A reboot of the classic 1993 Sega Genesis side scroller of the same name, Ubisoft’s Flashback was the third game to launch in this years Summer of Arcade promotion for Xbox 360. Starring you once again as Conrad Hart, the game is intentionally vague at first with regards to its premise and story as the protagonist has had his memory wiped by an invading alien army and the game defers this sense of mystery to the player by keeping its cards firmly in its chest. Needless to say however, somehow it falls to you to rescue the planet although no more shall be said for feel of spoilers. The game wants its story to be a mystery until you delve into it, and so it shall remain.

What can be said however is how the games plays and feels. Anyone who ever played the original or any other side-scrolling platformer in the 20 years will know exactly what to expect. The games revolves predominantly around fetch quests, but this more of a limitation of the type of game this is, rather than laziness on account of the developers as it is in so many other titles. You will spend most of your time shooting aliens, working out basic platforming conundrums and gathering items. This starts of fun and first and is perfectly fine for small play sessions, as so many Xbox Live Arcade games are. However, repetition will quickly start to set in over more extended sessions as there is only a finite number of ways the game can make you do the same thing before you begin to see through the rouse.

 

Flashback does attempt to keep things interesting with an unlock tree and skill levelling system that sees you being constantly drip fed new items and abilities. This would be perfect if the new tools at your disposal were interesting and changed the games mechanics, but they don’t. They merely buff what you are already used to doing. What also does not help is the fact that the controls feel quite unresponsive. Side-scrolling games such as this focus on precision platforming and reaction shooting but with Flashback you feel that everything reacts about a second after you press any given button. Its all perfectly passable, but one can’t help but feel this has all been done better on Xbox Live before, namely with the impeccable Shadow Complex.

The game is not without its good points though. Presentation wise the game is top notch for a downloadable title. The new visuals and vibrant colours really bring the game to life and the cutscenes are nicely animated. From the jungles at the beginning, through busy space stations to rain soaked rooftops, the visually fidelity is superb throughout and although the games mechanics play out in strictly 2D, the areas on offer aim to be more three dimensional, with a nice contrast between foreground and background areas. The soundtrack is what you would expect for a sci-fi title of this nature, part Bladerunner and part Total Recall. Ubisoft have done a great job in this area of bringing the game to life and it really shows how far we have came since the original popped un on the Sega Genesis 20 years ago.

 

Speaking of the original, it is here in all its glory, unlocked from the beginning to play through should you see fit. It is a nice nostalgic addition for those old enough and it can be fun to play just to compare the original to the 2013 version. Switching from one to the other will begin to make you appreciate how far we have come in what is, contextually speaking, a very short time. It makes you wonder where we will be in another 20. Virtual Reality Machines, Live Action Games, are they really so far of a stretch?

 

All things being considered, Flashback is not a bad title by any stretch of the imagination. Ubisoft can and has done better with downloadable titles before with Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon but Flashback is a fun romp from start to finish and comes at a very reasonable price. There are better side scrolling platformers already available for XBLA, but if you have completed them already and fancy some more then Flashback may be for you. It might not blow you away in any area, but it is another solid title to come out of this years Summer of Arcade promotion.

 

Flashback is available now on the Xbox Live Marketplace for £6.99. You can check out the launch trailer below. The next and final game to be reviewed from this years Summer of Arcade is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

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