Scaler
Added December 7th, 2004 by Dakota Grabowski
Introduction:This holiday season has been filled with platformers trying to provide thrills for children and those who are young at heart. I have tested, played, and been worn out of so many crazy characters trying to mimic what Mario and Crash Bandicoot have created from the past that I am just wanting something to try and innovate the genre. Scaler by no means attempts to innovate the genre or even improve on what all ready has been established with successful franchises like Crash, Sonic, Mario and Spyro.
Scaler was developed by A2M which is known for the Looney Toons video games, if you count that as being something to be proud of that is. Other than that they have handled Get on Da Mic with cooperation of Highway 1 Productions which hasn’t been accepted that well by critics. Other than that they haven’t developed anything well known or even any quality titles. Scaler in turn gives A2M a game worthy of all the money put into for development and a game that may give other platformers a run for their money if everything is worked out if a sequel is in the works.
Gameplay:
The plot revolves around a scientist that of course screws up with one of his experiments and creates a device that permits portals to open. With that device people can connect planets together and travel to them when they feel like it. Players will be taking on the role to play Scaler. Well that’s not his name of origin as his full name is Bobby Jenkins. Bobby Jenkins finds out about an evil organization that breaks into his world through the device and has malicious plans to pursue while in his world. This organization is run by the antagonist named Looger. Looger is supposedly evil but he never gives off the impression to me to be nothing more than a small menace. Bobby Jenkins finally turns into the alias of Scaler, a lizard that has some retribution to repay Looger, and his role is now to save the universe but finds himself in an alternate dimension. All of these responsibilities of world salvation are held by a twelve year old kid? Hardly believable as a task for someone who isn’t even a teenager yet.
Scaler will have a few abilities right after his miraculous transformation. He will be able to climb up walls since he does have sharp claws on his hands. A few lizards can camouflage themselves so Scaler is capable himself of that feat. What lizards aren’t usually known for are sliding down vines and charging up their bomb attack for a sneak attack on an enemy. Also available to Scaler’s variation of attacks would be his tongue lash.
What’s left to brief you on before you take on your adventure throughout Scaler is that Scaler has another trick up his scales. Scaler can transform into several enemies that he encounters throughout his journey. You can turn into a Bakudan, Krock, Doozum and others but not like you care because they are uninspired. It makes the game a little more enjoyable but nothing is really attracting to keep the player interested for more than a thirty minute period.
Graphics:
The graphics for platformers are almost similar to each one another and Scaler is included in the bunch that is guilty. It’s nothing beyond the standard that is usually accepted with most platformers to appeal to the same crowd that follows the genre. The animations are done quite well to allow some cool transformations but nothing that was outside what’s expected. What’s left to be said about the graphics is the frame rate is solid and camera is a useful tool to aid you while you play. The frame rate will barely ever dip so you should have a smooth ride all the way through. Besides that, only thing else I found impressing was some of the particle effects that brought some of the games brightest moments to life.
What’s left to brief you on before you take on your adventure throughout Scaler is that Scaler has another trick up his scales. Scaler can transform into several enemies that he encounters throughout his journey. You can turn into a Bakudan, Krock, Doozum and others but not like you care because they are uninspired. It makes the game a little more enjoyable but nothing is really attracting to keep the player interested for more than a thirty minute period.
Graphics:
The graphics for platformers are almost similar to each one another and Scaler is included in the bunch that is guilty. It’s nothing beyond the standard that is usually accepted with most platformers to appeal to the same crowd that follows the genre. The animations are done quite well to allow some cool transformations but nothing that was outside what’s expected. What’s left to be said about the graphics is the frame rate is solid and camera is a useful tool to aid you while you play. The frame rate will barely ever dip so you should have a smooth ride all the way through. Besides that, only thing else I found impressing was some of the particle effects that brought some of the games brightest moments to life.
Audio:
What’s missing with the audio division of Scaler is the lack of Dolby Digital. A2M did include nice sound effects as everything seems to fit quite well enough to make you believe you are in a new world experiencing what Scaler is being put through. Voice acting is almost taken too seriously but aside from the over done lines; the voice acting isn’t too bad. Overall, the music is easy on the ears and sometimes charms the players into playing a little bit more and provides a welcoming theme.
Controls:
Playing through Scaler was more of a hassle but at least the controls are user friendly. I never found myself dragging to learn the control scheme and figuring out how to do what. Everything is simple and children will be able to play this easily. Never was there a moment where I was confused on how to accomplish what laid before me so the difficulty overall for the game and learning the controls is simple.
Left Thumstick- Walking/Running Right Thumbstick- Camera Control Left Trigger- Re-centering the camera Right Trigger- First Person View A Button: Jump B Button: Attack with the Tongue X Button: Attack with the Claws Y Button: Transform Black Button: Camo/Stealth White Button: Bomb
Replay:
The replay of the game varies on if you are an avid platformer player or not. The game requires you to collect lizard eggs to move onto the next level. Also you can collect Crystal Gems to purchase upgrades such as health, stronger claws and better attacks but this isn’t anything new. The game is a budget title so the overall value of what’s actually in the game increases as I was surprised that it was actually this good when compared to other platformers in terms of gameplay. What’s disappointing is that Scaler literally doesn’t give any reason to gamer to play through the game again.
What’s missing with the audio division of Scaler is the lack of Dolby Digital. A2M did include nice sound effects as everything seems to fit quite well enough to make you believe you are in a new world experiencing what Scaler is being put through. Voice acting is almost taken too seriously but aside from the over done lines; the voice acting isn’t too bad. Overall, the music is easy on the ears and sometimes charms the players into playing a little bit more and provides a welcoming theme.
Controls:
Playing through Scaler was more of a hassle but at least the controls are user friendly. I never found myself dragging to learn the control scheme and figuring out how to do what. Everything is simple and children will be able to play this easily. Never was there a moment where I was confused on how to accomplish what laid before me so the difficulty overall for the game and learning the controls is simple.
Left Thumstick- Walking/Running Right Thumbstick- Camera Control Left Trigger- Re-centering the camera Right Trigger- First Person View A Button: Jump B Button: Attack with the Tongue X Button: Attack with the Claws Y Button: Transform Black Button: Camo/Stealth White Button: Bomb
Replay:
The replay of the game varies on if you are an avid platformer player or not. The game requires you to collect lizard eggs to move onto the next level. Also you can collect Crystal Gems to purchase upgrades such as health, stronger claws and better attacks but this isn’t anything new. The game is a budget title so the overall value of what’s actually in the game increases as I was surprised that it was actually this good when compared to other platformers in terms of gameplay. What’s disappointing is that Scaler literally doesn’t give any reason to gamer to play through the game again.
Summary:
With my fair share of time being committed to platformers this winter, it’s easy for me to ‘scale’ all of them to figure out what bests the rest. Scaler with the low price tag is worth the $19.99 but it doesn’t mean that it’s better in quality than say Blinx 2 or Tak 2. Scaler may be cheap and attract those who are low on money but this isn’t really more than a rental when compared to what has all ready been released on the Xbox this holiday season in terms of adventure and platformer.
With my fair share of time being committed to platformers this winter, it’s easy for me to ‘scale’ all of them to figure out what bests the rest. Scaler with the low price tag is worth the $19.99 but it doesn’t mean that it’s better in quality than say Blinx 2 or Tak 2. Scaler may be cheap and attract those who are low on money but this isn’t really more than a rental when compared to what has all ready been released on the Xbox this holiday season in terms of adventure and platformer.
