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Scooby Doo: Case Files 1: The Glowing Bug Man

Score: 90%
ESRB: Not Rated
Publisher: Riverdeep
Developer: Riverdeep
Media: CD/1
Players: 1
Genre: Edutainment

Graphics & Sound:

The latest version of the Scooby Doo edutainment line has hit the streets, and it has made some improvements on the three previous titles in its line, Showdown in Ghost Town, Phantom of the Knight and Jinx at the Sphinx. The changes featured in Scooby Doo: Case Files 1: The Glowing Bug Man allow young players to work on their problem solving skills and pattern matching abilities.

The graphics of this game are pretty basic, but give players the feeling of participating in a Scooby cartoon. The Mystery Inc. gang is placed on a static image and the various cartoon styled characters are positioned to face you, waiting for your instructions. There isn't really much to it.

The music isn't much either; it is really low and is mostly just filler for your ears while you play the game. The sounds affects can get repetitive quickly, but kids don't seem to mind it much, although after a couple of minutes of inaction in the game, I have seen more than one grownup run from the room in horror and insanity.


Gameplay:

The Mystery Inc. gang finds themselves in a museum in Scooby Doo: Case Files 1: The Glowing Bug Man, but upon arriving at the museum, they are told that it has been closed due to a large, dangerous, four-armed green glowing bug.

Scooby and Shaggy run across the museum's security guard, and he tells the gang that he has already comprised a list of suspects. The suspects are made up of five workers. The gang sets out to find clues that will help them sift through the different suspects. As you point and click your way to the different items, you mark off each suspect that the clue applies to. If done right, only one person will fit all five clues.

To find the clues, you visit various parts of the museum (the Dinosaur Exhibit, the Mineral Exhibit and of course, the cafeteria) and put the exhibits and museum pieces back the way they are supposed to go since the Bug Man has apparently been busy messing things up. These tasks involve slide puzzles, figuring out what flavors are in the ice-cream maker (including such delicious delights as 'Blueberry Bacon Bits', 'Orange Artichoke' and 'Vanilla Blue Cheese'), and maneuvering ants back into their homes.

At several points, you will need to convince Scooby and Shaggy to move into a spooky area, and what better way than with Scooby Snacks. You start off with a couple, but you might need more. There is a mini-game in The Glowing Bug Man that has you moving Scooby up and down conveyor belts collecting lost bones, and with each one you nab from the Bug Man's grasp, you gain a snack.

Eventually you will gather all of the clues you will need to choose the criminal; at this point you will watch a small cut scene of the gang trapping the crook (in their normal slap-stick way). The best part, for the kids that play it anyway, is that it won't necessarily be the same person each time you play it, since the culprit is randomly chosen at the beginning of the game.


Difficulty:

There are three levels of difficulty in Scooby Doo: Case Files 1: The Glowing Bug Man, Spooky, Spookier and Spooktacular. Though the basic structure of the game remains the same, some portions grow more difficult with each new level. But bear in mind, this game is for kids, so it won't be a killer, but the logic puzzles get more complicated and take more time to figure out. It will be just enough to challenge the little brains a bit more.

Game Mechanics:

Scooby Doo: Case Files 1: The Glowing Bug Man has your basic point-and-click system, although occasionally the need to use the arrow keys does arise. Because of the simple system, little kids can rack their brains over the logic puzzles instead of bungling over what controls do what.

This is an excellent game for little kids to play with and work on their critical thinking skills. Scooby Doo puts the child in several situations where logic and pattern matching are needed to get the next clue, as well as reinforcing that knowledge by having the child go through several levels of similar puzzles, each more difficult than the previous. These are puzzles that do a great job of challenging the game's intended audience of children between the ages of 5 to 10.


-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications
AKA Chris Meyer

Minimum System Requirements:



166 MHz processor or faster, Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP, 32 MB RAM, 50 MB HD space, 16-bit color monitor capable of 640X480 resolution, SoundBlaster 16 sound card or equivalent, DirectX 8.0 or better (will be installed if needed), DirectX compatible video card
 

Test System:



Windows XP Professional Ed., AMD Athlon 600 MHz, 384 MB RAM, 24X CD-ROM, Geforce3 Ti200, DirectX 9.0.

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Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated