Scooby Doo Unmasked

Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo have just arrived at the Monstrous Fright & Magic special effects company, to hook up with Fred’s cousin Jed. Mysteriously, though, Jed is missing, as is the company’s secret formula Mubber, an incredible substance that creates realistic monster costumes. The company believes that Jed has stolen the Mubber formula, and it’s up to Scooby and friends to solve the mystery and clear Jed’s name.

At first, not much of the story line is revealed; we only know that Jed is missing.  Immediately players are thrown into the action, which begins as a sort of tutorial where basic game controls and actions are introduced. Scooby Doo is sent on a mission to scout out clues that are scattered around the levels.  Every time Scooby finds a clue, he must take it to Velma for her to analyze. Along with searching for clues, Scooby will collect Scooby snacks, mubber power-ups, recipe ingredients and costume coins.

Scooby Snacks serve as health and life power-ups, and garner a special medal for Scooby for every 100 found. They also help to point the way to different areas in the levels. Mubber is used to create special costumes in the costume machines, and is found by destroying enemies and boxes. Shaggy has a special mobile kitchen, that Scooby can visit any time.  If he has the right recipe ingredients, Shaggy will give him a medal for every completed recipe. The costume coins are used to unlock the costume machines, which can then be used with the mubber that Scooby has collected.

This game is a combination mystery adventure and platform game, with most of the gaming emphasis on platform levels. Scooby can jump, body slam, spin-attack, slide and go paw-over-paw on monkey bars. The game is moved along by animated cut-scenes which are beautifully rendered cel animations which are played as the game progresses.  These cartoons explain more of the unfolding mystery of Jed and the missing mubber. The characters and localities evoke the show’s style nicely, in terms of the general look and appearance, and also captures the humor of the show.

The bulk of the game is spent moving along from level to level via standard platforms. These platforms are easy to maneuver across for the most part; Scooby can make all his jumps. Enemies can be dispatched in numerous ways, but for the most part, the spinning attack is sufficient.  However, the more fancy Scooby Doo’s attacks are, the better strength mubber he can collect. The enemies are easy to handle, and even the bosses don’t present much of a problem, which is good in a kid’s game.

The costumes help break up the platforming a bit, with some pretty cool costumes like a kung fu costume and also a batman outfit. However, players don’t really get to play in these get-ups for very long at a time.

The camera design is a bit odd, as there are some areas that won’t let players adjust the viewpoint at all.  There is even an icon that shows up to let players know this is an area where Scooby can’t see around the corners. It’s just annoying to me when I can’t adjust the camera to see where I’m going.

The game is easy to play, and the kids won’t have too difficult a time with it.  At times it’s a bit too easy, though, as every new area or puzzle is obvious. Older kids and adults will breeze through this game in a short amount of time. The game-play is fun enough, but not all that exciting.  The mystery aspect is the best part, and I wish that it would have been a stronger part of the game. To be fair, though, Scooby Doo Mystery Mayhem was wholly a mystery, and it was not a very good game at all. A2M decided to add a platforming element in Unmasked, which works adequately, but could have been more fun.

For fans of Scooby Doo, though, the game looks wonderful.  The animation is superb, and the story line is well crafted. The voice acting is great, with professional actors from the recent cartoon series, and the game also features Adam West from the original Batman TV show. No matter how neat a game looks, however, the game-play has to be solid, and it’s just not all that fun to play, especially in the segments where Scooby has to jump up and up and up from one bouncing trampoline to another.

This is the best Scooby Doo game yet, and as such, deserves a look from fans of the show.  Kids will enjoy it, but probably won’t play it again after finishing the first time, which may not take very long. Best for fans and younger players.  

Gameplay: 7
While the mystery aspect is pretty cool, the platforming is mundane. As this is the bulk of the game, it defines the game.

Graphics: 8
The graphics are quite nice and really capture the show’s essential atmosphere and style.

Sound: 8
Great music and sound effects, especially the voice-acting.

Difficulty: Easy
It’s a little too easy for most players, except for young kids.

Concept: 6
There’s nothing new here, but the execution is adequate.

Overall: 7
A decent game that is absolutely faithful to the TV show, but one that could have been better with more interesting puzzles and gameplay elements.  However, it’s easily the best Scooby Doo game produced yet.