• ID = PS0741
• STYLE = 3D Platform
• DEV. = THQ, Inc.
• PUB. = THQ, Inc.
• R-DATE = Mar-02-2004
• ESRB = E / For Everyone
• PLAYERS = 1-2 players
• LIST PRICE = $39.99
  

Scooby and the Gang are back in an all-new adventure! Join your favorite slackers as they try to solve a mystery of supernatural proportions. The gang starts out on a routine case in the search of ghosts. During their search, a scheming business tycoon, who will stop at nothing to grow his empire, uses The Tome of Doom to unlock some of the creepiest monsters our gang has every seen. Help Scooby and Shaggy find The Tome of Doom, capture monsters, and solve the mystery.

Would you help Scooby and Shaggy solve this mystery for a Scooby Snack? Features include: Adventure style gameplay that includes solving puzzles, searching for clues, capturing monsters with The Tome of Doom, and out-running some of the creepiest monsters. Play as either Shaggy or Scooby with the switch of a button- each with their own unique abilities. Explore a movie set, the wild west, a bayou, and a creepy laboratory. Featuring the voice talent of the Scooby-Doo cartoon voice actors.

• Play as either Scooby or Shaggy and solve the mystery.
• Solve puzzles, find clues, eat Scooby snacks.
• Capture creepy monsters.
• Explore 4 different locations.
• For 1 or 2 players.

Scooby-doobie-doo, where are you? In a crappy video game, that's where. Honestly, I just don't know where to start with this title, as its lack of any compelling features make it a bit difficult to write about.

In the face of such banality, I'll dispense with any attempt at analysis and just give you the basics. As Scooby and Shaggy, you'll traverse around variously themed levels to complete the most rudimentary of puzzles. These challenges are all things you've done a million different times in a million different ways, and trust me when I tell you nothing has been done to make them any more fun or interesting. There is really no platforming at all, but you can switch between having Shaggy and Scooby in the lead of the tandem, but again this element doesn't really do much to enhance the gameplay. You can also use an occult book to trap various ghosts and monsters.

In terms of gameplay, design, and execution, Mystery Mayhem is as uninspired a game as you're likely to play this year. As you complete the seemingly endless series of dreary switch puzzles and fetch quests, not once will you be entertained. During my playtime, my emotions always registered somewhere between mildly annoyed and just plain bored.
Concept:
Fulfill a federal law that any kid-targeted major motion picture must be accompanied by a video game

Graphics:
Renderware: How are you mediocre? Let me count the ways!

Sound:
Great if you like Casey Kasem impersonators! (And, no Sara Michelle didn't get within a mile of this clunker!)

Playability:
Are you familiar with the concept of controlling the direction in which a character is walking with a controller?

Entertainment:
Unless you're very, very young (or just simple), skip this

Replay:
Low

Rated: 4 out of 10
Editor: Matt Helgeson
Issue: May 2004

2nd Opinion:
The problem with this game isn't the same one that most cartoon-licensed product struggle with. Instead of stripping away all that is witty and/or interesting about the source material, this Scooby Doo game is everything that an episode is: by the numbers mystery solving, wacky locations, and even a laugh track. The big problem is that the license just isn't great source material for a game – too bland for most players' tastes.

Rated: 5.25 out of 10
Editor: Lisa Mason

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