checking out and purchasing rewards that you’ve earned, and extras (which include options, codes for cheats, and credits). As I mentioned before, there are four episodes. You must beat each in order to unlock the next. The levels within the episodes don’t appear until the preceding one is finished. Once you’ve unlocked any given level or episode for that profile, you can replay it whenever you want in explore mode. In this mode, you can switch between characters as many times as you’d like, playing whomever you choose. You can also choose to dress them up in the costumes you can purchase. Replay ability is very high on this game because of all the little extras they give you. People who like to get all of the hidden goodies can play for that purpose alone in this game.
The graphics are super sweet. The cut scenes are very well animated, and I love the “camera” angles they use to show the scenes. They aren’t excessive or too sparse and they are very relevant to what is going on, which I appreciated while trying to get through the game. I also liked that since you can’t leave the level before you finish it without having to start over (the only thing I don’t like about this game), I can at least skip the cut scenes and get right to the action when need be. As far as in game graphics, I thought they were great too with two exceptions. First, when the characters are right up to the screen, they have only little dots for eyes. Actually, I didn’t think this was bad, but entirely amusing. I paused to laugh at the difference between the amazing cut scene graphics and the drawings on the screen that were reminiscent of my five year old’s artwork. Secondly, I had a hard time with the depth perception in this game. I found it hard at times to figure out why I was falling off the end of the bridge, etc. After a while, you get used to it, but there were certain levels that were made more difficult by the awkward camera angles of game play (which you can’t control).
I love the eerie music as well. The sounds vary a lot, which I definitely appreciate, and the bad guys make distinctive sounds which alerted me to their presence on more than one occasion. Another thing that was very exciting to me (strangely enough given my previous experience with the cartoon) was the presence of some of the original voices. Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby seemed to be the original voice actors. Velma sounded like the mom from That 70′s Show (though I don’t think she actually was) and I really like that actress’s voice as it’s very distinctive. The gang talks to each other through out the game, and they even say clever things while fighting; sometimes vocalized, sometimes just written.
There is a two player mode which I was unable to play for the review. What I do know, is that you can join in with someone else who is playing on their DS. You can beat up the bad guys and search for clues together in explore mode or story mode. The great thing about this multi-player option is that a player can drop out while the other continues uninterrupted. A feature that would improve several games I can think of at the moment.
After playing the game, I have a newfound respect for Mystery Inc. It’s a fun game, well written storyline that is relevant to the game and true to the original premise of the show, and has all kinds of little surprises. Sufficiently creepy, this Scooby-Doo can be enjoyed by the new fans, or old; not that I’m calling you old. Okay. I was actually, and I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you pesky kids and your dog!
Popularity: unranked [?]
