PlayStation 2

Scooby Doo!: Mystery Mayhem

A surprisingly good game that at times does sparkle and makes you often think about what is going on. There are points which will frustrate all but the most determined gamer but there is a decent amount of life in game. A fine effort.

First and foremost, Scooby Doo! Mystery Mayhem is a game directed at kids; that said, if you’re a big enough kid at heart you’ll most probably find it entertaining for at least a few hours. I’m still amazed at how well the developers have captured the spirit of the cartoon’s characters, stories and surroundings, with regard to both how they look and feel; it’s just a shame that the game was rushed out to coincide with the Scooby Doo 2, as the visuals and controls could have been tweaked a little more. A solid game, which the younger crowd should love; look out Inspector Rex! Scooby Doo’s back in town!

It's a quirky twist and makes for an okay, if lightweight, action game. It doesn't look all that spectacular and the action does get samey, but it's by far the coolest Scooby game yet. That's not saying a lot though...

What Scooby Doo! Mystery Mayhem excels in though (in every department) is how the game faithfully recreates the experience of the original cartoon. If awards were given in this catagory alone then A2M would scoop quite a few. Anyone who knows anything about the cartoon will certainly find the experience familiar and will certainly enjoy the five stories on offer. And it’s because of this that it’s certainly worth a rental to fans but in the end doesn’t deliver anywhere near enough gameplay to warrant a full price purchase. With the licence now secured by THQ, if they deliver superior gameplay for the next encounter then the Scooby Doo licence has a pretty rosy future. Only time will tell (and a review next week) if THQ can pull it off with Scooby Doo 2 Monsters Unleashed.

Mystery Mayhem scores points for being a complete departure from its predecessor, providing adventure gameplay with a survival/horror feel instead of run-of-the-mill platforming. However, the cumbersome controls and repetitive, simple gameplay keep the game from being very compelling or much fun.

Twenty years ago I could have called Scooby-Doo! Mystery Mayhem one of the best, if not the best game in existence. Its function to resurrect a favorite oldie into something that looks, feels, and sounds very much like it did back then has now become a plain and mediocre action title. Of course, you can't have everything you want, and Mystery Mayhem is only around now because of the appearance of the movie that's based on the cartoon. Without the movie, THQ probably figures that a Scooby-Doo game won't Doo too well. Hence, the game's production values don't matter as much as well (as the game's target audience, kids, won't care a whole lot). But, were a developer to come along and dedicate their heart and soul into making the best Scooby-Doo experience you could ever hope for, I bet you more game players, fans or not, would notice. I know I would.

Scooby Doo: Mystery Mayhem isn't a game that was designed with dedicated gamers in mind - instead, the game is suited more to younger children or older people not familiar with videogames who still enjoy Scooby Doo paraphernalia, as one can see from the simplistic game mechanics and forgiving level design. Mystery Mayhem may not be the best Scooby Doo title to date, but it most certainly holds its own by providing a videogame incarnation that stays very true to the series.

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Mayhem is a great example of how developers should be making games with big name licenses. Rather than plug the characters into a stock platform or adventure game, which is usually what happens with licensed games, developer A2M instead sought out to make Mystery Mayhem as much like the TV show as possible.

There are all of five levels in Mystery Mayhem, which can be breezed through in an afternoon, and it's hard to imagine wanting to play through the game multiple times. Ardent adult Scooby-Doo fans would probably have their nostalgia best served by some Scooby-Doo DVDs, which are prominently advertised in the back of the game's manual, along with Scooby-Doo action figures and Scooby-Doo cereal. Parents whose kids have Scooby-Doo hot on the brain from the movie can safely rent this one, or not, without worry of missing much.

Mystery Mayhem offers little reward and challenge is non-existent. Scooby-Doo is another victim of dumbing down games for kids. Just because it's for a younger audience doesn't mean you have to take away all control and make the game incredibly boring, easy, and repetitive. Scooby-Doo Mystery Mayhem is suitable as a rental for young kids or avid fans of the series, but will offer little enjoyment to anyone else.

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 from most players' tastes.

Avec un gameplay d'une fadeur extrême (oui je sais que ça peut sembler paradoxal comme idée mais je fais ce que je veux) et un humour qui non seulement tombe à plat mais finit même par exaspérer, ce nouveau Scooby-Doo n'a pas grand-chose pour lui. Vu son petit prix, on y pensera éventuellement pour de jeunes joueurs pas trop difficiles. Mais bon, c'est pas parce qu'on est petit qu'on peut jouer comme les grands.

Un jeu grand public très classique, assez répétitif mais visuellement pas trop mal fichu, qui fera certainement mouche auprès des très jeunes joueurs auxquels il est destiné.

On 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.