BackTrack (Game Boy Advance)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 1.5 stars Poor
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 3.9 (1.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Frank Provo
• Reviewed on: 11/29/2001
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 10/04/2001
• Originally published on GameSpot: BackTrack (Game Boy Advance) Review

BackTrack is another of the GBA's fledgling first-person shooters. As the story goes, Domingoaniax, an evil alien, has whipped up a rather large invasion force on the dark side of the moon. You assume the role of special agent Jim Track, and your job is to rescue the 110 kidnapped humans and blast Domingo's droid army to bits. Considering the genre, the plot is sufficient, even if gameplay is ultimately lacking.

On the plus side, BackTrack has a fantastic multiplayer mode and a nice array of weapons. There are six deathmatch arenas, each playable as a standard 20-point deathmatch or as a 4-point round robin. Both modes support up to four human players via a link cable. In terms of ammo, you start with a trusty pistol and a pocketknife, but later upgrades include a chaingun, a laser rifle, a plasma sword, an aerosol flamethrower, and a slingshot. Oddly enough, the two strongest weapons are also the most ugly: a bubble gun that shoots bubble gum and a vacuum cleaner that's powered by magic powder. Gun aesthetics aside, multiplayer matches in BackTrack are tense, fast-paced, and full of violent catharsis.

Tragically, however, BackTrack's single-player game isn't nearly as rewarding as its multiplayer offerings. Through 12 huge levels--stacked one on top of the other--you need to gather keycards and rescue humans. There are plenty of aliens to blast as well, but unlike in Doom, Dark Arena, or any of the game's peers, there isn't a method to the madness. Secret floor switches and elevator triggers are planted haphazardly, which renders the map useless. The game's nondescript graphics don't help matters either; repetitious wall and floor textures may be fine for a deathmatch, but their ugliness, combined with a lack of interesting landmarks, makes the single-player campaign dull, dull, and dull.

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