Scooby Doo! and the Spooky Swamp Review for Nintendo Wii

Scooby Doo! and the Spooky Swamp box art

System: Wii, PS2, DS	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Torus Games	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Warner Bros	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Sept. 14, 2010	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-2	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Everyone	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

A friend can join in anytime and take control of the secondary character. While you can select any character to play at anytime, another one will accompany the main character controlled by either the CPU or another person.

Scooby Doo! and the Spooky Swamp screenshot

Since this game is available for the PS2 and DS, the developers have downplayed the exclusivity of the Wii’s control system in favor of standard button commands, aside from a few magic wand moves you can perform for moving puzzle pieces around. Commands are simplified to picking up items, interacting with non-playable characters, jumping, attacking, and throwing. It’s straightforward enough for anyone to get the hang of in a few minutes.

The characters are rendered in 3D with a more contemporary appearance. That classic 70s look is gone. These guys look smaller and younger. The voices are also different from the original, probably because the original actors are dead or using a voicebox to communicate now. The acting is professional, and the lines are good, even funny at times.

It’s not a great looking game. There are only three environments, a ghost town, an Alpine village and the spooky swamp. These places are huge, but like the cartoon, a lot of the background is recycled. The swamp, with the aid of discordant ambient music, succeeds in creating a scary environment that is sure to give kids a chill and thrill.

Scooby Doo! and the Spooky Swamp is an interactive cartoon. It’s more fun to play than to watch. If you don’t believe me, then watch someone playing it.

By Cole Smith
CCC Senior Writer

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

3.1

Graphics
Looks like a classic PS2 game, nothing more. Expect lots of recycled backgrounds.

4.0

Control
Simple and effective control scheme is easy to learn and execute.

4.8

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Professional sounding voiceovers with cartoon quality sound effects and atmospheric music.

3.4

Play Value
Relatively short game with little replay value other than collecting missed items.

3.8

Overall Rating - Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

Investigate and solve mysteries with the gang using the Mystery Mobile.

Play as Shaggy, Scooby, Fred, Velma, or Daphne.

A two-player co-op mode lets a friend command another character at anytime during the game.

Solve there main mysteries, collect clues, solve puzzles, fight villains, and much more.