Review: Flashback

I never got the chance to play the original Flashback back in the day, but extensive internet research has revealed that it was a Prince of Perisa-style platformer, released across a range of platforms between 1992 and 1995. The title recently released for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC is essentially a recreation of this game, following the same basic gameplay mechanics and storyline, but transforming it into a high-definition, 2.5D game for the modern age.

Flashback follows the story of Conrad Hart, an amnesiac agent of the Galactic Bureau of Investigation working to recover his memories, figure out a plot against humanity and generally not die in the process. To this end, you’ll find yourself making your way through a Metroidvania-style world, with plenty of platforming, backtracking and collecting of nifty new upgrades to dive deeper still into the game world. Combat uses the right thumbstick to aim and combines the use of a pistol with a chargeable shot, grenades, rocks to throw as a distraction and so on. A lot of this will seem quite familiar to anyone who played Shadow Complex, another Xbox Arcade title in a similar vein.

Conrad is relatively engaging as a main character, maintaining a snarky outlook in the face of pretty much anything the game has to throw at him. Having this persona NOT played by Nolan North is always an interesting choice, but sadly the dialogue and delivery is stilted at best. The characters he interact with tend to be fairly two-dimensional, delivering their lines without a lot of flair. Most of the game focuses on the combat however, so this doesn’t grind on the player’s nerves too badly.

Combat itself has a decent framework, but still seems like it could have been executed better. Even with the game’s Aim Assist mode turned on, I was hard-pressed to accurately aim at enemies as they swarmed Conrad. With a good stretch of the game inhabitated by speedy little drones that zoom in and zap Conrad, it seems like the ball was dropped somewhat. However, the main hindrance in the game was the camera.

Also controlled by the right thumbstick, the camera is able to stretch out in any direction to assess upcoming threats, traps or pitfalls to watch out for, but seems to find snapping back to the player to be a bit of a challenge. Multiple times I’d glance above or below me to see where I needed to go, only to have the camera stick there until I was offscreen entirely. In areas like the ‘Death Tower’, a combat-heavy zone you pass through mid-game, this can mean a cheap death while you battle against the controls themselves to see what’s going on.

Whilst all this does seem pretty negative, it’s not to say I didn’t enjoy playing Flashback. Whilst it did have its flaws, the experience overall was still decent. I’m a sucker for these Metroidvania-type titles which probably helped, as would the nostalgia of having played the original game. Flashback itself looks good for an Arcade title, and offers a decent amount of playtime for the price. It’s just unfortunate that other titles like Shadow Complex occupying the same market overshadow this latest outing from Ubisoft. Give it a try, and try to keep an open mind. Hopefully you’ll be surprised!