Back to the Future: Episode 3 Review



This is the third episode of the Back to the Future series called "Citizen Brown". Some sections of the review are going to be understandably short since each episode is quite similar in terms of mechanics (only the plot really changing). I'd recommend reading the previous reviews in conjunction with this one to get the full picture.

Sound (4/5)
Audio is as good as Episode 1. Authentic sound effects and great voice acting mired by some occasional sound stuttering issues.

They did actually manage to get the actor who played the original Jennifer Parker though; Claudia Wells is the voice actor for Jennifer Parker which is great since they're trying their best to be authentic but she unfortunately doesn't sound like a teenager, which means the performance isn't as convincing as it could be.

Music (4/5)
The music is still great but for some reason there were occasional bits in the game where no music was playing at all which seemed rather silly during action sequences.

Graphics (2/5)
Graphics have the same style as the previous episode and it had just as many graphical glitches as there were in Episode 2. For example, in this episode a golf cart drives into a cutscene for no apparent reason whatsoever. There was probably meant to be a person driving the vehicle but I guess nobody cared in Telltale's QA department!



Plot (5/5)
This episode has probably the best plot in the series so far - it's definitely one that requires a lot of creativity, as it is set in an alternate universe where Doc isn't Doc.

Marty returns to 1985 to discover that Hill Valley has turned into a city that is run like a police state. Doc and Edna are married, and are the leaders of the community forbidding drinking, public displays of affection and even owning dogs. Marty's Mum is an alcoholic again and his parents fight with each other non-stop. Not only that, but Marty and Jennifer are no longer a couple! Consequently, Marty thinks this alternate universe is a nightmare and with the DeLorean damaged, things are looking bleak.

Gameplay (3/5)
The game still suffers from the fact the player is limited in what he/she can do (and this runs the danger of the player becoming a mere spectator) and there weren't really any challenging puzzles, making it on par with Episode 1.



Replayability (3/5)
The game has average replayability as you'd expect for any game in the adventure genre.

Polish (4/5)
The game is pretty well polished, which is pretty common for Telltale Games however I never liked the mixture of keyboard and mouse in order to control your character (you can blame consoles for this). I miss the days of traditional point 'n' click adventures...

Score - 7/10

Telltale are getting sloppy but this episode probably has the most intriguing plot in the series yet.

If you want to get the game, visit Telltale Games.

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