
	Platform PC (Also Genesis and 3DO) Genre Side Scrolling Action Developer Delphine Software Publisher US Gold / Strategic Simulations Released 1993
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Flashback: The Quest for

Identity

The year was 2142. Conrad Hart, agent with the Galaxia Bureau of Investigation was in great danger.

"Got to keep one step ahead of them. If I don't I'm hamburger!" Hugging the shop fronts, collar turned up, he was making his way back to his apartment.

"I must try and contact Sonya, wherever she is, and get to headquarters. It's the only safe place."

Thankfully, there’s not much in the way of dialogue in Flashback: The Quest for Identity (FB). If there was it might have been a trying experience; however, the story is actually pretty good. We know Conrad’s in danger – great danger – regarding an alien plot, and it’s soon after he loses all memory of who his or how he got stranded in the middle of tropical jungle. It’s the player’s job to get Conrad to the final confrontation, through a killer game show, a job as a “troubleshooter”, and general alien-killing situations. The story is played out via various holocubes and between-level cutscenes. And is actually quite good – excellent for a side-scrolling platform jumper – and when you take part in the killer game show it actually makes sense for Conrad to do so. He’s learned enough of what’s happened and who he is that taking the next step is a logical progression for his character.

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The presentation and graphics are entirely like another classic game (with obvious improvements), Out of this World (OotW), which features great animations and some thoroughly thoughtful puzzles, involving some timing and liberal use of Conrad’s sidearm. Of course, no gun will solve all your problems so Conrad can also throw stones and start-up mechanical mice to set off pressure pads or explode bombs. Most intriguing is the teleporter, which can be

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thrown then activated to allow Conrad access to places he normally couldn’t reach. Conrad himself has a wide variety of moves available and he’ll have to use all of them – rolling, running, jumping, grabbing onto ledges, pistol whipping, and (that old standby) walking – to make any progress past the various mechanical and alien baddies, and access elevators. Unlike in OotW, Conrad has access to a personal shield, which allows him a bit of protection.

But be careful. Sometimes the next step drops you to the ground with a big “SPLAT!” noise. FB has many, many brain twisting tasks. It’s never as simple as “go here, kill this robot, run away” it’s usually crazy keycard hunting quests which require ample use of everything in your inventory – use a mechanical mouse to set off a bomb, teleport behind a batch of aliens, roll by an enemy to reach an elevator – it’s all hectic. The difficulty isn’t insane but it is quite challenging. There’s a limited save option available with the main one being a password feature that transports you to the beginning of a given level. During a level you can save your exact position but once you turn of your PC that position gets erased.

The levels themselves are well thought out and convey a sense of place whether shuttling around on subway cars or navigating the jungle. Instead of scrolling, the levels are broken up into a number of different screens. Stepping to the next screen (whether up, down, left, or right) brings up a new one. The switching is seamless but it can add to the difficulty when being chased or attempting to execute a particularly difficult jump.

The sound doesn’t hold a candle to current designs but for its time, FB was pretty solid, especially with your Sound Blaster Pro. I’ll always remember the satisfying “boom!” of those motorized box things. And I really like the foreboding minimalist title screen music.

As with many of the old-school platform jumpers, I often wonder what they would look like with 3D upgrades optimized for today’s hardware. The more I think about, the more I think Flashback is ready to enter the 21^st Century. The story would have to be re-worked, as the alien invasion storyline is so old now that it would seem trite. (Besides, there are more stories out there than alien machinations to take over the planet.) But with an interesting character working for the Galaxia Bureau of Investigation and access to some neat gadgets with a fine balance between action and avoidance, you might have a winner. As it is, FB is a nice jaunt down memory lane but you probably won’t spend more than a rainy afternoon playing.

- Omni

(May 29, 2002)


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