Enough power to be great
There hasn't been a new movie since 1990, but Back to the Future still remains a beloved trilogy and franchise. It's one of the few products of the 80s that is still looked at fondly. While not a huge company at the time, Telltale Games got a lot of recognition with Back to the Future: The Game in 2010 and early 2011. It was initially a digital download only release before getting a physical release in the fall of 2011. If you remember how LucasArts point and click games were, it will be an absolute treat for those that grew up in the 80s and 90s on this genre. It's done well and does a nice job with the source material.
Plot: Set about six months after Part III, Marty McFly lives the present time of May 1986. On the other hand, his buddy, Doctor Emmett Brown, hasn't been seen for quite some time. So much time that an estate sale on his home has been set. Safely retrieving his friend's private notebook, Marty finds and hears another working DeLorean time machine containing dog Einstein, but no Doc. With that, he must find the scientist, figure out what happened, and stop the estate sale. This could be for some, a take on a potential fourth film. With trilogy writer Bob Gale providing some help, it doesn't go overboard and stays on board with the source material. It contains a lot of homages and gags/references to the movies. They nailed it down quite well.
Graphics: It doesn't scream hardware pushing for PlayStation 3, but Back to the Future sports a unique style to its graphics. The character modeling is more along the line of the PS2 era. While not great, it still does a good job of bringing them over from live action to video game form. Original characters even fit in with the same universe of the movie ones. The animations are nice and smooth. Despite the style, the backgrounds and objects are amazing. This is also an instance where the DeLorean is left intact like what was seen in the trilogy. Overall, it's pretty good.
Audio: You have to get the audio done right for something like Back to the Future and Telltale got it down just about perfect. The music is nice. It mimics what composer Alan Silvestri had for the movies and combines that sense of adventure, comedy, and tension. Sound effects are basic and in tune with the trilogy. They got the voice acting down quite well. Christopher Lloyd returned to play Doc and still does good despite less energy at times throughout it. A.J. Locascio does Marty quite well puts off a near good impression of what Michael J. Fox sounded like. The other characters are done and represented in amazing fashion. In a nutshell, Telltale went all out.
Gameplay: Taking its roots from LucasArts games, Back to the Future: The Game is a point and click adventure game. As Marty McFly, you take him through various timelines in the five episodes. You will be doing whatever you can to help. Whether it's the McFly family, Doc Brown, or whoever he knows quite well, you will have to do a lot of things to be on their good side or set things straight. All the episodes can be played at any time, but you will want to start with the first one if you want to understand the story without being confused about it. Marty is simple in terms of controlling him, as it comes down to walking or running.
With the genre it was in, Marty can interact with a lot of things. Whatever you do with an object, it will trigger something. Usually, it comes down to a few things. Some can be used for later use. When Marty grabs an object and keeps it, it will be kept in an inventory menu. In that menu, you'll get a description via what he says. Whether it works or not will trigger a response. There's also ones where the animations will repeat or it cause a reaction or response that will continue the story. It also is a way to solve some of the many puzzles of the episodes.
In the same vein as the objects, you will also interact with people. At points, you will have to present certain objects and that could also progress the story even further. Most of the time, however, you will be mostly talking to them. Pretty much like a LucasArts game, you got a lot of dialogue choices, but with no consequences to it. When you find the right one for Marty, it will help him out and maybe bring out more choices. There are other choices that while they may not be the right ones, they can also provide some backstories of certain events before and during the game. Like the objects, they can be used as a way for solving puzzles and figuring out certain ones that may require additional thinking.
The way Back to the Future is designed, it has a few styles of play. One, you are able to move around throughout the environment you are in. It lets you soak in all the stuff that you can do and/or accomplish. Second is the linear approach. That centers around specific parts of an episode. You will have a specific objective to do that can push the story further. There is an emphasis on the puzzle aspect of it, and a few will leave you stumped. Sometimes, you can get past a mistake or two and still complete the goal, but other times will force you to restart a specific part again.
There are options for what you can do. One of them is a hint indicator where you are given an idea on what to do vaguely unless you see the next two hints of an objective. Episodes in progress can be explained about the events that the player has gone through. In the menus, you can save and load at any point. You can also select whether you want new objectives be shown immediately or not when starting a new game. Other objectives include seeing subtitles and hints along with several languages.
It has some challenge, but the difficulty isn't too harsh. Only a couple complaints can be said. First is the loading times. It's not too horrible and you get used to it, but the varied times just to see a new spot you're moving into or when someone speaks can be a bit aggravating. Last is Marty. Every once in a while, his movement is altered or you can't run. The same is said for not wanting to interact again or interacting with the wrong object or person. When it's all said and done, this is a great use of an IP.
Replay Value: It's a 12 to 15 hour game. The amount of dialogue helps enhance the value a bit.
Recommendation: Definitely get Back to the Future: The Game. This is an adaptation done right, which is rare. Save the Doc. A fun tribute to the films.
