Thursday 22 October 2015

Back To The Future Games Special - Part 2



Wow, the Future is now in the Past..well here at least! It's the 22nd! But if you're reading this when I'm posting it and are in America, then it's still the 21st! Time travel, eh!? It's weird!!!

Anyway. lets get on with this next lot of Back To The Future Games..... 

Super Back To The Future II (SNES) : 

 See, now this is more like it! In this Japan-only SNES game, you're back on the hoverboard again, but in a much better platform-style adventure. It plays a a bit like Sonic The Hedgehog, with Marty zooming through the levels collecting coins and pulling tricks whilst avoiding policemen and futuristic robots..



There's also people flying around in cars, some of which you can use to reach higher platforms. And these weird hover bike things that look really cool....it's just a much more atmospheric and fun game than any of the previous ones I've looked at!



There's even boss Levels where you get to beat up baddies like Griff, and again these look great and emulate the film way better than any previous title. It's a bit of a mystery as to why this was never released outside of Japan really, as it's not as if it wouldn't have sold.....

But yes, so far the only game that I would actually recommend giving a proper bash even if you're not a Back To The Future fan!





Back To The Future Part II & III (NES) :

Oh god....no, just no! I can't do it, I can't play this game after playing through the wonderfulness of the last one! Made by LJN, the same people who did the NES version of the first film, this combines the two sequels and transforms them into something even less recognisable as being Back To The Future than that game.


Biff has stolen the almanac and dropped items all throughout time, y'see and you're supposed to go and collect them all back up again. Only he's ruined time so much, that no-one has ever seen the Back to The Future films and forgotten what was in them. Well, at least that seems to be what's happened, because I certainly don't remember killer fish, walking hamburgers or weird, disembodied faces from any of the sequels.


Although it could be argued that you'll find some small amount of fun bouncing about the levels, it won't be enough fun to warrant putting this into your NES. Avoid, avoid, avoid.....bleurch!


Back To The Future III ( C64,Spectrum,CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, Megadrive/Genesis, PC) : 

Ah! This is the only Back To The Future game I actually bought when it came out. On the ZX Spectrum! Fairly good reviews, good graphics and the fact it looked like it used the licence well made me want to buy it and love it....but then I loaded it up....


I never made it past the first level. Ever. Even now, trying the different versions, I still can't get past it. It's just too damn tricky to judge what's going to fly at my face when I'm sitting on that bloody horse. And you need to have pixel perfect jumping skills to dodge the ravines and chests and whatnot...


It's a shame as the later levels look less frustrtaing and more fun, but I've never been able to play them, and as such, I can't recommend this game either...even if it does have groovy music and presentation. But yeah, even the Megadrive version is really frustrating. I'll put a video here though, so you can have a look at what the later levels will look like if you're not as rubbish as me and can actually see them!





Back To The Future - Blitz Through Time (PC) : 

You can pretty much ignore this. It's just another one of those games. You know, the sort that are everywhere online or on phones, and you end up playing them for hours because they're so addictive, but ultimately pointless and you wonder why you've wasted so much time on them. The type I hate because they make me realise how pointless playing any game for hours actually is. One of those games....  




Back To the Future - The Game (iPad, Mac, PC, Playstation 3, Wii) : 

And this is the one I've been unlucky enough not to have played yet, and probably the only one that actually makes proper use of the licence. Made by Telltale Games, it's that sort of updated Point-and-Click style of adventure that they do so well. It's basically a sequel to the movies, and looks really good! Having not played it though, I don't know what it's actually like, but I'm guessing it'll be the best game in this list by a long shot! You should probably go find out....


So there you go, a quick and rather depressing look at the Back To The Future games! Only the SNES and Telltale game are worth actually tracking down to play. Hopefully someone will get their act together and invent actual time-travel soon, and we can go back and erase the rest from history and make decent ones. Although, then the SNES and Telltale games would probably fade away or something as we'd have ruined the need for them to be any good! Best leave it alone then....








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