Back to the Future: The Game

Anyone who loves the Back to The Future Trilogy films and point 'n' click adventure games like the Monkey Island series on the PC should play this game. Ok, this port of the downloadable episodic PC games is a poor port to the Wii, to put it mildly. The game has been 'downgraded' in terms of graphics so that it can be played on the Wii. The loading screens take too long and the animation can be jerky at times, and the controls (point with the WiiMote and press 'A' to confirm action) can be impossible at times. Some of the puzzles required to progress the story take quite a bit of imagination, and some just leave you thinking 'How the hell was I supposed to know that without using a hint?'. But those are the only bad points in the game, the story is brilliant and that's one of the most important things about a point 'n' click adventure game. It's classic BTTF time travel paradox problems that have to be resolved or Marty's (the character you control) existence will dissapear forever altering the future timeline and ripping a massive hole in the fabric of the Universe (y'know, typical BTTF stuff!). The game is set in 1986, 6 months after the events in the third film, with an all new storyline that weaves into the existing story. I would say the storyline is the strongest aspect to this game, and does the whole BTTF franchise a great fan service.

I usually play a game for a couple of hours before I need a break, but I didn't move from my seat until I had finished the first episode (About time), as I wanted to see how the story unravelled and came to a conclusion, and, ultimately led onto the next episode. I've done my best to explain the essesnce of this game, without giving away any spoilers, because to do that would ruin your experience of the game for your first playthrough. If you like point 'n' click adventures and BTTF films, you should buy this in a heart beat, everyone else should stay clear.

I loooove BTTF being of that era and growing up as a kid watching it, so I had to buy it. Since I don't have a PS3 or a good computer I got it on the wii.
I thought it was a really good game, the story was true to the films and made sense.
I found like the other reviewer that it does draw you in and found i was spending longer than expected playing through it. The hints system was really useful, as I didnt have to keep running to my PC for a walkthrough as some things were a little "what how was I supposed to figure that out" Not quite on the same scale as Monkey Island but enough to annoy me, but not a lot.
My only problems with it was that the loading times for cutscenes was a bit slow, and the movements were difficult to get used to. Also Officer Parker's head disappeared, well I say disappeared, what I mean was it was like play doh and stretched across the screen. Actually that was quite funny. The ending was hilarious, and kinda stupid, but it was okay.
I dont think I'd play it again but for £15 it was well worth the money and some of the stuff they say just takes you back to the films, also a nice cameo from Michael J Fox, and the guy who does the voice of Marty was really talented.

If you were around to see all the films when they originally came out then you'll be pleased at the nostalgia and memories this brings back. It takes place after the last movie, but retains true to the films in pretty much every way, and has plenty of in-jokes that catch you by pleasant surprise.

The graphics are nearly as good as you can expect from the wii, though I have seen wii games which are slightly better, but for this game it's not an issue - it makes up for it with humor, story, voice acting, logical puzzles - all of which are excellent.

There's some minor niggles, such as some lagging of frame rates and pauses between cutscenes. This appears to be down to some sloppy development as I've seen some graphically superior wii games without these problems. There's also been a couple of glitches, such as one of Doc's eyes disappearing mid-scene. Finally, the controls could be a little better. It would be nice be able to quickly navigate through selections using the D-pad instead of relying on the cursor as it would be quicker!. Finally, the general movement controls can be a little tricky as the camera angle changes, meaning you can nadvertently send your character in the wrong direction.

The problems don't detract from the enjoyment too much, it's still very good.