Flashback (Phillips CD-I)
Flashback eventually made its way onto The Phillips CD-I, and it is among the better titles featured on this console. You play as Conrad Hart; a special agent that must save Earth from an alien invasion. However, the knowledge of the alien presence and their intentions have been erased from your memory. During the game you must first recover your memory, and then stop the alien infiltration.
Gameplay is heavily focused on 2-D platform puzzles, much like Prince of Persia and Out of This World. The game is slightly more challenging on CD-I than on other versions I have tried. This has nothing to do with the intricacy of the puzzles, but because of the poor controls. To play this game on the CD-I, you must have a joypad, not a remote. I can not fathom how you could play it otherwise. Also, it becomes apparent that the controls of this version have not been planned very well. For example, I was unable to do a roll, a critical maneuver in the game. To do this move you had to draw your gun, and then do a roll. This was not a problem in any other version of the game I have tried.
Graphically this version is quite similar to the 3DO-Version. Notable differences can be experienced during the many cut-scenes. As a CD based console, Phillips CD-I had the ability to project FMV and other resource demanding graphics. Compared to the cartridge based versions on SNES and Genesis, the cut-scenes in the CD-I version are superior. They are longer, have more detailed content and a better visual presentation. Yet, the cut-scenes are very slow, and clearly shows how much the CD-I struggled with this game. The 3DO and CD-I have the same cut-scenes, but out of the two, the 3DO has a faster and smoother execution. The CD-I was not able to utilize a full screen during game play. The picture will always be confined within a frame, which takes up a lot of space, and I am not sure why.
Even though my review might be seen as negative, Flashback, is a good title for the CD-I, as it was for all consoles. As time passes by Flashback appears to be both overlooked and underrated. It is a good addition to the CD-I, since it is one of the very few "real" games for this system. Meaning that it is nothing like the numerous and typical FMV-titles available for the system. Here you actually have a game with decent game play, great puzzles and a fine graphical presentation. The game also has nice a CD-quality soundtrack.