During the second half of December, many video game publishers are loath to release new titles because holiday dollars are already spent and game of the year awards have already been decided. A few companies, however, brave this frigid market and release some stellar games. Here are two from this season’s crop.

Back to the Future: The Game – Episode 1

Telltale Games

3.5 stars out of 5

In recent years, Telltale Games has gained a reputation for producing some of the best adventure games on the market in addition to proving that episodic gaming can be done right. Titles such as Tales of Monkey Island and the Sam and Max series have shown the company’s ability to develop new games that stay true to the spirit of the source material.

With the release of the first episode of Back to the Future: The Game, Telltale Games has continued to impress, creating a title that does justice to the beloved trilogy of films. In returning to the Back to the Future universe, Telltale has focused solely on providing a worthy continuation of the narrative.

The game’s story, which once again has Marty McFly traveling through time in Hill Valley, was written in conjunction with Bob Gale, one of the creators of the original series. As a result, the dialogue and interactions of the characters all feel pitch-perfect, as do the callbacks to the films. The story itself is also strong, providing a satisfying first chapter for the new series.

Also helping the presentation is the performance of the voice actors. Christopher Lloyd reprises his role as Doc Brown and easily recaptures the character’s spirit. As for Marty, newcomer AJ LaCascio steps in for Michael J. Fox and plays the role perfectly. He manages to hit all the familiar notes of Fox’s performance while also making the character his own.

The only aspect of the presentation that may be a letdown to some is the visuals. The cartoon style is charming, but may feel a bit underwhelming at times, especially with the poorly done lip-synching.

In regards to gameplay, the first episode of Back to the Future: The Game is not going to be the most challenging and at times feels more like a tutorial for newcomers to the genre. Fans of the film series are not going to be bothered by this, though.

Instead of challenge, Telltale has focused on crafting a love letter to the trilogy‘s fans, one that promises to get better as further episodes are released. For anyone who fondly remembers the twin fire trails of the DeLorean, there is no reason to not download this game immediately.

999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

Chun Software/Aksys games

4.5 out of 5 stars

In the American market, it can often be hard for certain game genres to find an audience. While first-person shooters and fighting games have no trouble developing a strong following, games that focus on puzzles and story more than action are often left by the wayside of the mainstream gaming market.

As a result, some genres are left with small followings and few releases outside of Japan, the prime example of which is the visual novel. Focused almost entirely on story and dialogue with fewer gameplay elements, the genre has had little success in the states, with very few games being translated and even less people playing them. The only truly successful example of the genre in the United States is the Ace Attorney series.

This is a shame, because 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors is a visual novel game and is arguably the best game to come out for the Nintendo DS in 2010.

Featuring a branching storyline and “escape the room” puzzles, 999 tells the story of college student Junpei and eight other individuals. The nine people awake with a numbered bracelet on their wrists and the information that they’ve been kidnapped to take part in an experiment called the Nonary Game. As a group, they have only nine hours to find their way to a door marked with the number nine and escape the ship.

The catch is that the group must periodically split up into smaller groups and go through other doors numbered one through eight, which is where the puzzle-solving aspect comes in. The groups are limited by the ways their numbered bracelets match up, so the player character will have to consider which characters he will be teamed up with before he chooses a door.

With the numerous forks in the road presented, the player will only be able to see a fraction of the game’s numerous puzzle rooms the first time and the variety of the challenges presented adds an incentive for multiple playthroughs. Each challenge is unique and fun to solve, whether it involves a door that needs to be unlocked by playing a piano or finding the missing pieces of a medical mannequin.

More importantly, even during the puzzle sections, the story continues to develop. Different items found in each room can trigger conversations with Junpei’s traveling companions, allowing the player to find out more about the individuals on board and why they have been selected to take part in the Nonary Game.

This gets back to the main thrust of the game, which is a fantastic mystery story that is constantly growing more intense as the hours pass. 999 is a game that will drag players well into the early hours of the morning, leaving them always wanting to know what is going to happen next.

The complexity of the story significantly increases the game’s replay value, as it isn’t possible to get all the answers the first time through. The game features six different endings, half of which end with the player’s demise. Even in the paths that lead to bad endings, however, more of the plot is revealed to the player and they can then use the information they have gathered to move closer to the true ending which each new playthrough.

The thought of playing so much of the game over just to get new information may sound tedious, but the developers have made the process as simple as possible. The game features a fast-forward option that allows players to speed past text they’ve already read, stopping when new information is on-screen. Also, choices the player has already made will be grayed out, insuring that they will know what they haven’t done yet.

Further, the game’s true ending really is worth the effort. It provides an amazing twist that not only brings the story to a satisfying conclusion, but manages to give significance to all of the other endings.

Overall, 999 is a game that puts all of its emphasis on delivering a stellar story and in this regard, it is an absolute triumph, rivaling Heavy Rain for best of 2010. This is backed up by a strong puzzle element and everything mixes to make a truly grand, highly-replayable DS experience. Any gamer willing to take a chance on a genre not often favored on this side of the world owes it to themselves to play one of the best DS games released so far.