Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase
Score: 85% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: THQ Developer: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Media: CD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Miscellaneous
Graphics & Sound: You have to give THQ credit, considering that much of the game buying public are Gen-Xers, releasing a game based on a license that most of us have fond memories of is a very smart move. But the question remains, is the nostalgia enough to grab their money? Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase looks great and really captures the essence of the cartoon - even if some of them were unintentional. The characters all look like they should, right down to their mannerisms, such as Shaggy's slouched walk. It's just a lot of fun to see - especially for fans. The levels however could use a little work. For the most part they feel very plain and repetitive, but if you think about it - how many episodes did you see that same hallway with the flowerpot, knight's armor, and table in the background. There are a few areas where the game stutters a bit, but it's nothing too distracting. 'Scooby dooby doo - where are you...?' YES! The theme song is in the game and it sounds great. However, the rest of the soundtrack does tend to lean more toward the newer Scooby releases than the old cartoon. I would have really liked to hear some of the old background music from the show - but hey, that's why I have Cartoon Network, right? The voice acting is very good, and stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the best voice acting jobs I've heard in a video game. Like the music, the voices come from the new Scooby movies, rather than the old ones (sorry, no Casey Kasem) - but they are so well done that only the pickiest of Scooby fans will even notice.
Gameplay: Scooby Doo finally has his very own video game, the only problem is that the Phantom Virus has decided to ruin everything, and it's up to Mystery Inc. to stop him. While Velma stays behind to track the Phantom Virus and Fred and Daphne go find a trap (uh-huh... :)) it's up to you to help Scooby and Shaggy enter the game's seven worlds and chase down the Virus. Okay - it's a campy storyline, but name one Scooby-Doo plot-line that isn't...at least the story has nothing to do with an old haunted house with a creepy old landowner. Scooby's adventure takes a very Crash bandicoot type approach to each level. You start in the game's main hub and travel to the different areas as Velma opens them. Each level is split up into two very straightforward areas and a boss fight. As you progress through the levels, you can collect Scooby Snacks which add up to extra turns if you collect 100 of them, which is quite a challenge. For the most part the boards are very well laid out, although I did have some problems with the jumping areas and sometimes-cheap enemies. For example, the rope bridge in the Prehistoric Jungle area had to be one of the most frustrating areas of the game for me - if you didn't hit the planks just right, it was all over. As for the enemies, they always seemed to be placed in just the right spot so they could hit you, but just high enough that you couldn't hit them back. This also became very frustrating when they were placed by jumps and the 'knock back' was enough to make you fall into the pit I just jumped over.
Difficulty: Except for a few areas, Scooby's adventure isn't a very hard one - but those few areas were enough to have me pulling my hair out, so I could imagine what it would be like for a younger player. Thankfully, extra lives are easy to come by and I found myself with a nice little stockpile before coming to the harder areas of the game - just make sure you save between levels.
Game Mechanics: In addition to the jumps and cheap AI, control is another area that makes things harder than they have to be. The controls are laid out very nicely and easy to find, but they just aren't as responsive as they need to be -especially for a platformer that requires some pretty tricky jumps. Not only does this make the jumping areas hard to do, but also it kills the areas where you have to walk on slippery paths. I cannot tell you how many times I died on the arctic boss just because my character didn't stop until about two seconds after I let go of the button. As an interesting side note, Scooby seems to control a lot tighter than Shaggy, maybe the two extra legs do help. The unresponsive controls really show themselves in the bob-sled area, it just seemed no matter how much I pressed in a direction, the sled just went wherever it felt like going. It definitely had me on the brink of throwing the controller, so again I can imagine what it would be like for younger players. PS2: Turning on the smooth and disk speed options made little difference, so there's no real need to use them, but if you want to - hey, I can't stop you. Despite it's flaws I really enjoyed Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase, but unless you're a hardcore Scooby fan I would recommend renting it first. If you're looking for a good gift for a young gamer though, I would give Scooby-Doo a look. It does have it's fair share of tight spots, but none get so hard that you can't beat them with a little practice, and a little luck.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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