Back to the Future

Back to the Future

Developer	Mark Walker
Company
Publisher	Electric Dreams
Musician	Unknown
Release	1986
Platform(s)	CPC, C64, ZX Spectrum
Genre	Adventure - Arcade 2D
OS
Game Modes	1 Player
Controls
Media
Language
Information

Based on the 1985 movie of the same name, Back to the Future is a simplistic looking 2D Arcade Adventure that failed to live up to the high standards of its inspiration.

Description

You are Marty McFly, a High School Senior who has travelled back in time to 1955 in an amazing sports car time machine built by your friend. Dr. Emmett Brown (or 'Doc'). Unfortunately, you have prevented your parents, now teenagers, from meeting and unless you arrange for them to fall in love, you and your family will cease to exist!

Characters

Marty McFly - Dressed in Red
George McFly - Dressed in Blue. Marty's father who must fall in love with Lorraine if Marty is to be born.
Lorraine Baines - Dressed in Yellow. Marty must stop her falling in love with him and get her to fall in love with George if he is to survive.
Biff Tannen - Dressed in Brown. Biff is the school bully who will hit you whenever he gets the chance.
Dr. Emmett Brown 'Doc' - Dressed in White. 'Doc' can be both a help and a hindrance. Biff always walks away from him.

Strategy The more time that George and Lorraine spend together, the more they will fall in love, and more segments will be added to the family photograph in the bottom right corner. To help you, there are 4 different sorts of objects shown in icons at the top of the screen. These are:

Love Poems - Found in the school, they were written by Marty for George to recite in the coffe shop.
A cup of coffee - Found in the coffee shop.
Alien Suit - Found in Dr. Brown's house.
Guitar - Found in the dance hall, Marty plays this at the school dance.

These icons will show up yellow when you are close enough to pick up and will turn white when you are carrying it. These items have different effects on different characters. The character icons show which characters are in contact with each other will show up green when a character is being affected by the particular objects used.

Skateboarding The skateboards can be made from old packing cases and can be used for getting about quickly. Also, while you are on a skateboard, Biff cannot punch you. If you are not on a skateboard, a punch from Biff will render you motionless for a short while. Similarly, you may do the same to Biff.

The protographs in the bottom right and left of the screen gradually disappear as the game progresses. If the family photograph disappears, then you have failed to put history straight and you will cease to exist. When you have successfully exposed the whole of the photograph, you must go to 'Doc's' house to pick up the Time Machine. When you have the house, the Time Machine will appear and whisk you 'Back To The Future'.