Return To Home Page		December 5, 2005

SC3 looks stunning!

Scooby Doo! Unmasked is the third game to appear on the Playstation 2 the previous being Night of 100 Frights and Mystery Mayhem. Since then Scooby has hit the silver screen and with his star again on the rise THQ have pumped out a third Scooby adventure. The previous two games have been solid but squarely aimed at kids. Have they managed to add something for experienced gamers or is it a kids only title again? Let’s find out.

Scooby Doo! Unmasked sees Scooby and the rest of Mystery Inc. on the case of Fred’s missing cousin Jed. Jed has been framed for making animated monsters for theme parks but in true Scooby Doo fashion they have sprung to life. So it’s up to Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma to get to the bottom of things. It is clear that Winslow Stanton (voiced by Batman’s Adam West) the owner of Monstrous Fright and Magic is up to no good. Scooby Doo Unmasked plays out just like a show from the TV series; it even has the TV shows intro at the start of the game.

SC3 looks stunning!

Scooby Doo! Unmasked plays like your typical platform game with a couple of new ideas to keep you entertained. The unmasked in the games title comes from the fact that you can find different costumes for Scooby to wear throughout his adventures which each grant him different abilities. To make a suit you need to collect a substance called mubber and then find a machine to make Scooby a new suit. The first suit you come across is a ninja suit, which gives Scooby much greater fighting powers than normal so he can beat the more powerful enemies. The ninja suit also has a few neat matrix style slow motion moves. The other suits are a bat suit which gives Scooby the ability to fly to otherwise unreachable destinations. The third suit is a Robin Hood style outfit which gives Scooby a bow and arrow, well actually a bow and toilet plungers to be precise.

SC3 looks stunning!

Scooby also occasionally finds himself sliding down a rapid dodging whirlpools and flying a plane in various missions which is a nice way to add some variety. The rest of the game is pretty standard platform fare, collecting Scooby snacks, finding clues and hidden items. You can also find various foods hidden throughout the game and then you can take them to Shaggy’s mobile kitchen so he can cook up the ingredients; this in turn gives Scooby extra health.

This is a single player only game which is a real shame. A title like this would have a lot more appeal if players could take control of each character themselves. A game like this begs to have some multi player mini games or eye toy support to add some more value to the game.

SC3 looks stunning!

The issues that drag this game down are pretty much all put down to the fact that the game is designed for younger and inexperienced gamers. The game is generally really easy to get through. The game just about walks you through every section of the game and points you in the right direction whenever you get stuck. The only tricky part to this game is some rather cheap boss battles. Some of the enemies do damage to Scooby no matter what you do and it feels like a cheap tactic to make the game more challenging. The only other slight gripe I have is with the camera, for the most part it does a good job of keeping up with the action and you can control it yourself, but when you have to fight a boss the camera gets locked and you can’t see your enemies.

The graphics in Scooby Doo! Unmasked are quite nice indeed. The game features a cel shaded look that really does make it look just like the cartoon. All of the characters look great and some of the animations are superb, almost straight out of the TV show. Each of the varied environments look nice, China Town, haunted mansions and the creepy theme park all look pretty nice.

SC3 looks stunning!

The sound is also well done throughout the title. The games voice acting is spot on and it should be because most of the real life voice actors are onboard for this game including Batman's Adam West. Another neat audio touch is the mock laughter of the crowd when something happens in the game; it is only a small touch but a nice one none the less.

Scooby Doo! Unmasked is a pretty decent game for the younger crowd out there. Experienced gamers would probably knock this game over in a day or so. For the youngsters though they will find a really enjoyable and funny game that should keep them amused for a decent amount of time.

Review By: Graham Darko

Order your copy now from Gameswarehouse (PAL version) or Amazon (NTSC Version).

GRAPHICS	Good cel shaded visuals help make this look just like the cartoon.	75%
SOUND	Great voice work makes it sound just like the cartoon.	81%
GAMEPLAY	Pretty basic platforming action that will appeal to younger players.	70%
VALUE	A few unlockables, seasoned players won't take long to get through.	60%
OVERALL	A pretty solid game that the young ones and Scooby fans will love.	70%