Rascal

"Watch the player as he wrestles with his camera"

Introduction
If you talk to anyone who takes a liking to SEGA or Nintendo you might hear them mention Sony's so-called ''hype machine''. According to these people it's Sony's plot as a whole to get people to buy Sony's game console and games. That includes lying and deceiving. Is it true? Maybe to an extent.

I don't know why when right after the PS2 launched news reports said that the Iraqi army was using PS2's to train their soldiers and launch rockets (via software running on the PS2's). I'm not sure how true that is but there's another big incident involving this ''hype machine''. After Mario 64 came out Sony knew they had to get their own game like this... but make it better. They own Psygnosis. Psygnosis specializes in kid-oriented adventure games. So it was only natural that they make it. However, Psygnosis isn't the most talented company in the world---so they're perfect making these kiddy games, hehe. Anyway, long story short: Rascal was supposed to knock Mario 64 off it's throne. This didn't happen needless to say.

The game starts off with a bizarre scene where the evil Chronon kidnaps Rascal's father, a professor. You learn that Chronon is using Rascal's father to perfect time travel for his evil plans. Guess what? That's right! YOU have to stop him. You're so good at guessing. :P

Graphics
Arguably the best feature of Rascal are the graphics. Colorful, vibrant worlds that have cool details and nice 3D sprites. The enemies all look great and the cliche environments are just plain cool. Although, some naysayers would argue that they areas are too confined, which they are somewhat, it's not that bad.

I wouldn't go as far as saying Rascal is the best looking 3D platformer on the PS1, but it certainly is up there with the better ones.

Gameplay

Control
Plagued by a shoddy camera and topped with horrible controls, Rascal's gameplay is no walk in the park. This combination is so bad that you really cannot get used to them. No matter if you're a novice or expert to the game: making jumps that require you to land a small platform is very difficult. This results in people throwing the controller down and never playing the game again. I understand. I went on, however, and beat the game. Alright, alright... they're not THAT bad but they can be annoying.

Mechanics
There are some bright spots in the gameplay however. The mechanics are great. You run around picking up keys that unlock doors. You also pick up treasures and vital weapon & health things. It's all good.

I guess that one has to have patience in order to appreciate the simplistic yet neat gameplay that Rascal has. For example, underwater swimming is fun and brings a whole new mechanic to the gameplay. Slide down slopes was very innovative since it was like snowboarding except with no snow. :P

Sound
The sound is top-notch in my opinion. I really dug the tunes they developers stuck into the game and they matched the game very well. The sound effects were cool too. You can tell that they weren't lazy with the audio aspects that pertain to Rascal.

Replay/Fun
The game's difficulty due to frustrating controls was an unforeseen replay value if you ask me. Things get tedious but once you're done, you're done. I highly doubt that one will go through the game again. Not unless they took a liking to a particular level (like I did) and wanted to play it over.

It won't take you too long to beat but should be long enough to quench your thirst.

Conclusion
This game pissed a lot of people off because they wanted a Mario 64 for the PS1 and what they got was a mediocre attempt on the new 3D platformer genre. Half-baked is the phrase I may be looking for, who knows. For their first attempt at this sort of thing, Psygnosis didn't do such a bad job. Kids will love it and it's one game that the parents won't have to worry about they're kids playing. It's totally safe... but not in that Sesame Street sort of way.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/15/03