Scooby-Doo! First Frights - Review - Scooby, Shaggy and the Gang A Hit or Miss On the Wii, PS2 and DS?

This is an unforgettable first job! Mystery, Inc. has just been organized, so join the crew of a younger Scooby Doo, Velma, Shaggy, Daphne, and Fred as teenagers, as they set out to solve their first cases. Different villains appear in each mystery that has been developed for the game alone. As you work on each case, you will find clues to guide you, suspects to pursue (or be chased by!), and you will expose the culprit in the end.

Play alone and change characters seamlessly as you try to solve the mysteries, or include a friend to participate in co-op drop-in/drop-out gaming. As each mystery is solved, new disguises and costumes, that either provide camouflage or give you special talents, will be unlocked.

Available: Wii, PS2, DS

You have to admit that Scooby-Doo, whether you grew up watching it or not, is a show that appeals to just about everyone. There are the wise cracks and horrible puns that send the laugh track rolling, the constant food cravings, and the completely relaxed (or terrified) Shaggy hanging out with his best buddy, who just happens to be a dog. Seriously, on a Saturday morning, what more could you want to watch to pass the time?

Whether it's television, movies, or video games, Scooby-Doo changes some of the look (but not too much), so now that Scooby-Doo has become a Wii game, who doesn't want to have a look to see what's new? There was, of course, the classic laugh track to go along with the corny one-liners and puns, but the look was updated by the Torus game developers. As the name should indicate, Scooby-Doo! First Frights is geared towards the casual market of Wii hands-on game (come on, could Scooby-Doo be anything else BUT casual?), but the control is surprisingly tight for such a casual game. Now, this is a typical free running, beat up the bad guys design of game and you've probably played dozens like it, but the Scooby-Doo game is actually pretty polished.

If you've played LEGO Star Wars, then you have an idea of the formula behind the Scooby-Doo First Frights game, and that is a good formula for a game. You get to change costumes for all of the characters (just like in the LEGO customization), you have plenty of objects you can destroy to collect Scooby snacks, and you get some complementary character-changing to go along with the beating up of the bad guys.

Velma is going to help you with any tech objects that you run across, Shaggy's yo-yo becomes not only a weapon but a grappling hook, and Scooby gets to use doggy doors. All of this should sound vaguely familiar to any game player. While Scooby-Doo uses a formula we've seen before, it is one that is great for younger players, is a lot of fun for everyone, and it works so well within the created world that who really cares it's been done?

You can play each independently, and there are drop-in/drop-out options of gameplay for two Scooby-Doo team players. During the hands on play there is a haunted fishing village called Rocky Bay which not only has a ghost cruise ship level but the fun sea monster battle as the finale. Each mission is treated like one of the television episodes, complete with the cutting back and forth between groups as they split up between locations, and there are full-on voice acting features for the story sequences that occur every few minutes of play.

You will also be surprised by the variety that you will find in the game, and the different ways the variety can be seen. While the change of costume for each character is something we've come to expect, each new costume comes with new attacks and specifics for each character. You can have Ninja Scooby, or Opera Scooby, Centurion Freddy, Rocker Daphne, Space Shaggy with his jetpack and laser gun, and several others.

With Scooby Doo First Frights you are also offered the options of playing only with the Wii-mote, the remote and the nunchuck, or the classic controller for the PS2. You can even play as certain monsters once they are unlocked, if you really want to. And, once you have played through a level in the story mode, you are able to go back through it in what is called the "Custom" mode, which is similar to free play mode. If you are in the 'Custom' mode, you can play as any character or monster, in any costume, on any level. In this incredibly open option, you can switch at any point thanks to a large character wheel that will pop up and allow you to choose to change. The Scooby-Doo! First Frights game is going to offer hours of gameplay just in story mode; Warner Brothers stated that the story behind the game was written by a veteran of the original Scooby-Doo series, meaning that the game is authentic.

If you are looking for another game along the lines of the LEGO series, you are going to be very happy with what Scooby-Doo! First Frights has to offer you. The simplistic visual style may throw you, but the gameplay, storytelling, and audio won't let you mistake this for just a simple game based off a licensed name. Pretty darned good. If only we could find somebody to add a laugh track to our daily lives so we could get as much enjoyment out of it.

If you crave a fun, mystery solving, action filled game, Scooby Doo First Frights will make a wonderful addition to your collection.

I'd like to know your thoughts, so after you check it out, stop by and leave me a comment.

Enjoy!