This
would promise to be the ultimate Scooby-Doo game. The entire gang
is accurately recreated down to goofy sayings and a laugh track that,
like its television counterpart, kicks in at the most incongruous
times. All of the familiar villains from the original run of the series
are present and accounted for – The Black Knight, the Werewolf, the
Sea Creature, et al. Necessary eye-candy such as quadruple-decker
sandwiches and Scooby snacks are waiting to be devoured in huge gulps.
And the coup de grace – the nostalgic voices of Don Knotts as the
gardener, Tim Conway as the housekeeper and Tim Curry as, who else,
but the head evil-doer behind the mansion’s mischievous mishaps.

Yet
for all this talent and dedication to recreate the show, there seems
to be a sense of fun and adventure absent from this game. Instead,
we constantly hop to-and-fro from platform to platform, collect inventory
items to gain extra lives and search for power-ups. There is no sense
of mystery or adventure to the game and instead of searching for clues
or trying to discover the identity of the culprit, you progress from
level to level like Mario/Scooby until confronting a difficult “head
boss” at the end of every episode. It all very quickly become
repetitive and tedious and not unlike the hundreds of other platform
games on the market. The real problem though is that a great license
and talent has been reduced to mediocrity.

Unlike the wonderful Scooby
Doo games from The Learning Company (Showdown
in Ghost Town
and Phantom of the Knight), the developers at Heavy Iron
Studios have failed to capitalize on the wealth of riches provided
to them and what could have been classic is instead a warmed-over
rerun. If you must play Night of 100 Frights, do yourself a
favor and rent it at your local store. At the end of your rental period,
you will have had more than your share of Scooby Snacks for quite
a while.

Final Grade Scooby-Doo:
Night of 100 Frights – C-.

This Scooby-Doo game is
based on and recreates characters and situations from this summer’s
smash movie. Even better, it truly is an adventure game and while
it does not possess the depth or detail of Broken Sword or
Nancy Drew on the GBA, it is still good for numerous nights
of entertainment.

The
gang has been summoned to Spooky Island by Emile Mondavarious to find
the ghost who has been scaring away the Spooky Island hotel guests.
Of course there will be villains and red herrings a’plenty as Fred,
Velma, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby search the hotel, the Spooky Castle
amusement park and the uh, cavernous cavern.

You can play as any of
the gang, each of who has different abilities, as you uncover clues.
It is best to be Velma when you need a locked chest opened or a secret
door discovered; Daphne’s Karate training will come in handy for defending
against enemies; Fred can move heavy objects; Scooby can distract
pesky enemies and Shaggy, well Shaggy can run and hide.

As the mystery deepens,
in-game maps become available and you always have the option to switch
to whatever character you think may be bested suited to the situation
at hand. Puzzle types are well-balanced, though there is a lot of
toing-and froing, and include a locked chest with four different colored
sections that need unscrambled, a drainage system that needs repaired
to allow water to flow freely, a darkened room that needs lit (sounds
easy? It’s not!) and a musical puzzle a la’ Myst.

What is most impressive
about Scooby Doo though, is that it had none of the advantages
of Scooby Doo: Night of 100 Frights – no famous voice actors,
no recognizable sound effects – yet it is, especially considering
the limitations of the GBA, a much, much better game. Instead of voices
from the movie’s actors, we have text at the bottom of the screen,
and while yes, there is some fighting in the game, it never overshadows
the emphasis on puzzles.

This is a Scooby Doo that
can be enjoyed by all family members, though it may be a little tricky
crowding around the Game Boy Advance for a night of family entertainment.

Final Grade Scooby-Doo
– B.