A big box of eye candy. Review

A big box of eye candy.

Rascal is a very magical game. While it may bore or even turn away a
crowd of anyone over 15, its appeal is directed primarily to a much
younger crowd. Basically, I don’t find Rascal all that exciting, but I
know my little brother would love it. So, with that in mind, here’s the
premise.

You play a kid living with your uncle in a sort of home/laboratory.
Suddenly, aliens attack, and seize him for one of their nefarious
experiments. Since your scientist uncle specialized primarily in time travel, it is up to you to travel to different locations throughout time and space in order to complete certain puzzles. At the end of
this, hopefully, are the aliens.

The character (Rascal), designed by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop of London, is armed with what can most accurately be termed a “bubble blaster.” This is not a real weapon, per se (being
that it shoots out colored bubbles), but it does seem to have a highly
effective impact against the enemy characters in the game. These
characters are in your way, and eliminating certain ones will give you
keys and other tools for completing the quest.

Though this may sound like a cliched plot, what makes Rascal special
are the graphics, which are top-notch. To put it bluntly, this game will almost make you think
that you have bought a Nintendo 64. With a super-fast framerate (rivaling that of the superbad Gex: Enter the Gecko) the game flows well. It is entirely from a rear, third
person perspective. The walls and doors seem
very real indeed from a ground view, and each object and creature
is rendered in three-dimensions. Certain scenes, such as
when you are attempting to cross a giant pool of lava by jumping from
one swinging platform to another, are very impressive indeed.

Do the graphics carry the game? To a certain extent, yes. Even though
I don’t really care for the game’s plot, I found myself wanting to go
further just see what pretty graphical creations
awaited. Trust me, if this is your attitude, you will not be
disappointed. There are some really intriguing rooms and corridors.
However, if your desire is to see good gameplay (which we know it is), you may find that this
game has some problems.

For instance, because the camera always follows the character,
there are times when you will see the front of the boy, not the back.
This can be frustrating if, say, there is an obstacle in your way (which happens all the time…). In such a situation, you have to jump on instinct, since you can’t see what is ahead. Additionally, you may
find yourself in one of the lesser rooms of the different areas, where
creatures such as bats, rats, and small birds appear magically out of
bubbles. These creatures do hurt, and they can be killed, but they also
reappear after they are killed. What this means is that there is really
no place to stop without being attacked/injured by something. This gets
somewhat maddening, especially to a child playing the game, I imagine.

What is interesting about the game are the puzzles. You need to
collect certain objects throughout the game that form some larger
whole. Once these are collected, the level has been beaten, and you are
allowed to return to your own time for another adventure. The game forces you to explore every
room.

In some ways, Rascal is an easier, more watered-down version of Super Mario
64, and of course, for the Playstation. If you have played Mario,
Rascal probably will not interest you, especially if you suspect you
might be too old for it anyway. On the other hand, if you know an eight
year old, this might be a really good birthday present.