It's great how "Best thing ever" is actually more unreasonable than "WORST GAME IN DA UNIVERSE". "Best Thing Ever" doesn't restrict the judgement to games, but also to artistic movements, great inventions, philosophical ideas, every work of art ever produced(including the original three Back to the Future films), and basically anything that has ever saved or enriched human life.
How would you even define the "best thing ever" anyway? So many possible interpretations because it completely lacks context. Best thing in what? In food? In drawings? In stellar objects? In mathematical theorems? I mean really.
Anyway, the game was horrible. I'm personally not calling it the worst game ever, because I think that, like with best thing, that lacks context, but it's definitely down there amongst the worst.
For "Worst Game Ever", I thought that "Least Favorite Game I've Ever Played" and "I'd Rather Download a Computer Virus Than Play This Game" were sufficient for "Worst Ever". I think "Worst Game" is far more justifiable than "Best Thing", and for every "worse" game you can bring up, Back to the Future can be easily called "Worse" in some way or another.
I've been pondering whether to keep this thread open. We've had two or three vaguely similar threads, including doodo's "who else is indifferent" variety, and this thread opens with no less than a provocation towards a particular community member, although that might well have been meant light-heartedly.
But we haven't really had such a "TTG forum metacritic" poll, so I'll keep it open. But for once, please keep the flaming outside. You have been warned.
For "Worst Game Ever", I thought that "Least Favorite Game I've Ever Played" and "I'd Rather Download a Computer Virus Than Play This Game" were sufficient for "Worst Ever". I think "Worst Game" is far more justifiable than "Best Thing", and for every "worse" game you can bring up, Back to the Future can be easily called "Worse" in some way or another.
Fair enough. It's certainly going to be subjective regardless of how you view it. I just like the idea of giving it context, at least in my personal opinion of it and other games, so that I can sort what I think are the worst games in, say, every genre, like worst FPS, worst adventure game, worst CRPG, worst JRPG, etc etc etc. Obviously that in and of itself is going to be subjective--after all, not everyone would agree with separating CRPGs and JRPGs into two or more different categories for rating--but it's organized, which I like.
Fair enough. It's certainly going to be subjective regardless of how you view it. I just like the idea of giving it context, at least in my personal opinion of it and other games, so that I can sort what I think are the worst games in, say, every genre, like worst FPS, worst adventure game, worst CRPG, worst JRPG, etc etc etc. Obviously that in and of itself is going to be subjective--after all, not everyone would agree with separating CRPGs and JRPGs into two or more different categories for rating--but it's organized, which I like.
Oh, of course. It's by no means necessary to vote "Worst Ever" to be right, and obviously some people will have more negative experiences with some really bad games than others. Really, all that can be agreed upon objectively and without invoking opinions is that this game has very limited reactions to gameplay actions that are not correct puzzle solutions, the inventory is small relative to other games in the genre, the icons are large compared to other games in the genre, there are less objects to interact with in every room than any other genre example, exploration is cut off in many cases by invisible walls or areas not existing until an unrelated action "triggers" their existence, the story utilizes Deus Ex Machina and was written in order to include series staples before considering why, the gameplay contains a litany of arbitrary triggers that cause events to happen for reasons that aren't logically connected to player action, Doc Brown's animations and lines are generally limited by the character being moved through a series of small rooms and cramped spaces while acting as a "background" character for exposition before being ferreted away while you deal with the "real" characters of the story, the run speed is slower than in all other Telltale games since run speeds were introduced in Sam and Max Season Two, the camera often focuses on the next object with which you need to interact, the vast majority of puzzles in any given episode do not utilize an inventory, the inventory in this game pulls up a separate screen so you cannot look at the inventory and the game screen at the same time, the games are often glitchy(especially when an unexpected action is taken by the player), the games are limited in terms of locations by a production budget and timetable that provides an incentive to re-use sets(causing things like Doc's garage being moved to a different, already-made location), and things like that. Opinion modifiers, like "Worst game ever", "Shit", "Bad", "Okay", etc, are al based on a personal evaluation of all aspects of the game, including its many glaring faults.
It was simply a bad game. I don't abhor it like some people here (though they're certainly justified in their abhorrence), but it certainly wasn't good. Mildly entertaining at times? Yes. But not a good game.
It probably would have been better to assign grades (A,B,C,D,F) or numerical values instead of descriptions (come on anyone who calls it the greatest thing ever or the worst game ever is out to lunch).
It just seems to me that every episode was a build up for something great which never came. To me the only episode in which I felt was truly fulfulling was episode 2; Episode 1 opened up a lot of plot lines, some of which were resolved in episode 5, some of which were not resolved at all, and some of which were resolved in episode 2.
Some people see this game as back to the future part 4 (all the episodes combining for one part), some people see it as parts 4-8 (each episode being its own movie). I look back at the game as parts 4 and 5. 1 and 2 fit together with 3 through 5 fitting together. Near the end of episode 2, it seemed everything was fine and it was to an extent, every problem which came up in either of the first 2 episodes had been resolved by the time we see doc and marty in the flying delorean. But then we see a new problem (Emmett and Edna together) which becomes the main central conflict for the remaining episodes.
I simply found the first story (mobster Kid bullying Artie, endangering peoples lives) more compelling than the boring first citizen plotline. Episodes 1 and 2 had that sense of danger especially with Doc and Artie being killed at certain points, Kid being a loose canon, the McFlys being severely bullied in the present. The danger was gone for the most part only mildly returning at points in the fifth episode. Other than that, whats the worst which could have happened in the last 3 episodes? Getting citizen plused so that you cant do bad things?
Had the fifth episode been everything the premise said (which had great potential), this would have easily improved the game but instead it was only half what it could have been; it stretched out the boring plotline too much and ended up being only half as good as it could have been. I mean this is a game with a time machine, and it was barely, used, they might as well have just made a portal between 1931 and 1986 since those are basically the only times seen.
Now granted I'm writing this because the letdown fifth episode was the most recent one, my opinions were MUCH higher between the february 18th and march 26th. Some good things I'll point out; the voice acting was outstanding and there were plenty of nods to the trilogy. The fifth episode might actually still be my favourite as we did essentially see 4 different time periods (counting both versions of 1931). And Michael J Fox was unbelievable in that episode; first it was him but secondly william was actually a very well done character. The ending I'm still not sure about. I'd have been thrilled had it been just the one future marty (pretty much an exact role reversal of the first film except with 2 marty's and no jennifer) but all 3 make it kind of a spoof. Also not cool for them to put an unconfirmed 'to be continued'
It probably would have been better to assign grades (A,B,C,D,F) or numerical values instead of descriptions (come on anyone who calls it the greatest thing ever or the worst game ever is out to lunch).
Yeah, I would easily have given it an F if that was an option, but I ended up voting horrible. I don't think worst game ever seems like a far stretch, but I've only played the first episode, so I didn't feel like I could justify voting that. The episode I played also made me seriously doubt adventuregamers.com, since they actually gave it four stars.
Yeah, I have NO IDEA how a genre enthusiast site could possibly justify giving this game 4 stars. By the 4th episode, the reviewer gave a far more reasonable(but still way overinflated) 2.5 stars.
Overall, I liked it. I enjoyed the overall story and I thought the gameplay worked fine. I'm not going to call it a masterpiece. There were a couple of moments in the story that made me scratch my head, the animations were mediocre, and the lip synching was pretty poor overall. Why do the shadows sometimes flicker and the frame rates drop on a computer that can run more advanced graphics without many hiccups?
Most importantly, the whole reason I signed up here was so I could recieve tech support when I couldn't get Episode 2 to work. I had no idea I'd be coming back for even more tech support two more times. My computer is dual booting Mac OSX (Leopard) and Windows XP, which is where I keep all the games. I buy this game off Steam, Episode 1 works fine. Episode 2 comes out, all I get is a black screen that briefly plays the main menu music until I quit out. I download it on Mac, it works. Realizing I should stick with OSX, I download Episode 3...only for it to refuse to even open. (Admittedly not Telltale's fault since me and a lot of people didn't realize the game supposedly required Snow Leopard, despite the first two Episodes working fine. Kudos to TellTale for fixing something they weren't necessarily obligated to fix) While I wait for that to get patched, I try again on Windows only to run into the same problem I had with Episode 2.
I eventually discovered that switching the game from full screen to windowed mode helped to get things loading. It wasn't ideal, but I at least got to play it sooner then I would have otherwise. By the time Episode 4 came out, things had been sorted out with the Mac versions, so I had no troubles with it at all. Episode 5 comes out, and works fine until I get to the glass house. I think everyone already knows about the glass house glitch, so I won't go into detail.
So to get back on topic: I enjoyed the game itself but the graphical qualities were weak and the game testers seemed to have been sleeping on the job. Even when I came here for help, no one ever replied to my questions unless it was something everyone was experiencing.
I voted for good, even though i was torn between good and mediocre. I enjoyed the story, but as a point and click adventure it was lacking.
I'm a HUGE back to the future fan, so i could be biased. I enjoyed going on another adventure with marty and doc.
i went back and played the NES BTTF game the other night. How anyone, ANYONE, could compare this decent BTTF game to that pile of trash, i'll never understand.
Yeah, I have NO IDEA how a genre enthusiast site could possibly justify giving this game 4 stars. By the 4th episode, the reviewer gave a far more reasonable(but still way overinflated) 2.5 stars.
Like most people that loved the game, they were conflicted with BTTF fanboyism. It starts to wear off with each new episode, as it did for me.
I went with awesome. Best thing ever isn't even close really. As much as I loved the games, I still maintain that it could have used some real peril. And I have to say, awesome, for me, is relative. I thought Transformers 2 was awesome based on my expectations. I expected and hoped for more giant robots beating the crap out of each other, and that's what I got. Did I get an excellent story along with it? No, just a rehash of old cartoon plots. I thought Back to the Future The Game was awesome based on my expectations of a new story with some of my favorite fictional characters of all time. Did I get that? Yes. Did I get the game of the year? Not quite. Not even close.
I think that's probably going to go to Zelda Skyward Sword, but I may just be biased. lol
I went with awesome. Best thing ever isn't even close really. As much as I loved the games, I still maintain that it could have used some real peril. And I have to say, awesome, for me, is relative. I thought Transformers 2 was awesome based on my expectations. I expected and hoped for more giant robots beating the crap out of each other, and that's what I got. Did I get an excellent story along with it? No, just a rehash of old cartoon plots. I thought Back to the Future The Game was awesome based on my expectations of a new story with some of my favorite fictional characters of all time. Did I get that? Yes. Did I get the game of the year? Not quite. Not even close.
I think that's probably going to go to Zelda Skyward Sword, but I may just be biased. lol
I have a feeling best game of the year for me personally, is gonna go to Batman Arkhum City.
Comments
He's not the only one.
Anyway, the game was horrible. I'm personally not calling it the worst game ever, because I think that, like with best thing, that lacks context, but it's definitely down there amongst the worst.
But we haven't really had such a "TTG forum metacritic" poll, so I'll keep it open. But for once, please keep the flaming outside. You have been warned.
Vainamoinen: Understood.
Might make more sense to call that option "average" or "mediocre".
It just seems to me that every episode was a build up for something great which never came. To me the only episode in which I felt was truly fulfulling was episode 2; Episode 1 opened up a lot of plot lines, some of which were resolved in episode 5, some of which were not resolved at all, and some of which were resolved in episode 2.
Some people see this game as back to the future part 4 (all the episodes combining for one part), some people see it as parts 4-8 (each episode being its own movie). I look back at the game as parts 4 and 5. 1 and 2 fit together with 3 through 5 fitting together. Near the end of episode 2, it seemed everything was fine and it was to an extent, every problem which came up in either of the first 2 episodes had been resolved by the time we see doc and marty in the flying delorean. But then we see a new problem (Emmett and Edna together) which becomes the main central conflict for the remaining episodes.
I simply found the first story (mobster Kid bullying Artie, endangering peoples lives) more compelling than the boring first citizen plotline. Episodes 1 and 2 had that sense of danger especially with Doc and Artie being killed at certain points, Kid being a loose canon, the McFlys being severely bullied in the present. The danger was gone for the most part only mildly returning at points in the fifth episode. Other than that, whats the worst which could have happened in the last 3 episodes? Getting citizen plused so that you cant do bad things?
Had the fifth episode been everything the premise said (which had great potential), this would have easily improved the game but instead it was only half what it could have been; it stretched out the boring plotline too much and ended up being only half as good as it could have been. I mean this is a game with a time machine, and it was barely, used, they might as well have just made a portal between 1931 and 1986 since those are basically the only times seen.
Now granted I'm writing this because the letdown fifth episode was the most recent one, my opinions were MUCH higher between the february 18th and march 26th. Some good things I'll point out; the voice acting was outstanding and there were plenty of nods to the trilogy. The fifth episode might actually still be my favourite as we did essentially see 4 different time periods (counting both versions of 1931). And Michael J Fox was unbelievable in that episode; first it was him but secondly william was actually a very well done character. The ending I'm still not sure about. I'd have been thrilled had it been just the one future marty (pretty much an exact role reversal of the first film except with 2 marty's and no jennifer) but all 3 make it kind of a spoof. Also not cool for them to put an unconfirmed 'to be continued'
On a scale of 1-10 I'd rate it a 6.
Yeah, I would easily have given it an F if that was an option, but I ended up voting horrible. I don't think worst game ever seems like a far stretch, but I've only played the first episode, so I didn't feel like I could justify voting that. The episode I played also made me seriously doubt adventuregamers.com, since they actually gave it four stars.
Most importantly, the whole reason I signed up here was so I could recieve tech support when I couldn't get Episode 2 to work. I had no idea I'd be coming back for even more tech support two more times. My computer is dual booting Mac OSX (Leopard) and Windows XP, which is where I keep all the games. I buy this game off Steam, Episode 1 works fine. Episode 2 comes out, all I get is a black screen that briefly plays the main menu music until I quit out. I download it on Mac, it works. Realizing I should stick with OSX, I download Episode 3...only for it to refuse to even open. (Admittedly not Telltale's fault since me and a lot of people didn't realize the game supposedly required Snow Leopard, despite the first two Episodes working fine. Kudos to TellTale for fixing something they weren't necessarily obligated to fix) While I wait for that to get patched, I try again on Windows only to run into the same problem I had with Episode 2.
I eventually discovered that switching the game from full screen to windowed mode helped to get things loading. It wasn't ideal, but I at least got to play it sooner then I would have otherwise. By the time Episode 4 came out, things had been sorted out with the Mac versions, so I had no troubles with it at all. Episode 5 comes out, and works fine until I get to the glass house. I think everyone already knows about the glass house glitch, so I won't go into detail.
So to get back on topic: I enjoyed the game itself but the graphical qualities were weak and the game testers seemed to have been sleeping on the job. Even when I came here for help, no one ever replied to my questions unless it was something everyone was experiencing.
I'm a HUGE back to the future fan, so i could be biased. I enjoyed going on another adventure with marty and doc.
i went back and played the NES BTTF game the other night. How anyone, ANYONE, could compare this decent BTTF game to that pile of trash, i'll never understand.
Like most people that loved the game, they were conflicted with BTTF fanboyism. It starts to wear off with each new episode, as it did for me.
I think that's probably going to go to Zelda Skyward Sword, but I may just be biased. lol
I have a feeling best game of the year for me personally, is gonna go to Batman Arkhum City.