BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE GAME EPISODE 1 IT'S ABOUT TIME Review

 It all starts with that light tone of bells and flutes that gives you a rush of nostalgia, back when hightops were more like air-casts and it was stylish for girls to feather their bangs(something I, admittedly, did quite often up until '93. I'm ashamed already, don't rub it in), and all it takes is a glance of that souped up Delorian and you know you're in for some heavy stuff!
Back to the Future: The Game starts off with that very tone...and once it started: Great Scott! I was hooked.

Episode 1: It's About Time is properly named. It HAS been about time! The game, developed by Telltale Games, definitely took me back to my childhood when I pretended my skateboards floated and lifevests looked cool. The game takes place in 1986, a few months after Marty's adventures back and forth through time with Doc Emmet Brown. Since disappearing in his epic steampunk train engine time machine, the town of Hill Valley decides to auction Doc's belongings to help pay off the debts he left. While fending off items from being taken by Biff Tannen, Marty finds Doc's notebook amidst the model of the town square built back in 1955, and soon after finds himself greeted with a Delorian and Einstein the dog. From there, Marty is back to trying to solve Doc's problems by messing with the space time continum. Again.
It takes Marty to Prohibition Era Hill Valley, where Doc has found himself in trouble with the law and stuck in jail. Marty then has to befriend Doc's seventeen year old counterpart in order to break old Doc out of jail. Of course, this ends up having complications(because nothing is ever simple in the Back to the Future universe) in the form of yet another ancestor of Biff Tannen, a mob boss named Kid Tannen...who has Marty's grandfather in his employ as a bookie. Of course, this all means that Marty is going to have to mess with his family's past, even if it completely changes the future...

The game plays a lot like Telltale Game's Monkey Island series, allowing for a more cinematic approach when it comes to movement and camera angles. You examine your surroundings with your mouse, finding items of interest that help you solve your situations. I had a bit of a problem getting used to this myself. I blame most of this on playing too much World of Warcraft and having complete control of my movements and camera angles. It hindered me at first, but once you get used to it, the game moves along smoothly.
The puzzles are pretty easy to figure out, which is good because the sooner you figure things out, the sooner you can get to the story. I'm a story gamer, personally...I LOVE a good story, so this worked pretty well to my advantage...and lack of attention span.

The style of the characters reminds me of the Back to the Future cartoon I used to watch on Saturday mornings with a bowl of Trix, and I can see where it probably was a huge inspiration. The entire game is full of little tidbits and Easter eggs related to both the 80's and the movie itself, so you really have to look at everything or else you'll miss out! As an artist, I absolutely love the concept art and illustrations for the game, as they are simply AMAZING, and I'd LOVE to put several of them up in my studio in poster form!

The dialogue was pretty good, sneaking in some old topical humor into the conversations here and there enough to keep your attention. It was great to hear Christopher Lloyd return to the role of Doc Brown, and AJ LoCascio does an eerily dead on voice for Marty McFly. I'm talking really dead on...like...super REALLY dead on. The cast delivers the story well and give excellent answers to questions that I know you're already asking in your head(such as the "I thought the Delorian was destroyed by a train!" thing). There are witty lines that take you back to the original trilogy and, like almost every 80's family movie I can think of, a dropped curse here and there.

The game is a rare step away from the action oriented games that have flooded the market in the past few years. While I see this as a GOOD thing, it might not be easy for some to keep their attention on the game if they like their games fast-paced.
HOWEVER, if you're a fan of the movies, you have GOT to play this game no matter what other games you play! Treat it like Clockwork Orange and strap yourself to your chair with your eyeballs taped open. This is only the first chapter, so it's a pretty short play but it leaves you wanting more! I, honestly, cannot wait until the next chapter is released, which will be next month, and the other three will follow once per month.
You can buy the full game at Telltale Games (www.telltalegames.com) for $24.95 for the PC, Mac, and iPad, as well as offered on the Playstation Network for the PS3.