Scooby-Doo! Who's Watching Who?

Rating ESRB: Everyone Genre adventure Publisher THQ External Links Official Scooby-Doo! Who's Watching Who? Website

“We would have been Number 1, if it wasn’t for you meddling kids!”

Reality TV show “Ghost Scene” has been suffering from falling ratings due to the actions of freelance ghost-hunters Mystery Inc. In an attempt to increase ratings, Mystery Inc. will face off against Ghost Scene Investigators in the mystery solving battle of the century. Join Scooby and the gang as they attempt to prove who the best ghost-hunters in the business really are.

Scooby-Doo! Who’s Watching Who? gives the player control of the Mystery Inc. gang as they star in several episodes of the television show Ghost Scene in an attempt to beat the competition in unmasking the truth behind the mystery. At least that’s what the plot would have you believe. In truth, the player controls Scooby-Doo alone as you participate in three mini-games per episode while ignoring the inane banter of the Ghost Scene Investigators.

Mini-games come in two basic types: a driving game and a chase game. In the driving game the player takes control of the Mystery Machine and attempt to ram the classic van into the villain’s vehicle as quickly as possible. Traps and ghosts attempt to slow you down as you zip around the level, but without a time limit and with the levels being basic in its loop design, it is virtually impossible for the player to fail in catching the fleeing villain.

The chase game is just as simple as the driving game. As Scooby the player must run away from the villain, sometimes while carrying a useless Shaggy, and make it to the end of the level without dying. Each level is filled with a nearly endless supply of Scooby Snacks and Save Points to ensure that the player will never have to constantly replay the same level in a never ending attempt to progress the story. You know, that thing that makes the actual game worthwhile?

Each level houses an array of Dog Tags, which are used to unlock bonus content in the game, and Clues, which help Velma determine the identities of these so-called ghosts. Once enough clues have been discovered the player is allowed to Accuse a Suspect and set a trap. This entails a 2D side scroller chase scene where the player must lure the villain into three traps waiting to be sprung by the Mystery Inc gang. Once the traps are sprung and the identity of the villain is confirmed, the episode comes to a close and the player moves on to the next set of misadventures.

Stages are designed in 3D with a quasi 2D cell-shader used in an attempt to replicate the feel of the cartoon series. Poorly created geometry and unimaginative camera controls hinder the visual enjoyment of the game. Thankfully the voice cast of the current cartoon series step into their respective roles. This, combined with original music from the cartoon show, helps to draw attention away from the otherwise sub-par graphics.

While Scooby-Doo! Who’s Watching Who? fails to deliver the stiff competition between rival Ghost-Hunters that it promises, the game does a decent job of providing the player with all the basic elements of a Scooby-Doo episode. However, even at the relatively cheap price of $14.99, you might want to wait for this title to hit the discount bin before picking it up.