1.21 Gigawatts of Awesome
In my early childhood, my siblings had a lot to do with how my taste in movies was shaped. One of my favorites, still to this day, is Back to the Future. When Telltale announced they were going to make a new adventure game that extends the beloved series, I was understandably cautious, but still very excited. When the game launched in late December, I took the plunge and now I’m in it for the long haul. How do I feel about my purchase, being a long-time fan of the series? Read on to find out.
When the game starts up, it immediately plays the short Back to the Future jingle as though it were the beginning of a movie. It’s enough to make a fan of the series perk their ears up and immediately devote undivided attention to what’s going on. Back to the Future: The Game is, on the whole, fan service in the best way possible. Not only does it extend the story in a way that feels believable in that universe, but they put it in a fun, if not a bit simple, package.
Let me just say, with the interest of not ruining the story for everyone out there, that they do address several potential plot holes well. The only other thing I’d like to state about the story is it’s classic Back to the Future and is, so far, very well done. The gameplay is much what you would expect from a Telltale point-and-click adventure title. You travel around Hill Valley as Marty McFly, collecting items and solving puzzles. It never gets very difficult at all, but that never really mattered to me, because it was so much fun getting to interact with that universe. At one point, you get to point behind a relative of Biff Tannen and shout “What the hell is that?!”. I couldn’t help but become completely immersed with those kinds of events.
A.J. Locascio, the voice of Marty McFly in the game, is the official vocal doppelganger for Michael J. Fox. After about five minutes, I had completely forgotten that Fox wasn’t performing the lines. The entire cast does an excellent job of bringing the universe to life and making it a believable extension to the series. One thing that they could work on is the lip syncing. While it’s clear that the intent was there, the lips just don’t match up with the words coming out the characters mouth. Usually, this is an issue that bothers me deeply, but in this instance, I was having too much fun to notice.
When it comes down to it, this game is fan service. If you love the Back to the Future series, then you need to get this game yesterday. If you are indifferent to or unfamiliar with the series, then you will not get as much out of this particular product. They'll be launching a new episode each month until May, so hop aboard and enjoy the ride! Now I just need to get back to eBay and continue to look for a DeLorean. One day... One day...
