Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights for GameCube

INTRO

Scooby is bigger than ever! As a kid, I certainly was familiar with our marble-mouthed friend. While not my favorite cartoon, it was always in the mix and I ve seen every episode multiple times. Thanks to a successful movie and multiple dvd releases, a whole new generation of tikes is goin gaga over Rooby Roo (and Raggy too!). It only makes sense that Scooby invade next Gen gaming, on the PS2 and Gamecube.

STORY

Simply put, the game s storyline follows the same formula that many of the shows did. In this case, Dahpne s buxom friend Holly pleads for the gang s help. Holly s uncle is none other than the famous Alexander Graham, only problem is that he s missing, ripes! Packed in the Mystery Machine, the gang rolls into a mostly deserted town, well except for the monsters of course. Will Scoob and the gang be able to put together the clues and solve the mystery at hand and uncover who s behind it? That s where you come in.

CONTROL/GAMEPLAY (5)

The control scheme is very simple. The control stick (or d-pad) is used to control Scooby s movement. The green A button is used to jump, hitting it twice will cause a double jump, hitting it twice and holding will active the umbrella(when equipped). The red B button will execute a head smash, when equipped with the football helmet it becomes a super head smash, and while in the air it becomes a thunder smash. This is Scoob s main offensive weapon, and I liken it to the Mario butt bounce. The X button allows Scoob to dig up flowers and find food, it also allows you to talk to people and enter doors when prompted. The Y button calls up your onscreen display, and holding the R trigger down while moving makes Scooby run. Holding the purple Z button along with the R trigger initiates the sneak mode, which is very useful. The L trigger allows Scoob to spit a wad of gum at enemies, and if you hit it while holding the Z button he ll blow a soap bubble. The C-stick simply allows for menu navigation. The controls are simple, however I found them to be quite sloppy and unrefined. In a game that requires precision at times, the controls can make for fits of frustration, hence the low rating.

The Gameplay genre is essentially a platformer. You ll need to collect coins, er rings, I mean Scooby Snacks (yeah ,that s it). These are collected and you ll need to accumulate them to enter various doors. Scooby also has a handful of food power ups. Scoob starts with three dogtags as his health meter, eating food can expand it up to 5, encountering enemies or other dangerous obstacles will cost you a tag, exhaust them and game over.

As the game progresses you ll need to navigate numerous obstacle courses, which vary from simple, to very frustrating (do mostly to the controls). As you progress you ll also pick up necessary power-ups which will allow to enter otherwise blocked areas. The game has essentially three major areas, each has a multitude of levels and stages. Your map will allow you to view areas you yet to encounter, which will make it easier to decide a course of action. Throughout all the levels there are Warp Mirrors, which allow you to rapidly move through the levels without having to do tons of backtracking (this would be a real pain due to the obstacle courses). One of the minor differences between this game and your traditional progressively leveled platformer, is that here you will have to go back into earlier levels and due tasks that are locked, until you get one of the many power-ups. In addition, there are save points spaced throughout the levels, made apparent by a little floating Mystery Machine. Overall the game lacks, both in control refinement and game layout.

POWER-UPS

Find the Jump Springs and Scoob will be able to perform the much needed double jump. The Bunny Slippers and Lampshade are quite funny. When encountering an enemy Scoob can slap a Lampshade on his head and stand still and he ll be hidden from his enemies. The Bunny Slippers simply let him tip-toe by. The Football Helmet allows Scoob to break through spider webs and boxes, allowing him to access additional areas. Find Soap and Scoob can blow bubbles which will trap enemies for a short time, find Gum and Scoob can spit it at monsters, which will keep them glued to a spot, allowing safe passage. The shovel can be used to dig up food, every time you see a pink daisy, dig it up. There are a handful of other power-ups, but these are the mainstays. The other thing you can collect are Monster Tokens. After you get some, got to the Monster Gallery and approach each monster who you have a token for, you will automatically see some trivia info about the series. Nothing great, but it ll make for a little side action if you re bored.

GRAPHICS (6)

The graphics aren t anything amazing, but they are fairly true to the cartoon series. Lighting effects are average at best, and the detail in the characters (such as facial expressions, etc) leaves a lot to be desired, but again, Scooby was never a highly detailed animation to begin with. The game runs smooth, but looking like it does there s no reason for the console to be taxed. The monsters all move robotically, though Scooby s movement is generally fluid, however sloppy. Not terrible looking, but certainly won t make you pop it in to wow your friends.

SOUND (6)

Like the graphics above, you a have solid attempt to recreate the cartoon, but again the execution falls a bit flat. The voice-overs are all quite good, but the actual quality of the sound seems a little off to me, especially in the voices. You get a variety of sound effects, many of which will be familiar (like the sound Scooby makes when running in place). Musically you get a variety of corny background tunes, and of course the game starts with the full theme song.

REPLAY (0)

I can t imagine ever wanting to play this again after completion.

OVERALL (5)

Not the worst game on the Gamecube, but its definitely not worth a purchase, in fact a rental would be questionable. It seems the game can t strike a balance. You ll blow through some levels with such ease you ll get bored, then you ll die numerous times trying to navigate a course, guessing what the controls will do. The camera setup is adequate, but on occasion it ll bite ya as well. I say only rent if you re a diehard Scooby fan, have young children who are into Scoob, or have absolutely no other fresh titles to select from.



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