by Roman Victor Loyola

Think about the motorcycle mystique: rebellious leather-clad wanderer, wind blown hair, rugged face with a five o’clock shadow, and the aura of someone who spends their life on two wheels with the hard pavement blazing underneath and nothing in between. It’s life on the edge, adventurous and unpredictable, never knowing who you’ll meet or what you’ll run into. It’s the difference between being alive and simply living.

Full Throttle keeps the faith of the motorcycle mystique. It has everything an interactive adventure should have: great graphics, interesting characters, and challenging puzzles that fall in line with the intriguing story. LucasArts has combined all of these to create an interactive experience that will have you glued to your seat.

Kick Start
Set in the near future, you control Ben, the leader of a motorcycle gang called the Polecats. In his travels Ben runs into Malcolm Corley, an idol of Ben’s. Malcolm owns Corley Motors, the last maker of American motorcycles. Malcolm is accompanied by Adrian Ripburger, who wants to take over Corley motors and turn it into a mini-van manufacturer.

Thanks to Adrian, Ben’s life isn’t as simple as riding motorcycles into the sunset. Adrian finds a not-so-creative use for a two by four and Malcolm’s head, and points the finger at Ben. With his gang rounded up by the cops and sitting in jail, Ben must clear his name and stop Ripburger by helping Malcolm’s daughter Maureen take her rightful place as head of Corley Motors.

A Smooth Ride
Full Throttle has a good balance of cut scenes and interactive scenes. The animation on a PowerMac is smoother than any other CD-ROM title available (and might even provide fodder for those against the use of “full-motion video”). The synchronization is accurate, and reads off the CD-ROM — nothing is copied over to your hard drive (your results may differ if you’re not using a PowerMac). If you get bored with the cut scene, you can skip it by hitting a key combination. You can also save games at any time.

The cut scenes entertain as well as provide vital information . Ben runs into a vast cast of characters that are all memorable— among them are a Ross Perot-like souvenir hawker, a retired motorcycle gang leader who acts as a Yoda figure to Ben, and a nosy journalist who needs Ben to retrieve compromising pictures of Adrian, pleading a most memorable line: “Help me Ben, you’re my only hope.”

The cut scenes are eye-catching as well. LucasArts has done a brilliant job of incorporating the 3D images, such as Ben on his bike, into a 2D scene, like a desert landscape. Full Throttle has a Road Warrior-esque feeling, and most of the scenes occur at night or in darkness.

Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’
The interactive scenes involve solving a scene/story-related puzzle, not just some puzzle inserted into the middle of the story. The puzzles are a series of trial and error tasks — do an action and see what happens; if it doesn’t work, you start the scene over and you can try again. There is no time limit, so there’s plenty of time to search and experiment. The scenes aren’t too obvious to solve and take some creative thinking as well as a keen eye for observation. 

In a typical interactive scene, Ben must solve a puzzle using items he has collected along the way. You interact with items and people by using a convenient wreath-like control menu that appears when you click in a hot spot. The menu includes a hand for handling things, a skull for visual searching and mouth-related actions, and a foot for kicking. You can inspect your inventory by pressing the “I” button on your keyboard, and you can use items by drag and drop.

The only true interactive “action” scenes involve beating the beejezus out of rival gang members that cross your path and a demolition derby. Many users will like the fact that the action scenes don’t require precision timing, frantic button-clicking or swift mouse movements. If you get totally frustrated with any scene, you can always call the LucasArts tip hotline or check out the LucasArts forum on America Online.

Chopper Classic
For a complete interactive experience, Full Throttle is hard to beat. The storyline is pretty basic, yet it maintains quality. The cut scenes are written and presented well, with plenty of colorful characters, interesting dialog, and a soundtrack that rocks. The interactive scenes are challenging and are great mental exercises. With all these elements. LucasArts has created a timeless classic that must be part of your game collection.

Pros
• Excellent graphics
• Smooth animation
• Outstanding plot
• Great music, sound, etc

Cons
• None

Publisher Info
LucasArts Entertainment
PO Box 10307
San Rafael, CA 94912

Tel: 1-800-STARWARS
Tech: 415-507-4545

Website: http://www.lucasarts.com