Scooby-Doo! Unmasked (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

Like Electronic Arts with their Harry Potter license it's fair to say that THQ have utilized their Scooby Doo license to the fullest extent. They've had games based on the cartoon, straight to DVD sequels and even the two movies. It's probably also worth mentioning that most of them haven't been that good and it's now time for a new developer to have a stab at the adventures of Hanna Barbera's ghost hunting, Scooby-snack munching, canine detective. The plot here involves the gang traveling to meet Fred's cousin, Jed who runs a special effects company. When they arrive Jed is nowhere to be seen and it that wasn't enough the company latest invention (the all powerful mubber) has disappeared. Clearly this all has the makings of a great Scooby Doo adventure but have they got it right this time?

Gameplay

Unmasked is essentially a platformer / collect 'em up but unlike other similar titles there is a point to all of your pick-ups beyond simply providing you with more health. The difference here is that without constantly seeking out the more hidden areas and collecting just about everything you encounter you can't progress to the next level. This is partly because you have to solve mysteries with Velma by picking up clues throughout the various levels. Once you have all these you must go through the various clues in Velma's notebook deciding which are helpful to your investigation and which are simply red herrings. There are also 'healths' and power ups about, but the most unique, and most essential collectable is the mubber.

What's mubber you're asking? Well, simply put this is a blue looking substance that appears whenever you destroy a monster, box or one of the many other objects dotted about. What it does is allow you to construct magic costumes (via one on the many machines) to aid you in your quest. There are three of these: Robin Hood, Kung Fu and a Bat which give Scooby extended abilities from more powerful punches to shooting arrows and of course, the ability to glide around levels. It's generally pretty obvious when to change costume but it's such an interesting addition everyone really should try it out. If all this isn't enough there are also Fred and Shaggy's mini games, which provide a fun, but short break from the platforming action.

Controls

Although almost every one I know grew up watching Scooby Doo, and still attempt to impersonate him, this title is clearly aimed at the younger gamer and the control system reflects this. What's unique here is the way in which the developers have approached this so rather that bolting on a straight tutorial they've opted to drop in with a helping hand as and when it's needed. Get in a tight squeeze for example and the action stops whilst Shaggy explains, with the help of an on-screen 'ghost' of Scooby, what to do and what buttons to press. I've said before how much I enjoy in-game tutorials of this nature but it's nice to see a developer attempting something a little different.

Graphics

Visually the game is very similar to the others but a few tweaks and visual trickery have raised the bar slightly in Unmasked favor. This is most evident during the text conversations with each character appearing exactly as he or she looks on TV. The rest is pretty standard stuff as far as platformers go although you do get a little 'mode 7' technology in the roller coaster section.

Sound

While the music isn't too bad at all the real highlight here are the sound effects which, at last contain all the wacky sounds that accompanied the show including voice samples of Scooby himself. This adds to the overall atmosphere a great deal and if you're wondering why we're getting so excited by a canine's ramblings then just see how many other games have sampled speech of any description.

Final comments

Before Unmasked arrived on the scene you had to go way back to the days of the Gameboy Color before you came close to a game that utilized the Scooby Doo license in a way which was true to the animated series. Arguably a few outings have been movie tie-ins (with their fair share of artistic license) but this is the first game for some time where you feel like one of the Mystery Inc. members aiding the team in numerous ways. Now here's the bad news: it has a password save. I really thought the days of publishers not shelling out the extra pennies for a battery back-up had been and gone but alas there are still some out there who think this is a necessary evil in keeping the costs down. It's not, so please stop doing it. Even so Unmasked is a great game, a little repetitive maybe, but still very enjoyable.

Pro: Nice Mini-Games
Con: Gets Very Difficult
Final score: 6.9

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