Scooby Doo Unmasked Preview

Everyone sing! …

“Scooby Dooby Doo, Where are you?
We got some work to do

“Scooby Dooby Doo, Where are you?
We need some help from you now”

Fred is off to see his cousin, Jed, at a studio that makes monsters – Monsters, Fright and Magic (their motto is ‘Monsters While You Wait’), but when the Mystery Machine and its passengers arrive, the studio is ransacked and Jed is no where to be seen.

Sounds like the right ingredients for a classic Scooby-Doo tale. Throw in all-new gameplay mechanic embracing the martial arts, archery and flying, as well as special costumes that give Scooby special powers and you are talking about an adventure that has the appeal of the cartoon series. The game is even cel-shaded to look like the television cartoons. 

After the monster factory, the gang discovers (courtesy of Mr. Stanton, voiced by none other than Adam West) that Jed is the prime suspect in a major theft involving a soy-based substance that creates and animates monsters, as well as the UV lights that can dissolve said monsters into globs of an edible substance – which makes Shaggy and Scooby more interested. Then it is one to the Shuddery Showdown in Chinatown to continue the adventure.

Scooby-Doo Unmasked is not the arcade-style platformer that will embrace all age groups. It is more intended for younger players. The puzzles are simple, the adventure path is well marked and the game’s levels do not feel all that long. THQ, and developer A2M, will be releasing this title on the PlayStation 2 – the platform of this preview code, Xbox, Game Boy and Nintendo DS.

You collect Scooby Snacks, clues, various food items (which you can give to Shaggy to use in his portable kitchen to whip up tasty meals, which translate into medals). Scooby also has three basic attacks that can be used on monsters or boxes – a spin attack, a slide attack and a roll attack. The controls are kept so simple that newer games will be pulling off these attacks quickly and effortlessly. That is part of the charm of this title – everything is kept simple and that will allow players, especially the very young, great success almost from the beginning. Each level is scored to show how much of certain available items were obtained. If you missed items, you can always replay the game to find those.

The voice acting is indicative of the cartoon series and the game looks very similar to the cartoon. The colors are bright and the environments are well done. Some of the cel-shading edges get a little blown out by the interior color, but it is hardly noticeable and besides, this was not the final copy, so any of the issues with the graphics will be tidied up by release.

The adventure may not be overly involving, but the game does capture the essence of the cartoon series very well. This is a game that should have a family appeal. And playing as Scooby-Doo is just plain fun.

After all …

“Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you?
You're ready and you're willing

“If we can count on you Scooby Doo
I know you'll catch that villain”