The true test of any episodic series isn’t the opening gambit, but the second and lord knows the first episode was a great one with Marty travelling back to 1931 to aid his marooned friend and mentor Doc Brown. The point and click stylings of this adventure still feel irrevocably TellTale, but ‘Get Tannen’ again shows just how wise Universal Studios were to gift the developer access to this beloved franchise.
Proceedings kick off directly after the first episode with Marty McFly slowly fading away, thanks to the consequences set in motion during ‘It’s About Time’. Subsequently the time travelling duo fly back to an earlier period in the 1930s, some time after their original incursion, to save Marty’s grandfather from an untimely demise at the hands of Kid Tannen. Unfortunately their subsequent saving attempt thrusts the 1980s version of Hill Valley into unspeakable turmoil and the time-travelling duo venture back again to restore the status quo.
Seeing the consequences of your actions in the original episode is fun, as is avoiding running into the other version of Marty, but soon the action devolves into the established puzzle solving formula, with challenges this time in the guise of a dialogue test to try and gain entry into The Kid’s speakeasy (very Monkey Island 2), disabling gangster goons and once again helping young Doc Brown follow his destiny.
Unfortunately environments still aren’t varied up that much, as Hill Valley’s town-square once again provides the centre of this chapter’s action, but at least players will get to witness much more of the DeLorean, this time in its glorious flight mode. Also interesting is the amount of time travelling which goes on, as unlike in ‘It’s About Time’ Doc and Marty take multiple jumps through time as if it’s going out of fashion.
With regards to the wider fiction arc, players still don’t discover why Doc Brown decided to travel back to the 1930s in the first place, but TellTale don’t want to blow their wad in only the second episode. If anything ‘Get Tannen!’ is a fine example of the potential time travel has in our medium, as moving back and forth between the different time periods multiple times never feels old or contrived.
That said, there are a few moments which seem a bit out of character for Doc and Marty, for instance they have no qualms telling Arty McFly that they are undercover FBI men, even though they are sat in the futuristic DeLorean while they lie to him. Surely Arty would wonder what exactly that fancy contraption they are driving is, but funnily enough it never comes up.
Despite the occasional logic missteps, the second episode, much like the first, is still full of moments which will satisfy long-time Back to the Future fans , as well as point-and-clickers. The resolution of Hill Valley’s prohibition escapades set up the third episode very nicely, with 1986 in even worse state than before and for once it isn’t all Tannen’s fault.
We look forward to the next episode.
Verdict: 82%
Tags: back to the future
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