Scooby-Doo! First Frights
Become the young Scooby Doo in this action adventure due to arrive this autumn on Wii, Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2.
The hilarious image of Scoobs dressed in a large lady’s operatic costume is reassuring. This and a kung-fu kicking teenage Mystery Inc guarantee that “First Frights” is going to be great fun. Scooby-Doo! First Frights is currently underway at enthusiastic Aussie-based Torus Games for release on family favourite consoles Wii, DS and PS2 this autumn. We thought you deserved to hear a little bit about it.
2009 is closing as a big year for Scooby Doo, the series’ 40th anniversary no less. Next month the Brian Levant directed live-action special “Scooby Doo: The Mystery Begins” will be aired on Cartoon Network, and later released on DVD and Blu-ray. It goes back to the beginning when Fred, Shaggy, Velma and Daphne formed Mystery Inc., the trailers look really cool. The First Frights videogame shares the teenage theme, and the Torus guys look to have had a scream making it.
Whereas in the cartoons you’ll rarely, if ever, see Mystery Inc. throw a punch (maybe Fred is brave enough, but we can’t recall this ever happening), in First Frights their youthful makes way for some pretty cool combat skills. But in keeping with the core appeal of the original show, the core gameplay is puzzle solving spiced with spook.
Publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is aiming Scooby-Doo! First Frights at a family audience, with co-op play a huge factor. Parents can sit and play with their kids to figure things out together, and it’s possible to jump in or out of the game at any time… so if the phone rings you’re on your own for a while junior.
There are four main mysteries to solve, comprising over 20 levels aboard ghost ships, haunted castles, and all that good Scooby stuff. Although the settings are familiar Scoobs territory, the villains are all-new – these ‘pesky kids’ will need to figure things out all by themselves without the old cartoon show for clues.
Developer Torus has been creating successful videogames for 15 years now, and knows what it takes to make a great videogame. We’re promised huge replay value thanks to unlockable costumes / disguises that allow Mystery Inc to revisit levels in search of more mysteries to solve. The costumes not only look funky, they bestow cool new powers unique to each character.
Been a while since we’ve indulged our love for old Scoobs, but we’re really looking forward to braving First Frights on 9 October.
