‘Back to the Future’ is my favorite movie of all time for a
few reasons. Not only is the film (as well as its two sequels) highly quotable
and incredibly entertaining, but in execution it’s more than just a ‘science
fiction’ film; it’s a comedy film, an action film, a high school film, a
romance film, and of course, a science fiction film all rolled into one.
Because of this, I believe that it will stand the test of time for years to
come. But this franchise hasn’t really fared well in terms of video games.
There was the god-awful NES game made by LJN that barely followed the plot of
the game in which protagonist Marty McFly, who for some reason was wearing an
all-black shirt and not his usual red vest, went around the town of Hill Valley
collecting clocks… don’t ask, and for the record if you haven’t played this
game before, don’t even considering trying it out. It’s that bad. There have
been a few other video games, but from what I understand, a lot of them aren’t
that good as well. But in 2010, Telltale Games, the creators of the episodic ‘The
Walking Dead’ video games, produced a ‘Back to the Future’ game which, while
not exactly perfect, is the best representation of the ‘BTTF’ franchise in
video game form to date.
Following a ‘re-creation’ of the scene in the original film
where Marty McFly helps his friend Dr. Emmett Brown AKA Doc test out his new
invention, a time machine made out of a DeLorean, we flash forward to a few
months after the events of ‘Back to the Future Part III’ in 1986. In the time
since, Marty hasn’t seen Doc at all. One day, when the bank starts to sell Doc’s
house and his possessions, Marty comes across his ‘time-travel’ notebook before
the DeLorean suddenly appears out of nowhere. Soon after, Marty learns that Doc
is stuck in 1931 Hill Valley. Not only that, but he is also in jail for
apparently burning down a local speakeasy, and is to be killed by local mob boss
‘Kid’ Tannen, the owner of the speakeasy. This leads Marty to travel back to
1931, where he gains the help of Doc’s 1931 self, in order to save the ‘present’
Doc before he is to be killed. However, in the process, Marty’s actions begin
to set up a series of events that begin to drastically alter the timeline for
both him and Doc.
The entire game itself is split into five separate episodes,
each taking about two to three hours to complete. The story itself is very
compelling, if mainly because of how this game feels so much like ‘Back to the
Future’. Telltale had the help of Bob Gale, co-creator/co-writer/co-producer on
the films, in developing the story and in doing so, it really helps this game
feel like it’s part of the ‘Back to the Future’ universe, more so than previous
games in the franchise (do I need to bring up that LJN game again?).
Christopher Lloyd reprises his role as Doc and is once again excellent even
after at least two decades since ‘Back to the Future Part III’ came out back in
1990. Michael J. Fox doesn’t reprise his role of Marty (well, to a certain
extent but I’m not going to spoil anything about that) but his successor, A.J.
Locascio, does a fantastic and very spot-on impression of him to the point
where you can hardly tell any difference. All in all, the voice acting in the
game is rock solid all-around. The overall presentation is this game’s greatest
asset.
Now, the game itself isn’t particularly that ‘difficult’. It’s
a point-and-click adventure game and in execution a rather ‘simple’ one at
that. You control Marty as he travels around different ‘versions’ of Hill
Valley and interacts with the various people and objects he comes across. Moving
around from place to place is a little stiff because the game has a ‘fixed’
camera perspective meaning that it changes when you travel to a different part
of the area you’re currently in. So, if you have Marty walking forward and the
camera then switches to a different angle that’s facing him, he’ll continue to
move forward if you keep the move button down, meaning that the controls become
a bit inverted. You have to stop holding the move button so that the controls
can revert back to their normal state. This does kind of get frustrating at
times, but it’s not too big of a problem. I mean, I haven’t played a lot of
games with a ‘fixed camera’ perspective so maybe it’s just me. Also, keep in
mind I’m referring to the PC controls because that’s the version of the game
that I played; not the PS3, Wii, or iOS versions. The game offers you hints if
you get stuck on the various puzzles that you come across but even then the
puzzles themselves aren’t too difficult to figure out. Some of them do require
a little bit of trial and error but for the most part, they usually just
consist of Marty selecting an item from his inventory and using it on either a
person or an object.
‘Back to the Future: The Game’ isn’t necessarily a
masterpiece, but as a video game, it is the best representation of the film
trilogy in that format, even when it’s actually a follow-up to the last film
(in other words, this is pretty much ‘Back to the Future Part IV’). Because Telltale
was assisted by one of the film series’ writers, the game really feels like you’re
in the ‘Back to the Future’ universe, thanks in part to the return of
Christopher Lloyd to the role of Doc and A.J. Locascio’s dead-on impression of
Michael J. Fox in the role of Marty among other things. The game itself isn’t
particularly hard but at the same time, the main story is compelling enough to
keep you entertained even if it only takes about two to three hours to complete
each of the five episodes. If you’re a fan of the franchise, then this is an
obvious must-buy and I guarantee that you will enjoy this game very much. Even
if you’re not a fan, I’d still recommend it. Movie-licensed games usually tend
to suck, but in the end, this is one of the best games of that genre.
Final Rating: 4.5/5
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