Scooby-Doo! Two: Monsters Unleashed (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

Scooby Doo is certainly no stranger to the Gameboy platform with adventures appearing on both the GBA and GBC. Unfortunately the relationship hasn't always been a pleasant one with most of the games simply boiling down to nothing more than average platformers. The more successful games have been the adventure based turns with the original Gameboy Colors 'point and click' effort clearly the frontrunner, which is remarkable when you consider that it was based on the less hyped original cartoon series and not a movie. Monsters Unleashed is inspired by a movie however and as the first Scooby Doo was a big box office hit some years ago, it was only a matter of time before we received a sequel, and here it is. Managing to hang onto the entire original cast, it remains to be seen whether it will emulate the success of the original but surely the game will be enjoyable... won't it?

Gameplay

Yes, it's a platformer and what's more, it's a platformer without any clever twists or new ideas so from the offset we were expecting very little from Monsters Unleashed. The platforming itself begins as a simple affair requiring you to get from 'A to B' without losing all your lives although collecting all the coins will reward you with an extra continue. This gaming style changes little throughout the levels with the only real addition being the ability to weaken your enemies by firing a special weapon at them of some description. There are bonus items scattered around, such as extra lives and health but the whole thing really does stick to a tried and completely exhausted formula. Things do improve as soon as an end of level boss appears though, with some of these getting really tough as the game progresses. This does catch you a little off guard and you realize that if the developers had pitched the rest of the game at this level the whole thing would have been a lot more challenging and probably much more enjoyable.

One thing that saves Scooby Doo 2 from the instant bargain bin is the inclusion of four mini-games, some of which are really quite addictive. Best of these is the Sneaky Shaggy section, where you must follow Old Man Wickles without being spotted. The problem here is that getting too close means you restart the level, whilst dropping too far behind causes objects to block your path. Circuit Mania is simply Pipemania with less emphasis on speed and correct use of components. The Downhill Racing section is a little sloppy and difficult to control but in spite of this it's almost impossible not to complete it on your first attempt. Finally there is the top-down driving section, where you must escape a Pterodactyl Attack whilst avoiding on-coming traffic. Like the Downhill Racing section though it's difficult not to succeed making it a little pointless really. It seems that no movie tie-in game is complete without a questionable save feature and Monsters unleashed does not disappoint. It possesses a system that not only consists of eight digits for a simple level select but also has a rather irritating ?C? that looks remarkably similar to the letter 'G'. Arrrgh!

Controls

Everything in Monsters Unleashed is remarkably easy to handle although strangely you only actually control three of the five Mystery Inc. characters Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne). It begins with a handy tutorial featuring Scooby detailing all the various moves, which are the same for all three characters. The same is true of the mini games with on screen guidance popping up as and when required.

Graphics

Though this game is based on the movie, the visuals and color pallet are clearly inspired by the cartoon series. This calls for some wonderful vibrant backgrounds populated by equally colorful characters. There's also some excellent animation with Scooby and the gang moving fluidly and realistically. Overall the presentation?s pretty good too with animated lettering appearing on most cut screens and even the level select. The movie is also referred to via a collection of digitized stills although it must be pointed out that these are straight images of the set containing none of the characters and so are useless really.

Sound

Poppy tunes play along with each level. While they're not the best we've heard, nor are they as irritating as we know this type of game?s soundtrack can be. Strangely the beloved theme tune is replaced by the original movie score. Not as strange but equally as disappointing is the absence of any voice samples, which is no doubt due to copyright reasons. Still, this is no excuse and any Scooby Doo title than doesn?t actually feature the cowardly canine sharing his wisdom is never going to really make the grade.

Final comments

Unfortunately even with its various gimmicks, Monsters Unleashed is yet another in a long line of disappointing movie tie-in platformers and even if you've only been gaming for a short time you've most likely already encountered a handful of similar titles. It's by no means a terrible game and the visuals and audio are quite pleasing but the absence of any engaging or imaginative gameplay really hurts the overall package. Finally whilst the score of 3.9 is far from good, Monsters Unleashed has only reached this level because of the enjoyable mini-games, which can be re-visited at any time after you've unlocked them. I was tempted to give it a 1 because of the addition of a terrible password system but this seems to be a factor of this type of title that we're all going to have to learn to live with. Even so this game is likely to sell huge numbers on the back of the movie with THQ shifting an amazing 4 Million plus units of the franchise since signing on the dotted line.

Pro: Mini Games
Con: Where's The Original Soundtrack?
Final score: 3.9

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