DAY 108 / GAME 108
Flashback
Brought to you by the same company that created Out of This World, Flashback carries forward a lot of the same design sensibilities and gameplay style. I can't remember exactly where I saw this game first, or when I bought it. Though, I'm pretty sure I tried it out at my uncle's place and bought it shortly after.
Flashback used the same rotoscoped animation for the characters and so maintained the same feel as Out of This World and Prince of Persia. The controls and general movement and puzzles are very similar as well. Mostly comprised of making your way screen-to-screen learning about all the deathtraps and enemies through shear trial and error. Though, it was pretty funny taking the leap into the tunnel (hole) to New Washington without buying the anti-grav belt first..
Flashback was hard. Really hard. On a similar difficulty level as Out of this World was. The whole game had that realism of one-shot deaths, no 'heath meter', but at one point you do get a portable shield generator. Short falls still kill you though. It took me a very long time to get past the first level on Titan but at least when you finally do pass it you get a level code so you can continue the game later on. New Washington was no easier. The concept was neat; you end up taking on a false ID and get a job carrying out small tasks in order earn enough money to compete in a tv game show. But I never did beat this level. At least, I don't think I did. Eventually I dug up the level codes in a magazine and skipped this level and the Death Tower level and beat the game from that point on. At least I saw the bulk of the game. But I never did beat it on my own.
The designs in this game were fantastic. It had a real 90's future look to it and the variety in locations really added to it all. The jungle on Titan was full of tech, New Washington was vertical and full of these cool flying cars and taxis and the final level on the alien planet had a great, well, alien feel to it. The animated intro for the game was fantastic and cinematic. The hoverbike design they included set my imagination over the top. I loved it and for years I was always drawing them based on this concept. Each of the cutscenes were great. It really helped maintain the whole cinematic feel to the game, something I felt was unique at the time.
Flashback was one of those games I adored, it had a real Bladerunner future style to it, it was super difficult but not obscenely and it had hoverbikes. Ubisoft recently released a new rebuild of this game, all in 3D but with the same 2D camera and controls. It's really fantastic, much more playable than the original and definitely very true to the design. My only complaint is that the voice acting is goddamned awful. It's so bad it's really just comical and I've accepted it as much. It also includes an copy of the original game, but it's displayed with no audio (or was it just no music) and on a the tiny screen of an 3D arcade. It's the worst. But I personally found the new one easily worth the 10$ for anyone interested in giving it a whirl.
Flashback
Brought to you by the same company that created Out of This World, Flashback carries forward a lot of the same design sensibilities and gameplay style. I can't remember exactly where I saw this game first, or when I bought it. Though, I'm pretty sure I tried it out at my uncle's place and bought it shortly after. Flashback used the same rotoscoped animation for the characters and so maintained the same feel as Out of This World and Prince of Persia. The controls and general movement and puzzles are very similar as well. Mostly comprised of making your way screen-to-screen learning about all the deathtraps and enemies through shear trial and error. Though, it was pretty funny taking the leap into the tunnel (hole) to New Washington without buying the anti-grav belt first..
Flashback was hard. Really hard. On a similar difficulty level as Out of this World was. The whole game had that realism of one-shot deaths, no 'heath meter', but at one point you do get a portable shield generator. Short falls still kill you though. It took me a very long time to get past the first level on Titan but at least when you finally do pass it you get a level code so you can continue the game later on. New Washington was no easier. The concept was neat; you end up taking on a false ID and get a job carrying out small tasks in order earn enough money to compete in a tv game show. But I never did beat this level. At least, I don't think I did. Eventually I dug up the level codes in a magazine and skipped this level and the Death Tower level and beat the game from that point on. At least I saw the bulk of the game. But I never did beat it on my own.Flashback was one of those games I adored, it had a real Bladerunner future style to it, it was super difficult but not obscenely and it had hoverbikes. Ubisoft recently released a new rebuild of this game, all in 3D but with the same 2D camera and controls. It's really fantastic, much more playable than the original and definitely very true to the design. My only complaint is that the voice acting is goddamned awful. It's so bad it's really just comical and I've accepted it as much. It also includes an copy of the original game, but it's displayed with no audio (or was it just no music) and on a the tiny screen of an 3D arcade. It's the worst. But I personally found the new one easily worth the 10$ for anyone interested in giving it a whirl.
No comments:
Post a Comment