Full Throttle is "A Heavy Metal Adventure" according to the box - or rather CD jewel case for the more recent 2001 edition – and was originally published in 1994. The "heavy metal" presumably refers to the bikes which play a central role in Full Throttle. And very impressive bikes they are.

The story is set at some unspecified point in the future. Most cars are hovercrafts, trucks are heavily armed for protection from outlaw biker gangs and there's one last remaining American motorcycle manufacturer, Corley Motors (does Corley sound just a bit like Harley?).

In the long introductory sequence we see Mr. Corley himself, now old and riding a comfy limo instead of a bike. With him is Mr. Ripburger, number two at Corley Motors and hopeful "heir" of the company. Ripburger is just explaining how he'd like to hire a biker gang to come to the upcoming Corley Motors shareholder meeting - to demonstrate how the company is "close to its customers" (that's them PR weasels for ya). At this point one such gang overtakes the limo rather rudely and disappears in the dust.

Ripburger and Corley think this might just be the gang and decide to follow them. The bikers have meanwhile stopped at a roadside tavern. The gang is called the Polecats and their leader is Ben - a man with a fantastically wide jaw and all around tough guy (and he'll need the toughness). Mr. Corley offers to hire the gang as an escort but Ben refuses, despite the fact that the gang is very low on funds. The Polecats are not for hire.

Then Mr. Ripburger steps in and wants to talk to Ben outside... and Ben wakes up in a dumpster with nasty bump on his head, no keys to his bike and no gang. From there on it gets worse. Ben's bike gets trashed and he himself is framed for murder he didn't commit.

So what's a man to do? Take revenge of course. All alone against the world; actually not all alone, because Ben will meet a few friends on the way. Especially Maureen, a cute female mechanic. And there will be plenty of enemies too, but they won't stand in Ben's way for long, or at least not if they know what's good for them.

The technology of Full Throttle is where its age shows most. The game runs in plain VGA resolution, 320x200 with 256 colors. The graphics are 2D cartoon style and the jaggies really are very noticeable. The cut-scenes are somewhat different – pre-rendered sequences made with 3D models. Not surprisingly, graphically this game resembles other LucasArts titles from the same period, such as Sam & Max (and in fact you might even notice the grinning rabbit in one or two places).

The sound also betrays Full Throttle's age a little and isn't as clean and crisp as modern games. But it is far from bad technically and very good as far as content is concerned. The voiceovers are good and Ben’s voice especially fits the "tough guy" image perfectly. Not that he does all that much talking, sometimes fists or boots are more effective in convincing uncooperative characters. The music is likewise in style - a hard rock track by the Gone Jackals. Just the right kind of sound for Full Throttle.

The interface is mouse driven (with the exception of one arcade sequence where it is more convenient to use the keyboard). It is different from earlier LucasArts games as any object that can be manipulated will change the cursor to the form of a little target box. Left clicking will pop up a menu in the form of a biker tattoo – and this menu will let you examine, talk to, use and kick objects. Kicking is not very typical in adventure games but it's handy for opening closed doors and the like.

The controls are very different in several arcade sequences. There is - of course - some bike riding. Unfortunately most other people on the road are not very friendly to Ben and he will need to use force to get them out of the way and/or get from them what he needs. I should point out that the arcade sequences are not quite pure arcade and do require some thinking. Hitting the mouse button like crazy won't get you far in this game - it is after all an adventure.

I should mention that even though there are very many dangerous situations Ben can get into, he will never die. He's amazingly tough really - if he loses a bike fight, he just gets up, starts his bike and goes on as if nothing had ever happened. Not even scratched or bruised. There are also several timed sequences, especially near the end. If Ben doesn't manage to do what he has to do in time, he'll "die" (usually in a big explosion) and the scene will start over.

The puzzle difficulty in Full Throttle is not very high. Considering that the game is relatively short and the puzzles relatively easy, I was able to complete Full Throttle in under five hours. I was taken by surprise a bit and slightly disappointed because I quite liked the game and I wished it was longer. Good thing I hadn't spent forty dollars on it. I probably spent most of my playing time on the arcade sequences as it took me some time to realize that they're more cleverly disguised puzzles than real action sequences.

It is incredible to realize that LucasArts released so many quality adventure games and Full Throttle is certainly one of them. The game has great atmosphere and style. Ben is a likable fellow and makes a good - if slightly atypical - adventure hero. Full Throttle may not be a "pure" adventure with its arcade elements and timed sequences but it is fun to play - and that's what really matters most. The age of this game shows a bit (especially in the graphics department) but even so, Full Throttle remains a game worth playing.

Final Grade: A-

System Requirements:

• 486/33 or equivalent
• 8 MB RAM
• 2X CD-ROM
• 1 MB HD Space
• Keyboard
• Sound Card