Full Throttle

Get your motor running

Heading out the Highway!

We're back with another Lucasarts adventure games, this time the bikers dream, Full Throttle. Released in 1995 I had a demo of this game portraying the beginning segment of you waking up outside a bar and you had to get your wheels on the road to help your gang, the Polecats. Playing the full game its revealed the main character, Ben, has been asked to escort Malcolm Corley, the head of Corley Motors to a shareholder meeting.  Ben was hesitant, but they needed the cash so the others persuaded him and they are of. Corley and Ben hit it of since they like to talk about their big interest, bikes. Corley Motor is the last company that still produces them, but Adrian Ripburger, the Vice-President are very keen on a new projects... minivans. So you can already guess Malcolm is pretty much dead. Ripburger is the one that knocked you out and left you in a dumpster. You get your key for the bike back and on the highway to catch up with the Polecats before its to late.

During the travels you fight of some other bikers to acquire better weapon until you reach the gorge. So you search for the Cavefish, a mole like gang where you steal a ramp to perform a stunt across the gorge. You catch up, but its to late, Ripburger has smashed Corley's head in with a tire-iron and blames the Polecats. Ben escapes, but somehow get blown up so he is taken Mo, a mechanic. He later learns that the one rescuing him was a photographer, a photographer that captured the act of the murder on film. So it begins a race to catch the photos before Ripburger and stop him from killing of Corley's only heir so he can take over the company. If you don't get it, Mo is the hidden daughter of Corley.

You infiltrate Corley headquarters during the shareholder meeting and use the old ploy of taking away the villains presentation and instead showcasing the murder and playing the recorded will of Malcolm Corley giving everything to Maureen "Mo" Corley. Ripburger escape and while locating the Polecats Mo and Ben are ambushed by Ripburger in the truck he stole from the meeting. An intense, hanging from the truck grill scene later, they have been swallowed up by a wingless plane that belonged to Mo's own biker gang, the Vultures. Ben climbs to the controls and... well I started guessing since I don't get what I'm supposed to do. After seeing my death scene a couple of times I give up and look up the answer. Raise the gears. OBVIOUSLY!!! How am I supposed to get that? Anyway, the plane stops right on the edge of the gore and the truck is hewn forward and dangles down with Ripburger hanging from his coat on the machine gun he used to attack Ben and Mo. So Ben makes the logical solution to fiddle with the controls and disengage them, making Ripburger plummet to his death. Ben enters the plane while the other bikers escape and for him to survive as well you have to move to the left, unveiling another screen with your bike on so you can ride it out with an explosion behind you.

The game pretty much ends at Malcolm Corley's funeral. When its over Mo and Ben parts way since the road is calling him and Mo has to take care of the company. Credits roll to the heavy metal soundtrack and your booted out of the game. I made the gaming sin of ending halfway through, but still. The game feels like Brütal Legend, but honestly with a tighter story. Same guy did the games so no wonder maybe. But there is some puzzles that annoys the hell out of me. First, how am I supposed to get that I have to gather up enough bunnies from the first box and then get another one to clear the mine field? It's contra intuitive, better let him get two boxes at once then. Then we have to find the secret place to kick to open the secret door into Corley's office. You know what isn't fun? Waiting for the timer to reset time and time again while I walk around kicking a wall. At least the key puzzle was simple for the safe. And the final stretch of the game, while cool when you succeed is bogged down by guessing since how are you as first timer gonna get what the input is to stop a runaway plane? Cast is good and so is the music. Heck, the villain is played by Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker himself. And he is gruesome. Overall a good game with great story and most of the puzzles are fine. Not that many Lucasarts games left to experience. Let's see what the next game will be.