Capsized (2011, Windows) Review

(3 / 4)

Also on: iPad, Linux, Macintosh, Xbox 360

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SHORT 'N' SWEET OLD SCHOOL CHAOS

In the distant future, a bunch of exploring astronauts crash land on an unknown planet of steamy jungles, dank caves, toxic florae and savage fauna. One troubled survivor sets out on a quest to find his fellows and work out a way to call for aid. Of course the humans are the aliens here, and as far as the local populace is concerned the homeland is under attack (or maybe they just think human beings look delicious), so they send out their elite forces to deal with the invading scum.

That's the simple basis for Alientrap's enchanting indie-2D-shooter Capsized, a chaotic, fun game of old school quirks and absorbing atomsphere. Of course, you're the astronaut (you didn't seriously think you'd play as the xenomorphs, did you?). I played the allegedly superior PC version, and stuck to the default, FPS-inspired setting where keyboard controls the character and mouse controls weapon aim.

That was harder than it might sound, basically because my brain wasn't wired to control precise 2D movement with both hands independently, trying to dodge projectiles and aim simultaneously. I learned the hard way that you need to constantly keep moving, your left hand tap dancing the keyboard. As soon as the enemy's within shooting range, your mouse hand needs to take careful aim. Such a bipolar gameplay mechanic is taxing and challenging to sustain for long sessions. Your shots will miss quite a lot, but ammo is plentiful.

At the end of each level, you're given a score depending on how well you fared: shots fired, deaths, secrets found, time spent... Yeah, like you'll care much. Who are you trying to impress anyway?

ABSORBING ATMOSPHERE

Mission briefings and story are one and the same. They come in a series of drawings illustrating the current situation, accompanied by a short sentence summarizing what to do about it - e.g. "Find missing crew". A small compass will indicate where to go during missions. You start each level with a few lives (more can be found), the standard peashooter, a few gadgets and your own devices. As your lives rapidly decrease, the longer, later levels can get really tense.

The presentation is delightful. The planet seems suitably alien, with everything being colored like it's toxic. Before you grow accustomed to the strange surroundings you'll see an enemy in everything you run across. It's just as beautiful as it is dangerous. The great ambient score, composed by Solar Fields, sounds like something out of an American Dollar album. The tracks add instant mood to a game that has no time for build-up. The levels are way too busy for that.

I managed to beat Capsized's campaign on normal difficulty in just over four hours. That includes dying and having to replay missions twice. It is only twelve levels long and the first five of them you'll pass with flying colors, as the different mechanics and low level enemies are eased in one by one. Then, as you're lulled into a false sense of security, the enemy suddenly start to gank up and overwhelm you. Naturally, they also start sending progressively harder units. Without spoiling anything, the last level even shows us a glimpse of the aliens' life cycle, if you care about such things.

The planet has low gravity, which means you can leap far and high, and the levels are designed around that fact. Apart from that, very little about the level design stood out to me - in retrospect I remember only the last one, and one that took place entirely underground. To me the missions seemed to be more about free form exploration and physics based puzzling than elaborate, game-like setups. You'll find yourself going off into all different directions.

A TOOL FOR EVERY SITUATION

You have a few different tools to help you get around, like an energy grappling hook, a flashlight for the darker levels and a jetpack with limited fuel. There's also a plethora of different weapon pick-ups ranging from the standard machine gun, to a rare gun that creates a gravitational core that pulls in and destroys anything in the vicinity. Each weapon has a secondary fire that's usually a slower, more widespread variation of the standard attack. And then there are hidden power-ups that give you a timed benefit like an energy shield, or the power of flight, or a force field of homing projectiles. 

And there's even more. Capsized encourages you to use items in the environment to your advantage. With your grappling hook, you can pick up big boulders, logs or even small enemies to act as shields or to throw as devastating projectiles. Later levels will actually require you to do so. Careful placement of heavy objects also becomes a necessity to solve certain puzzles. You might as well practice lugging them around during the early, softcore levels.

In other words: No one can complain about a lack of options. Capsized seems deceptively simple but offers elaborate possibilities in tackling each level. Preparing to use the right one for the right time, however, is a downright superhuman task in the ensuing chaos. Just scrolling through the weapon list and selecting a proper one seems like a game of chance. You're lucky if you don't injure yourself, switching to a rocket launcher in a close quarter situation.

I'd call Capsized a bitesize game - the kind that I love to play at the pace of one level a day, giving me a breather from lengthier games with stronger narratives. As such it comes recommended for fans of platformers and shooters alike. It's an onslaught, which reminds me of a time when I played video games for nothing but solving urgent problems and never thinking ahead. Games were just about the playing, dammit, and life was about the present. Words like "past" and "future" didn't apply to me. They were little more than abstract concepts in fairytales for grown-ups, as well as cool locations where all the fun took place - very much like Capsized.