After having lost my time with a lot of video-games lately, I was dubious about playing this adaptation. But this franchise means a lot to me (even if I can't really explain) and I tried it. And big surprise, it's a really good game and maybe one of the best that I ever played.
The configuration is ultra simple, it runs on a simple PC, saving can happen anytime, thus as a player, I can enjoy the game. About it, it isn't the usual military challenge or the repetitive jumping. It's about using your intelligence to use the right tool at the right time (no pun intended) and to choose the best way to communicate with people. In a way, it's a good psychological training because you can learn that each word has a precise meaning. The puzzles calls for a good memory and astute but it isn't the brain challenges of other games and it's a lot more interesting than shooting and killing each body you meet on your path! In fact, everything is done for your comfort as the help system is well done and it's ultimately a linear game: in other words, you can't die here (Great Scott! What a great idea) and you don't feel like a chimpanzee in training with fails and success.
At last, the BTTF world is exciting: rejoice with Marty, Doc, Tannen, Jennifer and Einstein is like going back to relatives. Getting all the big names to do the voices is simply amazing! Visiting Hill Valley is like returning to your hometown and the Delorean is the best car to drive! The graphics are superb, as it's a successful balance between animation and reality! I'm even surprised to recognize that the story has all the twists and originality that the movies brought us: alternate presents, historic pasts, funny lines and great character development. Going to the prohibition period is a good pick as we can focus about Doc's early years and Marty's grandparents.
Maybe you want some bad sides as well?
Sure, there are: for example, the starting point to have a new Delorean that can travel alone is a bit silly and the plot is sometimes very difficult to follow. 5 episodes are maybe a bit too long and some tasks could have been easily cut. The French version is awful: it's maybe the only game I know where it's essential to hear the dialogs to play (in episode 1 making the fuel, in episode 2 to enter the bar) and the French translation doesn't match the sense of the original! At last, Edna is an irritating character all the more than she keeps screaming her lines!
As a show, i should pick up my best episode: 1 is good as an introduction to the new 1931 time line, 2 is good as it's a comeback to the 1st episode (like BTF2), 3 is about a 1986 dystopia, 4 is about the romance of the young Doc and 5 is about chasing Edna in a BTF3 background. If 5 has also a amazing conclusion, i pick 3 as it was nice to work with the original Jennifer as Shue had always been a pale backup.
In all cases, the game was so good that i had to bought the DVD movies to watch them again !
