Scaler: an electronic circuit that records rapid signals, a device for scraping tartar off teeth, and now also a very blue boy-lizard with an attitude who saves the world from other evil reptiles. If you were thinking that the premise for platformers is getting weirder and more tenuous as the years go by, you'd probably be right. Hedgehogs, plumbers, bandicoots, and kids in gridiron helmets'it's all a bit much really. But, so long as it's fun what does it really matter, right? Hell, if the little red spot on the 7-Up bottle wants his own game, let him have it, so long as it's good! But where does this one register on the platformer-scale?

Bobby Jenkins was once an ordinary kid with a soft-spot for sauria, until he stumbled across a nefarious plan to create an army of world-dominating lizard warriors in the opening cinematic. Somehow, he is inexplicably turned into one of the aforementioned cold-blooded conquistadors, and the scene is set for the latest weird and wonderful platformer: Scaler.

Being a lizard is a key part of Scaler, which goes to great lengths to give your abilities a meaningful role in the game, unlike some platformers which introduce a gimmick that has only superficial consequences to the game. Over the course of Scaler, Bobby will learn five new transformations to help him beat puzzles and bosses along the way. None are particularly reptilian, but all are as useful as they are utterly bizarre. Bobby can transform into a giant rolling ball with spikes, a winged whale, a bomb-tossing pygmy, a frill-necked sniper and a penguin-walrus hybrid. We suspect some drugs played a part here during this games development!

And if the rest of the game is anything to go by, it was lots of drugs! As if the character of Scaler and his trippy transformations weren't enough, the actual levels look like the design team at Animated Mind & Movement visited the Great Barrier Reef while on acid. For those of you who have played Alter Echo and found its blend of psychedelic colours and mind-bending twists and turns to be a head-spin, be warned: Scaler takes it to a whole new level of 'like, whoa dude!' An almost garish blend of coral formations, undulating paths and clashing colours is the basic formula, though each world does vary, including deserts, toxic pits, volcanoes, arctic tundra and lush jungles. Love it or hate it, Scaler does a great job of making you feel like you really are in an alien world.

The actual graphics are pretty good. The framerate is solid, the action is smooth, and the odds are you will be so drawn to the actual artwork that you won't even notice the textures are pretty low resolution, or the models simple. The same cannot be said for the occasionally jarring audio, especially the dialogue, which is borderline criminal, and causes the voice acting to be even worse. The music is a standard affair, but some of the tunes can seem quite out of place. Scaler's single biggest problem though is the controls'there's nothing really wrong with them in a broad sense, but given all the transforming you do into different creatures, it can get confusing.

Some of Bobby's forms are quite slow, while others are fast, and making the transition from one to the other can cause some frustrating deaths when you accidentally overcompensate and run off a cliff. Even in its default Scaler form jumping can be annoyingly imprecise, especially given that some of the later platforms are tiny.

Offsetting this frustration are the incredibly fun vine-riding sections. One of the perks of being transformed into a lizard is that you can apparently use static electricity to create devastating bombs to smite sinister saurians or open otherwise impenetrable seed-pods. To do this, Bobby grinds his way along miles worth of vines that twist and turn their way through almost every level in the game. There are obstacles to avoid of course, but navigating these sections is probably one of the highlights of the game.

Scaler also makes use of an upgrade system: by collecting enough pollen particles called Klookies, you can feed them to the giant Repbodactyl who will regurgitate them back onto you to grant you a new ability. Anyway, your abilities include tougher claws, more bomb slots, and the ability to go chameleon and sneak your way past tough enemies. The system works really well, and offers a little bit of customisation to the usually linear platform genre. In fact, you can tackle the various worlds in whatever order you please too, provided you've collected enough lizard eggs to enter them.

Most players will be able to beat Scaler in a little over 10 hours playtime, which isn't too bad for a budget priced platformer. It is also worth mentioning that Scaler comes with a full-colour manual, which is always welcome on the eyes. Publishers take note: if a game which retails for $40 can stretch to a colour booklet, so can your $100 'AAA' titles! Speaking of colours, there's plenty of unlockable artwork to discover as you play the game, and if you manage to collect all 100 of the crystal gems that unlock the art, you'll also be treated to an alternative ending. Spiffy! If you love a solid platformer, at just $40 Scaler is hard to over look.

Parental Perspective: Scaler is the perfect title for you to pick up for the youngsters, if not because of the very low price-point, then because of the incredibly high quality of the production. Granted the dialogue is painful and the voices excruciating, but it's no worse than the usual Saturday-morning cartoon fare. Being able to pick your levels alleviates some of the frustration usually experienced by getting stuck, and while Scaler's difficulty does ramp up towards the end, it's nothing most kids can't handle.

Overall, you could do a lot worse than grab your kids a copy of Scaler, and you'll probably enjoy it yourself if you give it a whirl'There's 3 save slots, so there's no need to fight, and no excuses not to play!