PC

The latest chapter of Back to the Future: The Game is one you won't want to miss.

As we left Marty and Doc making their way back to 1986 we knew things weren't going to be the same. With Doc never making it in to see Frankenstein as a teenager he was never truly inspired and therefore never got the ideas for his inventions. With a set up like this it seemed we were doomed to just more of the same old; wandering around a lame looking town having the same stupid conversations with the same boring people. Well that couldn't be further from the truth. Doc gets things done when he's got a wife like Edna to focus him on things like bettering society.

While there isn't necessarily more to look at it's definitely a nice change to have a different background that actually seems to be at par with the characters. The colours are brighter and while a lot of the town has been remodeled with a modern look the basic map and playable area are the same so you can still easily know where you're going while being in a new area. As annoying as the controls and stagnant camera were in the previous two episodes it really wasn't as noticeable this time around. They didn't change anything about it but with any game you eventually get used to the way things work and just preemptively know how to get around things without messing up the controls.

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Take control of a Japanese army in this RTS sequel.

The Total War series, has gone back to its roots with the recent game in the series, and the result is a sequel to their original. For those of you unfamiliar with Total War, the series is best compared to a beefed up cross between Civilization and Risk. Total War: Shogun 2 is a beautiful advancement to the RTS genre.

Graphically, the game is far superior to all of its predecessors.  Although the graphical difference between their most recent Napoleon: Total War and this one are minimal, Shogun 2 has a much finer detail level than the other titles in the series. The map has been redesigned for his game. The whole of Japan looks like an old brown map, but as the player explores, it reveals the world with incredible detail.  A low end computer will struggle with this game. Some reviews have complained about long load time throughout the game and especially before battles, this is not an issue with a medium to high end machine.

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Homefront brings us a controversially close to home story.

Homefront is an atmospheric shooter that immerses players into their world. The setting is the most powerful part of the game. Any US patriot will cringe when they see the horrific images of Korea occupying The United States and killing innocent civilians. The game opens with a very thematic intro detailing the events leading up to the war and eventual Korean occupation, which includes a violent EMP blast that takes out most of the country.

The visuals are, for the most part, stellar. Skin, clothing, and weapons have great texture. That said, Kaos Studios skimped on a few items in game. In the refugee camp after the first mission there is a stack of firewood. The texture on the bark has detailed texture, but there is no space in between the individual logs. The whole set piece felt out of place. For the most part everything looks breathtaking. When enemies take headshots blood spurts out and it's pretty rewarding. This effect works well from a distance, but up close it looks more like dark red Jello coming out of people.

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Telltale Games' five part Back to the Future series continues in this point and click adventure.

With something as iconic as the Back to the Future franchise people are expecting big things. Given the rich story of the original trilogy, one would have thought developer could easily found something that worked for a game. Sadly, besides the notion that it is our first new bit of the Back to the Future gang in twenty-five years this game doesn't have much going for it.

Episode One was released back in December and after waiting over two months the second piece of this five part game was released. There was some hope that they would improve on some things in those two months but sadly we're left with the same slow paced game we found in the first episode. For the small cross section of Hill Valley you're exploring there is still a disappointing amount of playable space. Just crossing the road becomes a hassle when you can only cross at two points (apparently people didn't jaywalk back in the 1930s) and the stagnant camera messes with the controls often resulting in a frustrating, and at times disjointed, experience.

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