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First there was a film called Back To The Future, which was incredibly successful and spawned the inevitable ST spin-off game. Next there was Back To The Future Part II, a little less successful and also with the obligatory game. Now, finally, there is Back To The Future Part III - the film and the game.

Back To The Future Part III has four different levels corresponding to scenes from the film. It's all a bit complicated because Marty McFly and Doc Brown have gone back to 1885 so that Marty can save the Doc before he's killed. Each level is a sub-game, set in a different style. In the first, you ride through various scenes chasing a runaway cart that's carrying Clara (the new teacher) towards a ravine. The second level is a simple fairground duck-shoot. The third is basically another shoot-it-up, but one where you fire custard pies at the baddies rather than bullets, and the fourth is set on the top of a train.

The graphics in this game serve their purpose and no more. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with them - they lookreasonable, but that's about all. The same goes for the animation: it's perfectly fair, although the horse on level one seems to defy gravity - just watch it jump over anything! To get a fair idea of the sound, use your silliest voice to babble the wibbliest and most annoying tunes you can think of. And then repeat indefinitely.

Back To The Future Part III won't amaze anyone. If you're cynical you could say it's simply a collection of rather pathetic sub-games cobbled together in a desperate attempt to sell the title on the strength of the film. In any case, you find that the parts simply don't add up to make a good whole.

The many different sub-sections are little more than simple reaction tests and turn out to be immensely frustrating. They offer nothing more challenging that jumping, shooting or moving at the right time. The graphics aren't awful, but don't worry - some of the animation makes up for that. In the ravine section in level one, the sprites are tiny, it seems to go on forever - and it isn't even very challenging. It would be better if Back To The Future Part III went back to the past... and stayed there!