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Flashback gets a do-over on XBLA, PSN
Ubisoft has a remake of Flashback in the works for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. This Unreal-powered version is helmed by VectorCell, the French studio behind horror game Amy. It is owned by the original Flashback's lead designer, Paul Cuisset.Flashback was first developed by Delphine Software and released over 20 years ago on the Amiga. The stylized platformer, which was later ported to Genesis, Mega-CD, PC and Mac (amongst others) centers on Conrad B. Hart, an amnesiac who finds a message – recorded by himself – warning of an alien plot threatening Earth.%Gallery-185241%
Interview: Amy's guiding hand, Paul Cuisset
In the survival horror genre there are moments every player remembers: the sound of shattering glass and the snarl of undead dogs breaking through the windows of a mysterious mansion in Resident Evil; the intensifying crackle of radio static as unseen enemies give chase through the foggy streets of Silent Hill. With upcoming downloadable title Amy, director Paul Cuisset (best known for his work on Flashback) and his team at VectorCell hope to add their own trademark moments to the genre. First and foremost, Cuisset said his goal was to bring survival horror back to its roots while simultaneously moving the genre forward. "I think there are many players who, like me, liked the time when survival horror games were not only about action, but also about atmosphere and feeling weak," Cuisset said. "Although the genre has evolved a lot, I'm convinced it's still possible to bring something new."
'Amy' dev Paul Cuisset discusses game's autistic character, female leads
Flashback designer Paul Cuisset heads up French studio Vector Cell, developer of forthcoming PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade title Amy. Beyond the scary monsters and spooky name, Amy is a game about two female protagonists in the near future. One is a little girl named Amy, who suffers from autism, and the other is Lana, a woman who must protect Amy from the monsters that have appeared. Cuisset speaks to his unique character choices in a recent interview with Edge, explaining, "Amy is verbally impaired but she's not completely autistic ... you discover in the story why she doesn't want to speak." While he understands the risks involved with making a game starring two ladies without guns who run away from monsters, Cuisset says "the story of Amy and Lana is very important to us, and it justifies the risk we've taken because I think it's a good one." To him, "most games look the same and tell more or less the same story" nowadays, and he's grateful for digital platforms like PSN, which have room for games that might be deemed risky. Cuisset makes a point we can't help but agree with, and wish we heard more from developers. "A good story needs good characters, and good characters need good relations to build something. I think that we tend to forget that we can do something different in games." Amy arrives this summer on PSN first, and on XBLA "eventually."
Take Amy's hand on PSN this summer
Since we hadn't heard anything on PSN survival horror exclusive Amy since it was announced in February, we'd let it fall comfortably off our radar. But now we've read the first gameplay details and seen new screens from the project -- headed by Flashback creator Paul Cuisset -- and it's right back there on the radar just ... you know, blooping away, or whatever it is that things on radars do. The town of Silver City has been torn apart by a mysterious virus, and the one hope is a young girl named Amy whose presence seems to be the only cure. As Amy's protector, you'll lead her out of Silver City, holding R1 to take her hand. The tender gesture won't just be used for guiding her, you'll also be able to feel her pulse through the Dual Shock, with an increase in her heart rate providing a warning for an oncoming increase in danger. The emphasis is on stealth, or "exfiltration" as Cuisset puts it, avoiding conflict with the terrors plaguing Silver City just long enough to get Amy to safety. There are a few other tidbits in this post on the PlayStation Blog, but none more exciting than the fact that we'll be able to start leading Amy out of Silver City at some point this summer. Just a heads up: You'll probably want to go ahead and start watching this Hootie and the Blowfish classic to prep for our inevitable review headline pun. %Gallery-126761%
PSN-exclusive 'Amy' inbound from Flashback creator
You may know French game designer Paul Cuisset from what is widely considered his masterwork, Flashback, an adventure game released by Delphine Software in 1992. You might also know him from his work on what is widely considered to be a really bad game ... Shaq Fu. Cuisset is no doubt hoping that his latest project, a PSN-exclusive action game called Amy, has little in common with the latter. In development at VectorCell, a sub-division of Flash and mobile game company Lexis Numérique, the planned Q2 2011 title, as described by UK site Electronic Theatre, stars a female protagonist named Lana (not Amy -- twist!), who, along with a young girl named Amy (ah, there we go), must escape from the fictional Silver City. The town's been struck by a meteorite and has, as a result, become overrun by mutated humans -- and the special forces battling them. The synopsis sounds like the makings of a survival-horror game, but no actual gameplay specifics have been detailed. Still, we're intrigued to see what Cuisset can do with what could easily be just another zombie game concept. [Image source: Electronic Theatre]
