Scaler – Review

Scaler is a budget game that plays like a game with a higher price tag. I’m so sick of developers putting out budget games like they’re doing the gaming population a favor, only to deliver to us a game that isn’t worth two pence never mind twenty quid! That is definitely not the case with Scaler, a fantastic little outing that should show all these other budget developers how good a cheaper game can be, in fact, I still can’t quite believe it is a budget title and I’ve added it to my own personal ‘to buy’ list.

The story of Scaler will most likely have your mind reeling from the start, you may well feel like you’ve spent too much time around the local LSD house (if there even is such a thing). Bobby ‘Scaler’ Jenkins is a cheeky chappy of a teenager who discovers that the world is about to be taken over by evil lizards and in his shocking discovery ends up being transported into their world only to find himself as one of them, a bright blue lizard with an extremely entertaining tongue! Bobby must rescue the world from the evil Looger and his cronies and by traveling the platforming light fantastic will encounter some deadly enemies, tricky little jumps and turns and so much more.

Don’t be fooled into thinking Scaler is only for kids or girls (you know who you are out there who thinks this about cutesy platformers!), this really is a game that has a lot to it, mainly fun and humor. The graphics are so bright and cheerful that I defy anyone not to enjoy simply looking at it. It is like every hippies dream, a mish mash of bright colors that would look good on any tie-dye T-shirt merged with seamless animations that are smooth and graphically spot on. It looks like a trippy cartoon and when you’re flying around different vines and so on attacking unusual enemies you may well find yourself grinning from ear to ear at this welcome little addition to an already pretty saturated platform market, and it’s a budget title… did I mention that?.. oh so I did.

Gameplay wise it’s your usual platform genre stuff. Your tasks in getting to the eventual goal of defeating Looger is to collect Lizard eggs that are strewn around all the various levels. Whilst doing this you’ll also collect gems and klokkies that basically allow you to upgrade your health and so on. You’ll attack the enemies with your claws and that speedy tongue that I already mentioned. The controls on this game are sharp and responsive and you should easily be able to wipe out the enemies. Be warned, one of the most irritating little creatures are the tiny crabs that chase you and explode. These little blighters have killed me on numerous occasions so it’s probably best to simply avoid if you can. The most difficult aspect is probably getting the jumps right from vine to vine or platform to platform without falling to your death, mix that with some of the vines having nasty little prickly bits on them, leads to a fair bit of dexterity being required on your part.

A nice little addition to Scaler is that little lizard Bobby can actually change into other forms throughout the game. This allows you to take on their combat moves and mannerisms that come in handy at different points in the game. The environment is actually pretty sprawling and will offer plenty of opportunity to wander around and go from area to area, though it is essentially a linear platformer. You can go back and forward between these areas if you want to and collect every single gem but this isn’t required to finish the game, although it will add to the overall time taken to play it to it’s completion. I imagine most people will probably finish it in around 12-14 hours, which I think is ok for a budget title.

Overall I think Scaler is a great little title, especially given its price tag. It offers tons of fun and interesting gameplay for all gamers and perhaps non-gaming females as the bright colors and non-violent focus may well appeal to that minority of the female market who truly believes this is what female gaming is about (although that isn’t me personally I know they’re out there). The sound is great and the voices are really funny as is some of the dialogue. I absolutely recommend this to anyone who has a love of platform games because although it doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre, what it does bring, it does very well indeed. A Great polished budget game, have a go.

Review by Angela