GameLight Review - Capsized

Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/95300/
Source: Youtube Channel Vermeulen

Developer: Alientrap Games Inc
Publisher: Alientrap Games Inc
Platforms: PC (Steam)
Release Date: Apr 29, 2011
Genre: Action-Adventure

Pros:
-Atmospheric environment and detailed graphics
-The physics engine makes for a fun experience when grappling around and firing off objects
-Lots of unique weapons to utilize and abilities to traverse the world with
-Open world feeling with non-linear goals

Cons:
-Controls are floaty and quite cumbersome at some of the worst moments
-The graphics, though nice, are convoluted and muddled making it difficult to see where you're going
-A lot of the enemy types places the player in unfair situations and require cheap tactics to win
-It gets more frustrating than rewarding near the end of the game

Capsized is one of those games where the ideas are good but are executed poorly.  The graphics are detailed, atmospheric and aesthetically beautiful; however, everything is so muddled that enemies are blended in the background, objects can't be clearly seen, and in dark levels you don't know where you're going.  The game mechanics revolve around the various weapons and abilities as well as the low gravity physics that has a space-like feeling.  It's a lot of fun tethering to objects, enemies and walls while flinging your character to far distances as well as blasting your way through numerous enemies with an array of unique arsenal, but they're also the same mechanics that impede on your progress by blocking pathways, falling into all sorts of lethal environments, or ending up killing yourself because every enemy decides to be right in your face when you're firing an explosive.  Not having such high expectations might deliver some good entertainment to those who are willing to give Capsized a try.

Aesthetics
At first glance, Capsized is a beautiful looking game with an otherworldly aesthetic.  While in-game, the graphics can be a problem in most of the levels when enemies blend in with the environment and background and objects aren't clearly seen.  There are also certain levels where it's entirely dark and a flashlight is needed.  With the floaty controls and a narrow arc for the light, it becomes a frustrating struggle to get around and avoid dangers such as poison gas, spikes, and enemies.  The user-interface is pretty clean and clearly shows the information the player needs to know.  The biggest problem in part of the user-interface or dynamic changes is when the player is injured, the screen appears more cracked and red much like the Call of Duty series has done in their games.  The changes in the screen is a good indicator that the player is near death; however, the cracks and red overlay is so prominent that it obscures all vision for the player of what's going on mixed in with the convoluted environments and dark caves.  So in short, the graphics are pleasing to look at but have one too many poor design choices for the gameplay.  The sounds are pretty good and really help what can't be seen (because it's already bad enough trying to see where you're going).  The music in Capsized is atmospheric and does a good job setting the mood for the environment, but they aren't very memorable other than the title screen.  From what I understand, the music wasn't made specifically for the game and was rather taken from an album to be used in the game.  Looking and listening to some parts of the game (the trailer) made the game seem decent, but seeing it in action and experiencing it first hand made realize that they weren't the best choices for the gameplay.  Aesthetics: 6/10

Buttons
The keyboard/mouse combo isn't a first for 2D shooters and it also makes the most sense to use for a game such as this one.  The game can be quite hectic and requires precise aiming and so using the mouse to aim and WASD to move was the most sensible choice.  For the most part, the controls were laid out pretty well on the keyboard and mouse.  It was fairly easy to hover around, tether and swing, switch weapons and shoot when there was no threat in the beginning.  The problem with the controls lies within the game itself.  Input is slightly delayed for some actions and aiming doesn't react very quickly.  It makes the controls feel floaty and lag behind the action.  This causes some frustrating moments in combat, traversing small corridors, and doing tricky jumps (but it's mostly combat that's the biggest problem).  If the controls were a bit more responsive in a shorter amount of time, it would have improved the game drastically.  Buttons: 6/10

Concept and Content
I must admit that I bought the game hoping it'd be a sort of Metroid-like feeling with a more modern control scheme.  It wasn't what I was expecting, but the game started out pretty interesting as I messed around with the controls.  The physics engine, tethering, and pressure cannon were fun novelties in the beginning, but it became an annoying part of the game's goal when they're supposed to be utilized.  The main campaign is broken apart into 12 missions and each one has their own goals.  In each mission, a level is presented with hazards, enemies, light puzzles, objects and items.  Utilizing the abilities of the character and the weapons found throughout the level, the player is set out to: kill all enemies, bring back parts for the spaceship, destroy certain objects, etc.  The levels are open-ended and do not require the player to complete the objectives in a certain order (usually).  Everything that contributes to the game (besides the music and sfx) pretty much break the gameplay.  The graphics make it difficult to distinguish enemies, places the player in situations they can't get out of, makes it difficult to know where you're going in dark areas, and obscuring all vision when injured.  The controls are a constant struggle to make the right jump, shoot in the right direction, or get out of a mob of enemies.  Trying to complete certain goals that require using the jet-pack when fuel is scarce and auto-regeneration doesn't exist is annoying when trying to carry large objects to high places.  Trying to destroy idols using the tether can be very tricky as the player can't control the rotation of the objects which often make the object they're holding get stuck or fall off.  Then there are enemies later that teleport, absorb your weapon projectiles and throw them back at you, pick you up off the ground, jump right in front of your face, etc.  It makes it irritating fighting these special enemies when the aiming system feels so heavy and laggy as do the jumping.  The game itself is pretty short, but the frustrating experience I had made it feel a lot longer.  Aside from the main campaign, there's Bot Match, Time Trial, Survival, Armless, and Duel which in particular can be played by two players (1 v 1).  This extra bit of content is nice for those still wanting more, but the experience from the main campaign deterred me away from wanting to play anymore (I tried out all of them except for Duel).  The game was fun at some parts, but frustrating for the rest of the game.  Concept and Content: 5/10

Duration
I'd say the main campaign had a fair amount of levels and lasted long enough for gameplay time (because if the game were any longer, I would have given up on it).  The flow of the game felt sequential, which made it easy to follow.  Because of the gameplay, the game felt like it dragged on and on near the end.  If the game mechanics were really good and work well, the extra content would've been a welcome addition to the game and even better if it had online competitive play (but it didn't, thankfully), so the replay value was there but not really worth the time.  I still enjoyed some parts of the game and I got my kicks out of it, but I don't think I want to play it again anytime soon.  Duration: 7/10

Fun
When I started the game, I immediately hated the controls.  It felt awkward and really difficult to maneuver correctly.  The graphics were really nice though, until I got into the later stages where it's just constantly dark, messy, and just a nightmare to get through.  Despite the unruly controls, it was a lot of fun swinging around and shooting objects and enemies at other enemies.  But near the end, I just wanted to finish the game and had no interest in playing the game any longer than I needed too.  There were a lot of great ideas and I hope they're used again in the future for 2D Action-Adventure games, but Capsized just didn't deliver it correctly.  Fun: 5/10

Overall
Playing Capsized was quite the love/hate relationship throughout the campaign.  There were so many ideas I liked that made 2D Action-shooting fun, but it had so many flaws in them that it was hard to enjoy.  I'm still waiting for a developer to take these ideas, put them in a Metroid-like game, and create a modern masterpiece once again.  If the controls were tighter, graphics were more distinguished, music more memorable, combat mechanics more refined, then perhaps this game might have been a lot better.  Overall: 5.8/10