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ALIENS: THANATOS ENCOUNTER (GBC)
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Publisher: THQ.
Developer: Crawfish Interactive. Released: April 2001 (Europe). Genre: Shoot 'em up. Posted 31st October 2022. By Tom Clare © 2022 |
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From the punchy side-scrolling shoot ‘em up fun of Alien 3, to the corridor-FPS par excellence that was Alien Trilogy and the more modern survival horror interpretation of Isolation, Alien has long since proven itself prime gaming fodder. Of course, there’s always going to be the odd duffer too. Though the series typically has a very strong strike rate when it comes to video game adaptations, there’s always a Colonial Marines, or in this instance, a Thanatos Encounter, ready to leap from the vents and traumatise unsuspecting players.
In fairness, Thanatos Encounter isn’t quite the disaster I’m building it up to be. It is, however, a painfully underwhelming top-down shoot ‘em up. This is owed to a mixture of unadventurous design and poor gameplay that doesn’t nail the basics. It’s a very anaemic version of Alien Breed, a decade after the event.
Though the weapons start out rather miserly, the Incinerator soon evens the odds
This being set in the Aliens universe, it’s only good and right that the story should follow exactly thus: a vessel of marines has picked up a distress signal from the drifting freighter Thanatos. This translates as: the player investigates, finds the ship infested with aliens and must then kill a ton of them before narrowly escaping with their lives.
Novelly, the player has the choice of a pool of marines, each with divergent speed and stamina ratings. Each level typically requires the player either to dispatch all the aliens, rescue any survivors, reach the exit, or a mixture of the above. Impressively pre-empting the roguelike trend, Thanatos Encounter sees the death of a character resulting in the player needing to restart the current mission and, in rather nerve-wracking circumstances, rescue their fallen comrade from the alien cocoon in which they’ve been placed before a time limit expires.
Novelly, the player has the choice of a pool of marines, each with divergent speed and stamina ratings. Each level typically requires the player either to dispatch all the aliens, rescue any survivors, reach the exit, or a mixture of the above. Impressively pre-empting the roguelike trend, Thanatos Encounter sees the death of a character resulting in the player needing to restart the current mission and, in rather nerve-wracking circumstances, rescue their fallen comrade from the alien cocoon in which they’ve been placed before a time limit expires.
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It’s a simplistic shooter, with early missions lacking punch due to the ineffective and unsatisfying nature of the pistol and shotgun weaponry. On the plus side, the player can designate weapons and items to both of their character’s hands. The sensible option early doors might be to carry a plasma rifle alongside a motion detector (a literal lifesaver, as well as a nifty way of identifying parts of the level that might not have explored). If you’re feeling a little more adventurous, you can make various dual-wield combinations. Alternatively, why not take a punt on two-handed weapons, such as the Incinerator? This monstrous, hugely effective flamethrower even prompts its own fiery death animations as foes are enveloped.
Unfortunately, despite how promising this may sound on paper, the shooting is clunky and lacklustre. The AI is also rather brain-dead and random. Alien movements zig-zag unconvincingly and they’re all too prone to getting themselves wedged in the walls. The hit boxes are extremely dodgy and these are a root cause of Thanatos Encounter struggling to generate fun or immersion. The combat feels messy and with shots so frequently failing to register, it prevents the action from flowing.
Unfortunately, despite how promising this may sound on paper, the shooting is clunky and lacklustre. The AI is also rather brain-dead and random. Alien movements zig-zag unconvincingly and they’re all too prone to getting themselves wedged in the walls. The hit boxes are extremely dodgy and these are a root cause of Thanatos Encounter struggling to generate fun or immersion. The combat feels messy and with shots so frequently failing to register, it prevents the action from flowing.
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Levels appear samey and featureless. Whilst each mission has a briefing, there’s very little distinction to how any of them play. Indeed, the mantra seems to have been to chuck an ever-greater number of larger sprites at the player as the levels progress, with little regard to the effect this would have on the frame rate. With only the (very) occasional hidden passage and some bog-standard ammo and health pick-ups, there’s precious little to find through exploration.
It does try to capture some of the tension of the legendary films from which it takes its name. The intro, with a few animated stills, does a nice job of setting the scene. There’s some decent, up-tempo action music. Xenomorphs, chestbursters and facehuggers all make an appearance – surprisingly few Alien games feature all three. You even get to fight a version of the queen near the end. The trouble is, for all its good intentions, the gameplay just doesn’t deliver.
It does try to capture some of the tension of the legendary films from which it takes its name. The intro, with a few animated stills, does a nice job of setting the scene. There’s some decent, up-tempo action music. Xenomorphs, chestbursters and facehuggers all make an appearance – surprisingly few Alien games feature all three. You even get to fight a version of the queen near the end. The trouble is, for all its good intentions, the gameplay just doesn’t deliver.
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Facehuggers leach the player's health... though bigger threats lie in wait as you progress through the Thanatos's decks
There are around 15 levels, with a password system helping and difficulty settings lending Thanatos Encounter a little extra value. The last few levels are played against a time limit, though deaths resulting in the game essentially rebooting, with no option to retry and without locking in your password. This means every time you die, you’ll need to input the password afresh, so to have another crack at these tricky final stages is needlessly time-consuming. Overcome this frustration and the ending, at least, is quite good.
A couple of promising ideas aside, Thanatos Encounter proves a disappointing handheld foray into the Aliens universe. By 2001’s standards, and even taking into account its technologically modest hardware, it failed to distinguish itself. To fall short of the 3D entries of the previous few years is forgivable, but there’s a slew of superior top-down shooters available. After all, you could try your hand with a trio of Amiga Alien Breed titles. Not a fan of home computers? The PlayStation had it covered with Loaded and Reloaded. Perhaps most damningly, Thanatos Encounter is also thoroughly trounced by Psychon: a stunning Net Yaroze homebrew title that came free with a magazine. There are so many superior alternatives that this one’s rather found itself lost in space – and time.
A couple of promising ideas aside, Thanatos Encounter proves a disappointing handheld foray into the Aliens universe. By 2001’s standards, and even taking into account its technologically modest hardware, it failed to distinguish itself. To fall short of the 3D entries of the previous few years is forgivable, but there’s a slew of superior top-down shooters available. After all, you could try your hand with a trio of Amiga Alien Breed titles. Not a fan of home computers? The PlayStation had it covered with Loaded and Reloaded. Perhaps most damningly, Thanatos Encounter is also thoroughly trounced by Psychon: a stunning Net Yaroze homebrew title that came free with a magazine. There are so many superior alternatives that this one’s rather found itself lost in space – and time.
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VERDICT
"There are a couple of noteworthy ideas, but Thanatos Encounter's potential is squandered by its inability to get the basics right. Samey levels, poor AI and shoddy shoot 'em up gameplay mean this one is consigned to being lost in space." OVERALL: 4/10 |