Scaler | DJcube

Give your enemies a tongue-lashing they will never forget!

NA release: 17th November 2004
EU release: N/A
JP release: N/A
Developer: Artificial Mind and Movement
Publisher: Global Star Software
NGC Magazine Score: N/A
Mods Used: Widescreen Code

My first impressions of this game were probably the same as everyone else’s – look, it’s a Spyro the Dragon clone – a 3D platformer where you play as a blue and yellow lizard. Despite the initial look, Scaler actually plays very differently, with his own movement and a bigger focus on melee combat.

It starts out with a kid (who rescues lizards from companies that experiment on them) being interrogated by an evil lizard corporation and turned into a lizard (he uses his nickname Scaler) and sent to a lizard universe. There he meets up with a friendly lizard called Leon, who Scaler points out is the same name as his missing father (no points for guessing what gets revealed later on).

The movement in Scaler is quite good fun, he can double jump, use his tongue or claws to attack and climb on specific walls. It’s simple, but also precise and running around feels fun. You’ll get new abilities as you progress and some levels have transformations that you can unlock, such as a large spiked ball. It has the makings of a great platformer.

The level design is what really lets the game down. The levels just… go on. It’s mainly made up of thin platforms or corridors with a lot of what are essentially crates that contain currency. It’s like the paths between meaty areas of a platformer, but the main is just missing. Instead of any challenging platforming sections, the game relies on combat instead.

In what feels like every 20 metres, you’ll be blocked off by a ring of energy. You have to defeat waves of energy before you can move on. These would be fine if used sparingly, but they’re just far too common and you’ll start winning whenever you see a large round part of the level coming up.

It’s a shame, as with better levels this would have been far better than anyone would have expected. Instead, it’s a strange case where it’s fun to just run around but annoying to try and progress.

Fun

Admittedly, Scaler doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre. But what it lacks in innovation it more than makes up in style, humor and solid game mechanics. Controls feel smooth and responsive and the action is always brisk.
Juan Castro, IGN

Remake or remaster?

A remaster with a better camera would be good.

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to get Scaler.