Game Reviews

Back to the Future Episode 4 HD

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Back to the Future Episode 4 HD

It only feels like a few weeks have passed since we sat down to talk about the last episode of Back to the Future on the iPad.

Oh, wait, it was.

Predictably and painfully, Back to the Future Episode 4 HD packs in all the same technical hitches and annoying interface quirks as its predecessors, but rather than dwell on these for the fourth time, we’ll discuss whether the plot and puzzles match up to earlier instalments.

Needless to say, there will be spoilers up ahead for those who haven’t played the previous episodes, so don’t blame me if you read something you’d have rather avoided.

(You could always try going back in time and stop me writing them, of course, if you’re really desperate.)

Do it again

Kicking off mere hours after the end of the previous adventure, Episode 4 starts off with Marty and Citizen Brown trapped in the Citizen Plus programme with the dastardly, hooligan-hating Edna overseeing the conversion process.

After an action-packed escape (that once again features Marty’s guitar-playing skills prominently), our two heroes must return to the past in order to stop the young Emmett Brown taking the wrong path and becoming a control-obsessed, fully trained lawyer.

Unfortunately for players hoping to see another version of Hill Valley as in Episode 3, this means heading back to 1931 for the third time.

To Telltale’s credit, though, you do get to visit a few new locations, which affords the player a bit more time with some of the extra cast from the period like Trixie and Cue Ball.

Do it again

The puzzles follow a similar path to previous episodes, so if you’re already sick of the ‘shopping list of things to do’ format, you’re not going to get much joy here.

Of more concern is the relative vagueness of the hints this time around, such as one instance where - after fruitless searching for an aforementioned ‘ingredient’ to solve a major puzzle - the hints told me to go to a location that I simply couldn’t access yet without having solved another puzzle.

If you’ve played this far into the series, then the normal technical glitches such as dropped dialogue, occasionally flaky graphics, a skittish framerate, and controls that feel forced onto a touchscreen will likely not be of much concern to you any more.

To this group, Back to the Future Episode 4 HD will represent a slightly harder but welcome progression in the story. Newcomers, however, are best advised to start from the beginning.

Read our review of Back to the Future Ep 1 HD - It's About Time. [Buy it.]
Read our review of Back to the Future Ep 2 HD - Get Tannen. [Buy it.]
Read our review of Back to the Future Ep 3 HD - Citizen Brown. [Buy it.]
Read our review of Back to the Future Ep 5 HD - Outatime. [Buy it.]

Back to the Future Episode 4 HD

A little harder than the previous entry, Episode 4 HD continues the Back to the Future story, warts and all
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Will Wilson
Will Wilson
Will's obsession with gaming started off with sketching Laser Squad levels on pads of paper, but recently grew into violently shouting "Tango Down!" at random strangers on the street. He now directs that positive energy into his writing (due in no small part to a binding court order).