Back to the Future: The Game

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

Marty begins the game locked up in the Hill Valley courthouse, waiting to be re-educated in Edna Strickland's dystopian 1986. After escaping with the alternate Doc they head back to 1931 for what feels like the hundredth time. Fortunately, in this game the action is not centered around the town square and the alley behind the soup kitchen but mostly young Emmett's lab and the Hill Valley High School.

Story-wise, it's nothing too brilliant. It feels more like a stop-gap entry in the series than a complete story on it's own. There haven't been many epic moments in the series so far, but young Emmett swinging by his feet from the clock-tower was a nice touch.

The graphics are still bad and the controls are horrible, but the game is so charming that you won't care.

As he returns from defeating Kid Tannen in 1931, Marty discovers that Hill Valley has been transformed into a sterile, emotionless utopia/dystopia and that the brain behind this new world/town order is Doc, only he's no longer Doc, he's Citizen Brown and he ain't so friendly no more.

Marty then has to wander across town meeting people and putting together the clues as to where the timeline went askew this time. It feels much shorter than the first two games, with most of the action once again limited to the town square and the alley behind the soup kitchen (which was actually an aerobics gym in the first movie I my memory serves me correctly).

The graphics are still horrible and the controls are pathetic (on the PS3 at least), but I guess you just can't hate a game like this. Though I am now at the halfway point with this series and I have yet to encounter any real epic feel.

Graphics C Sound B Gameplay B- Lasting Appeal C-

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.