Scooby-Doo! Unmasked

Written by Vadim Leonov  on August 23, 2005

Final Glimpse: CNN goes undercover to bring you tonight's segment on what really went on behind the cameras in the life of Scooby-Doo!

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Poor Scooby just wants to devour some Scooby snacks, but no matter what he does, he manages to get himself and the gang involved in a convoluted situation. This September, Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma are back in THQ's all-new action platformer, Scooby-Doo! Unmasked. The third Scooby-Doo adventure for Nintendo's GameCube is bound to be a mystery like no other.

After deciding to give Fred's cousin, Jed, a visit, the gang is bewildered when they find out that Jed has gone missing. The mystery solving crew finds that his animatronics are out of control after coming in contact with a substance known as mubber. Jed is blamed for this whole wacky situation, but Fred can't believe what he is hearing. So once again, the gang and their famous van head out to prove Jed's innocence and unravel this devilish mystery.

Scooby-Doo! Unmasked is a game played through the third-person perspective. Scooby is the only character that you will be controlling, although the other characters will interact with the pooch throughout animated cut-scenes. Like in previous Scooby-Doo games, Scooby can jump, has an array of basic moves to fend off enemies, and has one huge appetite. What sets this game apart from the others is the importance of the substance known as mubber. When Scooby comes across this substance, one of three special costumes will appear for him to use. One such costume is the bat suit, which gives Scooby the ability to fly around like a bat, thus allowing him to glide around levels and collect items and kill enemies that were previously unreachable. Another is the kung-fu suit, which transforms Scooby into a martial arts expert, and even allows him to slow down time in Matrix-like fashion. The final suit turns Scooby into a bona fide archer, complete with a bow and set of plungers to pick off enemies from a distance. These costumes are sure to change up the gameplay every now and then, and should be a huge hit with the younger audience.

The game is set to feature eleven gorgeous levels, ranging in location from circus-like settings to the classic haunted mansion. The screenshots that have been released thus far look much more appealing than those of previous installments do, partially due to the fact that the developers used a new art style. The new style is known as contour shading, which gives the game a more cartoonish look with more soft colors that do a good job of replicating the popular television show. To make the game even more authentic, most of the original voice actors have done some work for this game. And even Adam West from the television version of Batman will do the voice work for the mastermind behind all of the crimes in this game.