Once again we return to the XBLA for one of the smaller titles that often go unnoticed.

Capsized is a 2-D platformer/side-scroller that tells the tale of an astronaut and his crew, who are forced to land on an alien planet after their ship explodes in space. Since your character was the only one who had the good fortune of being bestowed with the use of firearms it’s up to you to save your crew and find a way off the planet.

Gameplay is simplistic; the player runs-and-guns from one screen to the next, completing objectives along the way. The gunplay is similar to an old game called Contra, where the player can essentially aim 360 degrees around.

Platforming is fairly straightforward with a few interesting navigation tools. The player has a grapple hook/anti-gravity gun that allows them to not only grab onto far away ledges, but also to pick up objects and enemies to throw. The game also gives the player a jetpack that lets them to breeze through large sections of the environment, but has a limited amount of fuel.

While the game does have some colorful landscape and a variety of bizarre foes, the actual gameplay is, for a lack of a better word, easy. In truth, the game is frustrating at times because most enemies can be killed within five seconds — the protagonist is too overpowered. Even if the enemies get past an arsenal of space laser weaponry, that for some reason has large quantities of ammo just lying around, none of them can catch up when the player fires up the jetpack. To top it off, there are a huge number of extra lives scattered around, all easy to find — so many that you’ll never have to restart a single level.

To wrap it up, Capsized is a colorful little side-scroller that becomes boring about halfway through.

3 out of 5 stars