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After inventing rock-'n-roll and altering the destiny of his parents in I, then changing his own future in II, Marty's final task is an altogether more romantic one. Fans of the series will remember at the end of II, Marty is left stranded in 1955 when the De Lorean time machine is zapped by lightning with the Doc inside. It turns out the De Lorean was sent back to 1885 and the Wild West, where the Doc has found his true love - a teacher called Clara. Doc has written a note which is to be delivered to Marty telling him where he's buried the damaged car. Using 'modern', 1955 parts Marty fixes the car and is all set to return to the present when he discovers the Doc was shot only days after writing the note. Marty has to go back to 1885...

Thankfully the game isn't as complex as the plot - it's split into four multi-loaded sections recreating key scenes from the movie, sort of. The first stage is where Doc saves Clara from going over the cliff edge in her carriage.

The section flips between two views: the side-on perspective has the Doc galloping along on his horse, jumping over ravines and cacti, ducking boulders and shooting twirling tomahawks as well as any indians or cowboys sneaking up behind. Bonus points can be earned by picking up luggage dropped by Clara. After a bit of this, the view switches to overhead with a vertical scroll. Cavalry and Indians are in heated battle and must be either avoided or shot. The action flips between the two scenes until Clara is saved, Doc loses all his lives, or Clara goes over the cliff!

Level Two is the shooting gallery scene, a static screen with you controlling the Colt .45 as various targets move past. Ducks, flying and swimming, are the main targets but there's also some cowboy figures, a decidedly modern soldier, a granny (!) and if you get all the multi-coloured ducks there's a 'Generation Game' conveyor belt parody!

The next level sees real cowboys after Marty. There are six of them hiding in various buildings, popping out to shoot at Marty. He can move along a diagonal line, throwing plates - three plates take out a cowboy.

After defeating the cowboys it's finally back to the present. The De Lorean has run out of fuel so a train has been stolen to speed it up past the critical 88mph. Marty starts at the back of the train and must make his way to the front, leaping between carriages, knocking down or ducking under various baddies and also picking up some special speed logs for Doc to throw into the furnace!

In line with its cinematic counterpart Part 3 is a whole lot better than Part 2 and, come to think of it, Part 1 too. Probe have brought together the relatively simplistic sub-games well to form an ongoing story, mainly through good use of atmospheric effects and generally good quality graphics.

The changing background as Doc rides along on level one, the great gun samples in the gallery stage, the blind man (complete with shades-wearing dog!) walking through the middle of the chaotic plate fight - they're all neat effects on both polished versions which stand up as great licences as a result.

Despite the fact that the movie plot has had to be reworked slightly to make for an exciting game, and the simplest level in terms of gameplay - the shooting gallery - worked the best, I enjoyed it.

It's a game with a sense of fun about it and it plays all the better for it. At last someone's made a decent game out of the Back To The Future series!

Back To The Future Part III is an odd blend of sub-games, few of which are all that original, but being executed with such skill that the whole is rather more than the sum of the parts. The opening mix of side-on and overhead shoot-'em-up action is unoriginal, and not even the Amiga version has more than one layer of parallax scroll, but it's playable and substantial enough that the option to practise later levels is much appreciated.

Level two is a static screen with a few moving targets, but Probe have polished it so that it really shines. The top-notch graphics and some hilarious little touches make it all very enjoyable. Level three is a lot trickier, with the 3D taking some figuring out to get the plate-throwing accurate, while Four is fun enough to make playing through earlier stages well worthwhile. Back To The Future Part III isn't quite a classic, but it's got lots of variety and playability.

Presentation 77%
Cameo pics before levels, option to practise levels two and three.

Graphics 87%
Five distinct styles (two for level one), all professional and slickly done.

Sound 76%
Four different tunes and good FX.

Hookability 82%
Nice but tough level one, while option to practise levels two and three ensure lots of early playability.

Lastability 81%
A big finale provides a strong incentive to keep playing.

Overall 81%
A classy tie-in with lots of humour and variety.

Presentation 77%
Cameo pics between levels, amusing text and a good end-game sequence. Option to practise levels two and three.

Graphics 85%
A variety of styles, all very well done.

Sound 73%
Lots of nice tunes.

Hookability 82%
Same as C64.

Lastability 81%
Same as C64.

Overall 81%
A good game, professionally done.