Back to the Future: The Game

I am going to borrow, one of Michael J. Fox's lines from his TV Show Family Ties. You can see all the scene here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZZm4XhzMFU "On a scale of 1 to 10? 35!!!" It's one of these rare cases that the top IMDb rating cannot really measure up to the value of this creation. And I am not talking just about episode 5, I am talking about all of them. Where do I start? Story? Not only it's thrilling, adventurous and unpredictable. It fills all the blanks the movies left. And I mean all of them, in all time periods! Direction? It's a pity this did not came as a full movie or movies. I mean, I know it would be impossible due to the age and condition of Michael, but come on! They could release the whole thing as it is, as a full motion animated movie. Cast performance? It really stands up to the movies, if not better. Comedy, Action, Mystery, Drama? It has it all! I almost cried when I found out who Trixie was. Highly recommended to everyone, not just BTTF fans!

Despite being a massive franchise/cash cow, BTTF has had a pretty choppy history when it comes to video games. The first game for the NES was unbelievably awful. BTTF Part II had two completely different incarnations for the Commodore Amiga and Super-Famicom (never available outside of Japan) that were somewhat true to the story but never successful. Only BTTF Part III had a wider release as a video game. I owned it on the Commodore 64 and Mega Drive but it was way too hard.

Now, after 25 years, Telltale Games have finally given the fans of the movie and the video-gaming community an official, real-deal BTTF adventure co-written by Bob Gale himself. How does it measure up?

Opening a few months after the events of BTTF Part III, with the DeLorean destroyed by a train and Doc living out his life with Clara and boys in many different eras, Marty begins to miss his old friend and is sad to see the city auction off his belongings. But when the time vehicle suddenly reappears (since it's a time machine it can never be completely destroyed forever, I guess) Marty must travel back to 1931 and break Doc out of jail for burning down Kid Tannen's speak-easy.

As a graphic adventure game, and as a BTTF adventure, it's very entertaining and well-written without giving the impression it's put together by sycophantic fanboys. It really does feel like an authentic extension of the BTTF universe and even casual fans of the movies will get a kick out of it.

The graphics though, are very dated, and the controls...don't get me started. I've seen mid-90s CD-ROMS look and play better than this. Maneuvering Marty around Hill Valley is a nightmare. It may work fine with a mouse but with a PS3 controller it's like peeling an orange while wearing boxing gloves.

However, it's liberal with the Trophies and (control problems aside) is an easy-going, pleasant game experience.

Graphics C Sound B (good use of Silvestri's tunes) Gameplay B- Lasting Appeal C

I played this game religiously when I was younger and have loved it since and I love how the game starts with the first mission, to me it was an excellent first level

I just finished playing back to the Future: The Game, episode 1 and I loved it. I am an old BTTF fan and adventure game player. I could also see that Telltale Games was very true to the movies as this game takes place 6 months after the last movie. And the story is entertaining as Marty once again has to travel back in time to save Doc, which by the way is voiced by Christopher Lloyd. Marty is voiced by A.J. Locascio and if I didn't know better I'd swear it was Michael J. Fox.

The graphics in this game isn't exactly state of the art, but it is fully playable and it doesn't need a super computer to run. And the voice acting is great.

I may be wrong, but I think this game is a lot more fun if you saw the movies first. So, if you're new to Back to the Future, rent the movies and then buy the game. It's like 20 years since I saw the movies for the first time and this game sure took me back in time. :-)

Easily 8 out of 10.

After rescuing Doc and Artie McFly from Kid Tannen, Marty travels back to 1986 to find his dad in a wheelchair and that the Tannens are now a local crime family. Obviously something has gone seriously wrong with the timeline so it's back to 1931 to put things right. Hang on, is this BTTF or Quantum Leap?

Once again the early 1930s Hill Valley setting is pretty much the only location to explore. The graphics are still horrid, and the controls are still terrible (even when walking automatically, Marty will still bump into things), but this episode feels a bit faster. The 1930s setting is getting a bit tired now so I hope that the rest of the BTTF games are a bit more varied. Still, at least it's very generous with the trophies.