Full Throttle - Classic Inspection

"When I'm on the road, I'm indestructible. No one can stop me... but they try."


Scripted by Tim Shafer and Dave Grossman, this 1995 colourful adventure involves an unlikely hero who must travel on a journey of self-discovery. There's Motorcycles, mayhem and murder to contend with in a bid to save everything he knows. Set in a totally polluted apocalyptic future, Full Throttle puts you in the role of Ben, the leader of a biker gang called the Polecats. Enter Mark Hamill as Ripburger, he wants to turn Corley Motors into a minivan empire, by downsizing the workforce and streamlining manufacturing through robotisation. He's already trashed Ben's bike, beat up his gang. And now he wants to frame Ben for a murder he didn't commit (Boo! Hiss!)

Completely taken by surprise, Ben must now regroup, compose himself and get set for a head-on collision with Ripurger. Full Throttle is played out using the keyboard and mouse. You start proceedings in a dumpster, where our hero must punch open the lid. Once out, the controls are simple, moving the cursor around the screen provides you with exits, whilst hovering over an item or person allows you to interact or perform an action. It's not long before Ben manhandles a bartender, finds his keys, and jumps on his bike hot on the trail of a heavy metal adventure.

Presentation and graphics are simply amazing, as is the full digital score featuring the 'Gone Jackals'. Mark Hamill really does add to the atmosphere and gives a sterling performance throughout. And Conrad completely nails it with the voice-overs as Ben. Full Throttle has everything, bust-ups, explosions, bikes, chain saws, trucks, cops and minivans. This is LucasArts at their finest, the Pulp Fiction of the gaming world.

Later on, you meet up with many characters, beat up rival gangs, one of 'em called the 'Rottweilers', pop a wheelie and burn up plenty of roads. Ben is a tough cookie, he's clever, but quite often outnumbered. It's a hard existence being a biker in the future, danger approaches from every corner, you'll need to out-fight, out-smart and in most cases ride like the wind if you wanna survive.

Probably one of the best games from the LucasArts stable. And an unknown gem waiting for many to stumble upon. Throttle would be ripe for an Android or iPad re-hash, but with LucasArts being sadly disbanded... it might never happen now. The End?

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