I vaguely remember watching Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders on VHS a lot as a young kid. At the end of the film, there was a commercial for this game, and somehow, they managed to capture my young mind's attention. I NEEDED this game!
Well, somewhere along the lines I managed to acquire it. All I remember is that I couldn't get past the first level. I thought that coming back to it as an adult meant that this game would be a breeze to get through... I was wrong. And no, I'm not saying that this game is hard, per se, but there are some factors that make it difficult to get through.
Gameplay-wise, there's not much to it. There are 4 levels in which you have to solve a mystery for each. You play as Shaggy and collect items which can either be clues or trap pieces to catch the villain... and that's it. It's basically one big game of Go Fetch! You have a "fright" meter which drops when Shaggy gets scared, which happens when touching enemies or dangerous obstacles. You can pick up Scooby Snacks to regain courage and fill the meter again, but you have unlimited lives, so there's no big repercussion for failing besides starting again from a previous area. There's some very basic puzzles to solve on occasion, but they don't add anything to the already simplistic and boring gameplay.
What makes the whole ordeal more infuriating are the controls. With the fixed camera angles, you're constantly struggling to orientate yourself after it switches. You could be moving up by pressing up, but then then you'll switch to a new camera angle and be facing downward... but because you're still pressing up, Shaggy will start running in the opposite direction and return to where you came from. It's honestly something that you should just experience for yourself to better understand it... or don't. Just don't bother.
It wouldn't be that big of a deal if it weren't for the ending sections of levels, in which you have to lure the monster into a trap by getting chased into it. It's very easy for them to catch up and have you lose all your "health" and start over simply because you're struggling to maneuver.
The game may only be about 2 hours long, but its mechanics (especially the movement) left me disoriented at times and really unmotivated to get through this slog. I didn't even mention the story, but it really isn't important. The whole thing feels like a simple cash grab. While you can say that about a multitude of kids games, I read that the developers actually worked closely with Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. to stay faithful to the source material. I guess they just forgot to make it fun. It's honestly quite disheartening that I ever had just an ounce of nostalgia for this mess.
Well, somewhere along the lines I managed to acquire it. All I remember is that I couldn't get past the first level. I thought that coming back to it as an adult meant that this game would be a breeze to get through... I was wrong. And no, I'm not saying that this game is hard, per se, but there are some factors that make it difficult to get through.
Gameplay-wise, there's not much to it. There are 4 levels in which you have to solve a mystery for each. You play as Shaggy and collect items which can either be clues or trap pieces to catch the villain... and that's it. It's basically one big game of Go Fetch! You have a "fright" meter which drops when Shaggy gets scared, which happens when touching enemies or dangerous obstacles. You can pick up Scooby Snacks to regain courage and fill the meter again, but you have unlimited lives, so there's no big repercussion for failing besides starting again from a previous area. There's some very basic puzzles to solve on occasion, but they don't add anything to the already simplistic and boring gameplay.
What makes the whole ordeal more infuriating are the controls. With the fixed camera angles, you're constantly struggling to orientate yourself after it switches. You could be moving up by pressing up, but then then you'll switch to a new camera angle and be facing downward... but because you're still pressing up, Shaggy will start running in the opposite direction and return to where you came from. It's honestly something that you should just experience for yourself to better understand it... or don't. Just don't bother.
It wouldn't be that big of a deal if it weren't for the ending sections of levels, in which you have to lure the monster into a trap by getting chased into it. It's very easy for them to catch up and have you lose all your "health" and start over simply because you're struggling to maneuver.
The game may only be about 2 hours long, but its mechanics (especially the movement) left me disoriented at times and really unmotivated to get through this slog. I didn't even mention the story, but it really isn't important. The whole thing feels like a simple cash grab. While you can say that about a multitude of kids games, I read that the developers actually worked closely with Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. to stay faithful to the source material. I guess they just forgot to make it fun. It's honestly quite disheartening that I ever had just an ounce of nostalgia for this mess.
heartisblazing
3 years ago