Flashback, the spiritual successor to Another World, came to the Amiga and completely reshaped the face of 2D plat formers forever. Before this, platform games were mainly Mario inspired fares, cartoon based characters leaping impossible chasms, traversing floating platforms and the like.
Not long before this, both Prince of Persia and Another World were the first to undertake this taxing task. Although a classic, it could be argued that Prince of Persia was too unforgiving and Another World, while entertaining, was similarly frustrating and essentially a sequence of set pieces, thus creating replay ability problems.
Flashback, the spiritual successor to Another World, came to the Amiga and completely reshaped the face of 2D plat formers forever. Before this, platform games were mainly Mario inspired fares, cartoon based characters leaping impossible chasms, traversing floating platforms and the like.
Not long before this, both Prince of Persia and Another World were the first to undertake this taxing task. Although a classic, it could be argued that Prince of Persia was too unforgiving and Another World, while entertaining, was similarly frustrating and essentially a sequence of set pieces, thus creating replay ability problems.
Delphine Software learned from their mistakes however, and created one of the most exciting, influential and beautifully realized games for many years. This was a game with a fully fledged story,
not something you would see every day, and a story that holds your attention just as strongly as it did all those years ago.
You play Conrad, a man on the run in an undisclosed point in the future. He has no memory of who he is and why he is being held captive. Determined to seek the truth, he escapes his captives on a hover bike, only to be chased and shot down in the middle of a strange jungle. Convinced of his death, the ship departs. It is here that we first take control of our reluctant hero.
Flashback oozes atmosphere from every pore. Conrad is fantastically animated, which was achieved by filming actual running, jumping and climbing and then painting over the individual frames to create that distinctive look and feel.
Playing for the first time would perhaps feel awkward to anyone big on plat forming and standard platform conventions but soon became natural and fluid. Beginning a jump before the end of the platform, for example, so that Conrad can get his footing before actually making the leap, was one such game play mechanic that feels as fresh and exciting now as it did then.
Enemies are similarly varied and wonderful – ranging from strange wheel based mini security bots, strange hooded humanoid creatures with makeshift guns to liquid T-1000 sequel cyber bots and gooey aliens. Each enemy has its particular quirks that you learn as you progress.
The environments covered are diverse and numerous – taking you to Blade Runner inspired grimy neo-cities all the way through to strange alien lands, drawing you in further and further with each moment.
After your first run through, you’ll remember every single moment – every leap of faith with a fingertip grab, every gunfight where you had one shot left to kill you off but you somehow got through it. Everyone has their own most hated enemy (mine being those blasted jet pack wearing security guards) and their own favorite cut scene, but there’s one thing that everyone will share at the end of the game – the desire to fire it right back up and start all over again.
