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What do you get if you mix together a heavy metal version of Bat Out of Hell plus images from Easy Rider and Stone? Give up? It's Full Throttle, the latest LucasArts hit game about motorbikes, mayhem and murder...
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Despite my initial scepticism about the story line, the creators of Full Throttle have done a great job. Ben (the leader of a bikie gang) is the main character in the game. He is a gentle giant, cool under pressure, sardonic about life and concerned only for his riding companions, his Corley Motorcycle (obviously meant to be synonymous with Harley) and above all, his freedom.
Shortly after the game begins, Ben finds his gang has been hijacked, he has been framed for murder by an industrialist named Ripburger, and the Police are looking to take away his freedom. This of course makes Ben a very unhappy bikie, and we all know you should never make a bikie mad.
Your part in the game is to help Ben expose the industrial conspiracy in which he has become entangled and help him put his life back the way it was. This involves several adventures, a mix of problem solving, and some arcade-style action.
The game has four distinct "parts". The first part involves a long but very entertaining cut scene to set the tone and background to the game and then some relatively simple problem solving. After a spectacular crash, Ben ends up in a backwater town called Melonweed with his bike resembling a meccano set without the instruction book. With the help of the woman Mo, some scrounged petrol and a new set of front forks for the bike, it's off to the next challenge.
Part two requires Ben to run the gauntlet through rival gang territory using the Old Mine Road.
The narrow twisting road is controlled by some very unsavoury characters that use chains, pipes and even chainsaws to make sure you don't get through.
Your challenge is to kick, punch and use any means at Ben's disposal (including a handful of superphosphate) to beat off the rival gang members. This part is all action, with minimal problem solving.
Having hacked your way out of the Old Mine Road and pulled off a leap Evil Kenevil (excuse the phonetics) would be proud of, Part Three lands you in the dark, gothic, industrial town of Corville. This is the place where Ben's beloved Corley motorcycle is made and the centre of Ripburger's industrial power.
Here Ben fights for his life in a demolition derby, nearly gets pulled apart "Congo missionary style" by another crazed gang of rival bikies, and crashes a shareholders' meeting at the Corley factory to expose Ripburger's plan to cheat the shareholders out of their investments. But it doesn't end there! Part Four is the final showdown between Ben and Ripburger. It would spoil the fun to tell you what happens, but if you're not quick enough at extricating Ben from the trap laid by Ripburger, then it's Harley Heaven for Ben. Well, not really (LucasArts has seen fit to continue resurrecting Ben until you finally figure out a way to turn the tables on Ripburger.
Full throttle has two outstanding features. The first is the soundtrack and the second is the graphics. Although the box tells you the soundtrack was provided by Gone Jackals, "an authentic hard hammerin' biker band", the music is not what you might expect (it's great. The score ranges from very cool slide guitar riffs to knock down rock 'n' roll. Combined with the motorcycle sound effects, the total audio experience is sensational. Dialogue and character voices are also exceptionally well done.
To my amazement, Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker of Star Wars fame) makes yet another contribution to the computer entertainment industry by doing the voices of two Full Throttle characters. See the enormous list of credits at the end of the game (similar to the scrolling credits at the movies) for full details. Maybe Mark Hamill is indentured for life to the George Lucas entertainment empire and can't break his contract?
LucasArts appears to be concentrating on two styles of computer game; the X-Wing/Tie Fighter/Dark Forces interactive style of game and the Sam and Max/Day of the Tentacle animated variety. While Full Throttle belongs with the second group, its animation is so good that it deserves to be in a category of its own.
The Full Throttle artists have created a world rich in colour. Scenes include dark and brooding skies, barren deserts, fiery sunsets and seedy backwater towns. The Old Mine Road for example has some great graphics that give you the impression of a three dimensional ride; blind rises, obscured bends and treacherous gravel shoulders.
The futuristic bikes, hover trucks and limousines are incredibly well done. Playing the game gave me an overwhelming sense that the creators of Full Throttle know and love hot machinery.
The game also has the unmistakable feel of a movie-studio production. Film producers are the masters of perspective, light, angle, action and timing. Full Throttle employs some of the most innovative and unusual screen angles, images, and cut scenes I've ever experienced in a computer game and this gives it a "feel" that is wonderfully different.
Sometimes I'm tempted to believe that Full Throttle's game play is secondary to the pursuit of a platform on which to demonstrate the technical genius of its creators. A lot of time is spent sitting and watching animated story scenes unfold in stunning animation and music. The game's developers, it seems, reluctantly hand the game back to us in order that we may play a few actions bits in between.
Humour is subtle and used to good effect throughout the game. Ben for example might look totally composed on his motor bike, but his running style is hilarious (check out the gas tower sprint). If you're not concentrating you'll miss many of the lines and facial expressions that derive from Ben's dry sense of humour. One of my favourite moments comes right at the end when Ripburger is hanging suspended over the abyss. Look for the message on the truck number plate!
However not all games are perfect and Full Throttle has a few shortcomings worth mentioning. My biggest complaint was the demolition derby challenge in part three. Nothing about this section appealed to me very much. Luckily it represents only a minor portion of the whole adventure.
The bird's eye graphics are not of the same high standard as the rest of the game, the play is repetitive and the solutions to finally end this part come almost by accident. For these reasons I have provided some cheats at the end of this article to get you through the derby as quickly as possible.
Elsewhere in the game, actions required to get from one scene to the next are sometimes a little bit obscure. You may find yourself going over and over the same part of the game a number of times trying variations on the same set of actions, until you hit the right combination. I'm also of the opinion that the game is quite short. I estimate that with persistence you might be able to complete the game in about 15 hours. This is considerably less than you would get out of an Ultima game, or Under a Killing Moon, etc. For the adventure/role play fanatic I also suspect the puzzle challenges might be too easy.
That leaves the rest of us, and I'm sure that for most people the fun, games, graphics and music will provide an excellent adventure. PC Gamer, published in the UK, had this to say about Full Throttle: "Funny, original and very playable, as well as a technical marvel". They gave it a score of 94 out of 100 and awarded it Game of the Month. To make sure you do have a good time playing Full Throttle I'm happy to provide clues or cheats for the totally frustrated. Simply send me an E-mail cry for help at atebb@pcug.org.au, or fax me on 291 9220 during business hours.
For the month of October, BitStorm in the Canberra Centre will sell Full Throttle to PCUG members on presentation of a current membership card for $89.95.
Once I had copied a newer version of the DOS extender (supplied with the game) it ran without a hitch. My problem was that I read the instructions last and subsequently wasted a lot of time unnecessarily. The disk also provides a handy boot disk batch file to help automate the process for novice game players.
Push the car over the ramp and follow it over with your car. You will bounce off the bronze car and hit Nestor and Bolus. Then ram Mo's car head on. She will blow up and you both catch fire. Dressed in your asbestos suit, run to the top of the screen (next to the closed doors) and set the stadium on fire.
Next, run and jump on top of the bronze car. Nestor and Bolus will come after you again. As they ram the car you are sitting on, jump on top of their car. As they race around close to the burning wrecks, jump off and run into the fire.
They will follow you into the flames and it's goodbye Nestor and Bolus!