Flashback: The Quest for Identity

"Wierd Combination, Even Weirder Control"

Gameplay (4/10):
This game has possibly one of the oddest combinations I've ever seen. It's a sort of puzzle/3rd person shooter that is just.... well...wierd. The controls can get really annoying (for example, you can't do almost anything else if you have your gun out) and weren't very well thought out by the programmers. It's quite annoying when you want to pick something up, only to have to go back to the manual for the button combo to do that. The stuff that you do have to shoot is very hard to dispatch, and it usually ends up in a frantic button-mashing session. The enemies are also a lot faster and have better weapons then you do (all you get is a pistol). The entire aspect of the game is basically ''Pick up key, insert key in lock, pull lever, go fight boss, lather, rinse, repeat''. I think the developers were aiming to make a game like Metal Gear or Metal Gear 2, but they really didn't get the idea right.

Storyline (3/10):
This is one of those games that you never learn the storyline until the end when you're like ''Ok. That explains a lot''. The basic storyline is almost like that show John Doe, where the main character has no idea who he is, but somehow has mysterious shooting and fighting skills. I really think it would have been nice for the developers to possibly spread out the story, but it's all crammed into the late middle and end. There really isn't much to the story, anyway, so unless you can handle ''mindless'' games (games with no story, like Doom or Quake) then don't bother.

Graphics: 7/10
The one thing that's nice about Flashback is the use of graphics. The game makes decent use of the SNES 16 bit system, and although a lot of detail is left out (the usual crude facial details and other little things), the main game's graphics are still good.

Sound: 3/10
Another one of those games that you'll want to have a couple of CD's handy to listen to while playing.

Buy/Rent: If you're really gonna play it, you'll need to buy it, as it's too long to beat in a rent. However, by the time you've gotten far enough in to really have gotten into the games story, you'll want to sell the cartridge.

This game is ok if you can find it cheap, otherwise don't bother.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 11/03/02, Updated 11/03/02