Full Throttle

aka: Full Throttle: L'aventure plein tube, Vollgas
Moby ID: 940
DOS Specs
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Description official descriptions

Future technology paved way to the creation of hovercrafts, which began to gradually replace motorized vehicles. Ben is the leader of the Polecats, one of the toughest biker gangs on the road. One day he drives over and damages a hovercraft limousine which belongs to Malcolm Corley, owner of Corley Motors, the last domestic motorcycle manufacturer. Later, Ben is having a bit of good clean fun at the Kick Stand Bar when Corley drops by for a bit of reminiscing. This leads to a meeting with Corley Motors' vice president Adrian Ripburger, who has his own sinister plans concerning the company, the Polecats, and the future of motorized vehicles. Ben refuses to co-operate and must now face the consequences and do everything in his power to bring Ripburger to justice.

Full Throttle is a third-person puzzle-solving adventure game. The graphics are cartoon-style, similarly to LucasArts' previous adventure games Day of the Tentacle and Sam & Max Hit The Road. The game features a revamped interface: instead of choosing a command verb or an action icon and then interacting with an object, the player can now simply point at it, and the available action icons will appear automatically. These include the standard "use", "examine", and "speak" actions, but also a separate foot icon for kicking.

As in other LucasArts adventure games, the player can select different responses during most conversations. However, compared to their previous works in the genre, Full Throttle is more streamlined, with less exploration, dialogue options or puzzles. Cinematic cartoon-style cutscenes are used to advance the plot. The game also includes a few simple action driving sequences, during which the player is required to navigate a motorcycle and fight hostile bikers by punching and kicking them, as well as using crude weapons such as chains and planks.

Spellings

  • Полный газ - Russian spelling

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Screenshots

Promos

Credits (DOS version)

270 People (196 developers, 74 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 82% (based on 39 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.1 out of 5 (based on 324 ratings with 13 reviews)

LucasArts' classic alright

The Good
It was almost a decade since I played the original DOS version of this game. And it took me a decade to finally add this piece of gem to my ever growing collection. I had no idea that LucasArts ever redid some of their classic adventures to perfectly work under Windows platform, equally under 98, ME, or XP. A pleasant surprise, no doubt. All you have to do is run the game, and that's that. No installation, no nothing. And an ever present F5 is still here to bring up the save/quit/etc. menu which is more than you'll need.

I don't recall this game having so many cinematics, which is a definite plus. They craftly mixed 3d bikes with 2d character models, it is a true splendour in art. Voice-acting is great, graphic art was a new comparing to the other classics (this game had a bit bigger characters and all that), and music is just on the level to boost up the turbo on your bike. Ben is not the type of Indy or Guybrush character, but he has a charisma and a personality of its own, matching the quality of LucasArts' creations in every aspect. Oh yeah, and women, as always, are truly beautiful in their games, Maureen close-up looks just astonishing.

The Bad
Well, certain puzzles are rather tricky, and make it really hard to uncover on your own. If I havent' finished this game already on DOS, I'd have a hard time finishing it within a same day, no matter the game is extremely short.

The Bottom Line
It's a classic that you should all be grateful it exists for Windows so you don't need to keep older computers or use emulators just to play this beauty. Whatever happened to that sequel we're awaiting, I do hope it will come out... 'cos I want it. It's about time LucasArts rises back in a style, there are still so many adventure game fans out there, should be enough to support and refund such releases.

Windows · by MAT (240759) · 2012

A classic must play, but not without its own flaws

The Good
Few adventure games have as well crafted a story line as this. Despite its short length, which I don't see as a flaw as others do, you quickly get sucked up in the story and find yourself connecting with the characters. With the exception of Grim Fandango I can't remember the last adventure I played where you really come to care for the characters the way you do for Ben and Morean. Overall the character design from Ben and Morean to the wondrously evil Adrian Ripburger and the very likeable Malcolm Corley is stellar. The excellent voice acting throughout also helps to breathe life into these characters. There is a real feeling of style to this game, everything from the great music to the slick movie like feel of the cut scenes and the game itself all come together to deliver a great gaming experience. Part of the rough and tumble atmosphere in the game is the ability of Ben to kick and punch his way through a number of situations. It's kind of refreshing in an adventure game to be able to kick down a guys front door or rough up a bar tender. There aren’t a lot of these situations but it adds a nice twist to the genre.

The Bad
There really aren’t any showstoppers in this game and maybe because of its otherwise overall excellence the few flaws that it does have stand out all the more.

For the most part the puzzle design is what you would expect from a Lucas Arts adventure, not to hard not to easy with a few leaps of login thrown in for good measure, nothing the average adventure player can't handle. However there are places where objects that play a role in solving a puzzle or getting you out of a situation you are stuck in aren’t highlighted at all. It's very annoying to find out that the solution to a problem is too hid behind a piece of scenery that you thought was just part of the background art work. There are also one or two examples of hidden or camouflaged objects. Another thing that some adventure gamers might find annoying is the arcade sequences in the game. There are two parts in the game where you are placed in an arcade like mini games where you have to either fight other characters or drive a car. These are well integrated into the game and fun to play however some may feel them to have a "dumbed down for the adventure gamer" quality or they may just feel them tedious. The solution to the destruction derby comes to mind.

The Bottom Line
Overall this is still a must play adventure game. It ranks right up there among the best for its immersive atmosphere and wonderful characters.

DOS · by Locut0s (654) · 2004

Full Throttle is a masterpiece, and one of my all time favourite games.

The Good
Gamers come in many varieties, and every gamer who has ever said "I want a game that will puzzle my brain" has likely played and enjoyed a good ol' point and click adventure game, and there was no better era for point and click adventure titles than the golden era of Lucas Arts. Everything their brilliant team came out with was a golden, seemingly flawless gem. From Maniac Mansion to Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (Arguably the best and only good Indiana Jones game) this truly was the greatest era for adventure games. Although I pretty much love 'em all, there are two that standout and rank on my top 5 games of all time list: Sam & Max Hit The Road (Review coming soon, along with reviews of the new 1s) and Full Throttle. If you haven't already guessed, we are talking about the latter game today.

Full Throttle comes from the mind of Tim Schafer, one of the most brilliant game designers ever. It tells the story of Ben, the leader of a motorcycle gang known as The Polecats, in a time when motorbikes are being outdated due to the revolution of the hover car and the fact that wheels are no longer needed. Only one corporation still makes motorbikes: Corley motors, owned by the old and dying Malcolm Corley, who loves the thrills and danger of the wild life, and wants to pass the torch to someone young and exciting and it just so happens that Ben catches his eye. However, Malcolm's partner, Adrian Ripburger isn't too pleased with Malcolm's decision as he desperately wants the throne.

The story is very well written, a trademark of adventure games and especially Lucas Arts adventure games. The cast in the game is top notch, every voice actor gives a convincing performance and brings their characters to life. Mark Hamill appears in the game, and provides a standout performance as the villain, Adrian Ripburger, really making him a creepy and genuinely intimidating villain. The only fault I have with the voice acting is that sometimes Roy Conrad (Ben) is a little deadpan at times, but he still does a good job overall. The music is also great, coming from a kickass metal band known as The Gone Jackals; specifically their album "Bone to Pick." Its sad they didn't really go anywhere, they were quite good.

The graphics are great, while they do suffer from pixelization at times, the animation is top notch and stylish, and the CG used also looks very good for the time and looks great. I would love to see this digitally enhanced, with no more pixelation. The animation is great, almost movie quality.

The puzzles are all well thought out, but at the same time they aren't too complex and they can make the game easy to play for newcomers to the genre, while still providing a challenge.

The game also has a good sense of humour, the game isn't meant to be a comedy, but there's a fair amount of humour and charm put into the game coming straight from Tim Schafer's twisted brilliance. One can't help but laugh when sending an army of robotic pink bunnies to their doom in a minefield, as "Ride of the Valkyries" plays in the background.

The Bad
As good as the sound design is when regarding the music and voice acting, the sample quality is low, and it can sound tinny and sometimes muffled playing on modern speakers. This is another part that I would love to see remastered, as the sample quality just hasn't aged well, although the overall effort and quality of the actual sounds themselves are great.

There's also a section later in the game that relies on combat, and the combat isn't really that good. It plays out something like Road Rash, but the controls seem delayed and its often frustrating how if you tilt the mouse just one inch towards the end of the screen, Ben burns out and crashes, even if he didn't touch the wall. It also seems that you can hit someone forever and they won't die, yet you can be downed in one or two hits, unless you have the chainsaw.

Sadly, the game is also somewhat short, but that doesn't really end up being too big a problem since either way, the game is very satisfying.

The Bottom Line
When it comes to adventure games, "Full Throttle" is as good as they come. It's accessible to newbies and features a great interface, but it will still provide a challenge for veterans of the genre. Full Throttle is full of wit and charm, while telling a great story in every respect. You don't even have to like motorbikes or heavy metal to enjoy the story because of its overall quality, although if you do have a fondness for motorbikes, the open road, and metal as I do, then it will only make it more entertaining.

Full Throttle may not be a game that is immediately replayable, but it does have a great replay value, its much like your favourite movie, every so often you get the urge to watch it again and you will always cherish it.

If you have not played Full Throttle and enjoy point and click games, then what are you waiting for? Go out and find a copy of this wonderful, timeless classic. You will thank me for it. Rock on, Tim.

DOS · by Kaddy B. (777) · 2009

[ View all 13 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Full Throttle/Dark Forces Demo CD-ROM Edwin Drost (9295) Jan 22, 2017
Patch? RJ Pieper Oct 23, 2008
dog in junkyard s c May 26, 2008

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Full Throttle appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Cancelled sequel

A 3D sequel was in development, called Full Throttle: Hell On Wheels, but it was officially canned on 7th August 2003. A brief statement from LucasArts president Simon Jeffery said: "We do not want to disappoint the many fans of Full Throttle and hope everyone can understand how committed we are to delivering the best quality gaming experience that we possibly can."

Development

In addition to the SCUMM engine, lead programmer Stephen Shaw and Mark Crowley used Vince Lee's Rebel Assault engine for some of the action scenes. This was pretty hard to do since both programs have their own calls to the processor and means of handling data. However, the R.A. sequences were kept discreet and the SCUMM engine was reworked so it could multi-task and keep all of is variable states in their location while the R.A. engine started up, allocated its own memory locations, and shutted down.

The use of the R.A. engine also caused problems in the art department. Since the engine was originally conceived to be as photo-realistic as possible, when the art team placed Peter Chan's drawings as texture maps over the 3D hills they started getting 15-20 k of data per frame of animation, thus causing the desert terrain too look overly realistic in contrast to the rest of the game world. The Over-rendered terrains as well as other features (like parallaxing sky and optimized data flows) were then scaled down to create a continuous game world.

Full Throttle uses 3 engines: SCUMM, INSANE and iMUSE.

Mini game

Following what Lucasarts had begun with Sam & Max (mini-games inside the game), Full Throttle has one special 'game' in it. If you wanna play what Emmet is playing in the Kickstand (that is, after you leave the town where you first meet Maureen and the police set up roadblocks) all you gotta do is ask him several times (and I DO mean several times) using the "I can do that" dialogue option. You won't get any prize if you succeed in using the knife without cutting your hand but, hey, you won't lose anything by chopping it up either!

References

  • At one point in the game, Miranda, the reporter says "Help me Ben, You're my only hope!" This is, of course, a reference to Star Wars.
  • The Cavefish's suits are of course based on the Tusken Raiders (or Sand People) that you see in A New Hope.
  • Emmett the trucker has an Imperial logo tattoo on his right arm.
  • Some of the Vultures are named Razor, Wendy, and Sid - all names of characters in Lucasarts' Maniac Mansion.
  • When you've stalled the blue car in the demolition derby, run over to the box seats. Max's head (from Sam & Max) should be one of the posters on the wall.
  • The sequence near the game's end (with Ben and Ripburger fighting in a plane that's teetering on the edge of a cliff) is a parody of a similar scene in the 60s heist movie The Italian Job.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to the game is basically its own CD, available at many record stores around the country. A San Fransisco biker band called the Gone Jackals did most of the "biker" music for the game. Their CD Bone to Pick features almost every song from the game, along with many other songs. It became the best-selling item in the LUCAS mail order catalog.

Also included is a non-Gone Jackals song: Increased Chances.

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • June 1996 (Issue #143) – Adventure Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
    • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #9 Most Memorable Game Hero (Ben Whatsisname)
    • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #5 Most Memorable Game Villain (Adrian Ripburger)
    • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #10 Most Rewarding Ending of All Time
  • GameStar (Germany)
    • Issue 12/1999 - #89 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking

Information also contributed by Apogee IV, Itay Shahar, James1, Macintrash, Maw, Mitch Kocen, n-n, Swordmaster, Tiago Jacques and Zovni

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Related Sites +

  • Full Throttle - FAQs & Guides
    A collection of walkthroughs and hints by members of GameFaqs.com
  • Hints for Full Throttle
    These hints give you just the nudges you need so you can solve this great game yourself.
  • ScummVM
    Get Full Throttle to run on modern systems by using ScummVM, a legal freeware program.
  • The Kickstand
    The largest Full Throttle site, with features like biker haiku, movie casting call, and a listing of in-jokes
  • The rise and fall of Full Throttle
    an interview with Bill Tiller about the game, as well as the canned sequel, on Adventure Classic Gaming (29th August 2008)

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 940
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Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by MAT.

Antstream added by lights out party. Macintosh added by Jason Savage.

Additional contributors: Trixter, Terok Nor, Mickey Gabel, Kasey Chang, Jeanne, Apogee IV, Sciere, jean-louis, Patrick Bregger, FatherJack, Zhuzha.

Game added February 29, 2000. Last modified January 23, 2024.