Scooby Doo Unmasked

I remember, just like anyone at my age, getting up early on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons. One of those cartoons was Scooby-Doo and it was always entertaining because of wacky cast of characters and plots. Well, as I grew older my appreciation for Scooby-Doo didn’t grow with me. With my son growing up I thought maybe he might take an interest in Scooby-Doo, but so far this hasn’t happened. Disney characters/movies and Sesame Street rule my house; everything else falls by the wayside. 

Well, with Scooby-Doo Unmasked for PS2 my son’s attention span lasted longer than I anticipated. He stood and watched me play the game for a few minutes before his little brain decided he’d seen enough. For a two-year-old that isn’t bad but for older children Scooby-Doo Unmasked does offer a fun and entertaining platform game that will provide hours of entertainment, not just minutes. The game doesn’t reinvent the 3D platform genre created and polished by the likes of Sonic, Mario and Crash. Instead it offers a fun romp based on what could have been an episode of the cartoon.

The Mystery Inc. gang is out to visit Fred’s cousin (wait for it......) Jed but when they arrive at the Monstrous Fright & Magic special effects company Jed is missing. To make matters worse a top-secret formula called Mubber is missing and Jed is considered the prime suspect. Soon strange and unusual monsters start to appear and the gang discovers the monsters were created with Mubber (I have to mention that when I first heard the term Mubber I immediately thought of Flubber from the old Disney movies). As the game develops you will uncover mysteries and plot twists right out of the cartoon show. For fans of the show you shouldn’t be disappointed with the story line.

The shining star of the game goes to the graphics. The game looks greatly similar to the cartoon show. All of characters, from Scooby-Doo to Shaggy, look fantastic. All of the stages in the game have the classic Scooby-Doo appearance - the spooky, campy, Halloween-ish look that was the staple of the cartoon shows. There are a wide variety of monsters and creatures you will encounter during the game and all of them have the same Scooby-Doo style cartoon demeanor to them. You will run into circus strong men, clowns, flying dinosaur men and many more creatures. Once again, if you’re a fan of the show then the look of the game will certainly please you.

The gameplay is where the game starts to fall apart. This is a typical 3D-platform game that isn’t going win any awards for gameplay. The basic gameplay has you controlling Scooby-Doo as you run around eating Scooby snacks, finding clues, pieces of Mubber and food pieces. Enemies will pop up and Scooby has a few different attacks he can use to defend himself. The game has the typical jump from one platform or ledge to another found in countless other platform games. The game even offers a subtle hint system to make sure you know which way to go. Just follow the Scooby snacks. If you see a row of Scooby snacks then you’re probably going the right direction.

The game even ramps up the difficulty nicely to make sure younger players don’t get frustrated when playing the early missions. The first two stages were a piece of cake but once those were out the way the game’s difficulty became considerably more frustrating. Precise jumps were the name of the game and one wrong jump might have you playing a section over again repeatedly. Thankfully the game allows you to keep playing from the same spot if Scooby runs out of health. The amount of mindless backtracking is eliminated due to this feature. All of the levels play out in the exact same manner: play the stage, find the clues for the stage, have Velma review the clues, which opens up another stage and then repeat.  

The entire game only allows you to play as Scooby, which was expected, but makes the other characters just fillers. Shaggy is there to make his quirky remarks and cook food for Scooby. Velma is there to figure out all the clues, Fred is just there to be Fred and Daphne is there to get captured so Scooby can rescue her. Typical Scooby-Doo style which plays out exactly the same for all of the stages. The game does offer Scooby the ability to change into different costumes that give him special abilities. The Kung Fu costume allows Scooby to pull off special karate moves and the game will even show some of the moves in slow-motion (ala The Matrix and countless other movies). The Bat costume allows Scooby to glide through the air and fly short distances using air currents. The Robin Hood costume allows Scooby to fire plungers at the enemies. Each costume is unlocked when you find a specific costume coin but each coin has two versions, silver or gold.  The coin discovered determines which versions of the suits you can use.

Controlling Scooby-Doo was a piece of cake but Scooby had a tendency to float after running or jumping. It wasn’t a big problem but it took a few minutes to get adjusted. One problem with the controls that seemed to occur at the wrong moment was jumping. Sometimes Scooby would jump in the wrong direction or fail to perform a double jump at the most inappropriate times.

The camera angle on occasion would make it difficult in seeing where to go. During the majority of the game you have full control over the camera angle but sometimes the game will switch to a platform segment that prevents you from controlling the camera. Usually those instances were side- scrolling areas where you wouldn’t need to adjust the camera. Thankfully the game allows you to reset the camera angle back to the normal view (behind Scooby) with the press of the R1 button.

Scooby-Doo Unmasked doesn’t re-invent the 3D platform-gaming genre but is a fun-filled, if not short, game that will make please fans of the cartoon. The graphics for the characters look just like the cartoon but in a 3D world. The tone of the game is set up just like an episode of the cartoon. All of the same expressions and quirkiness of the cartoon show are included in the game. For gamers expecting a great game that will keep you entertained for hours upon hours then Scooby-Doo probably isn’t the game for you. The gameplay is repetitive and at times very simple and childish. On other occasions the game will have you gritting your teeth with frustration during certain levels. But in the end if you’re a Scooby-Doo fan then you can overlook some of the shortcomings of the game.

Gameplay: 7.2
I’ve mentioned early that the game follows a very simple and repetitive formula when playing. You follow the Scooby snacks, find the clues and open up additional levels. The platform gameplay works well enough but doesn’t offer anything that hasn’t been done before in other games.

Graphics: 7.6
The game offers the same look and style of the cartoon show. Fans of the series will not be disappointed in the graphics.

Sound: 7.5
All of the voice actors from the cartoon show contributed to this game which helps in creating the tone of the game. Scooby’s phrases get a little repetitive after a few levels but nothing too aggravating. The music in the game fits the classic spooky tone you’ve heard in the cartoon series.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
The game starts off easy enough but after a few stages the difficult can get a little frustrating. The frustration is due to some control issues but that still adds to the difficulty. Younger gamers shouldn’t have any big problems playing the game.

Concept: 7.0
Hey, it’s a Scooby-Doo game. If you’re not a fan then why have you read this far into the review? 

Overall: 7.3
If you’re looking for the newest platform game to keep you entertained until the new Mario game finally comes out then keep waiting. For one Scooby-Doo Unmasked falls short in achieving the crown jewel of gaming goodness but who knows how long we’ll really be waiting for a new Mario game.