Flashback is one of the first games I bought when I got a PC, and it remains a game that I return to time and time again. The things that appealed to me then still appeal to me now, and I think this demonstrates its sound game and visual design principles. The game follows the journey of Conrad Hart, a scientist who races to save Earth from an alien invasion.

The first thing that attracted attention to the game was its presentation, which still holds up today. The game oozes a stylish, gritty science fiction vibe that is illustrated beautifully by its lush graphics and expanded in its engaging story. The gameplay is interspersed with various cutscenes that are animated in a very cool vector-graphics style that looks good even by today's standards, and while there are only 7 levels each area has a distinct look very deliberately and painstakingly designed around the rich backstory (some of which is covered elsewhere like in the manual), which adds to the overall atmosphere. The animation of the main character was innovative back then, being based on rotoscoping techniques that allowed for very fluid and life-like movements.

What makes this even better is that the controls are extremely responsive, and quite intuitive; this makes for entertaining gameplay even after years of playing the game. Navigating the various environments is always fun, unlike some of its spiritual predecessors such as Another World. The gameplay involves solving spacial puzzles (some spanning numerous screens), finding and using various items, as well combatting against all kinds of enemies of human, alien and robotic origin. Despite the game having only 7 levels, some of them, such as the second, are quite long and involve a variety of tasks that keep the gameplay fresh and engaging. There is no hard-save function; the levels each can be access by means of a password, but some levels offer a mid-level save facility. This allows for some challenge, and only the very last areas are particularly difficult. All in all this game is highly recommended, it should be remembered as one of the best platform games of all time.

Learning Curve: Takes a while

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