Full Throttle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Full Throttle | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | LucasArts |
| Publisher(s) | LucasArts |
| Designer(s) | Tim Schafer |
| Engine | SCUMM v7, INSANE |
| Release date(s) | May 1995 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (13+) RSAC: V2: Humans killed L2: Expletives |
| Platform(s) | DOS, Mac OS, Windows |
| Media | CD-ROM (1) |
| System requirements | 486DX/33 MHz CPU, 8 MB RAM, 1 MB Hard disk space, 256 colour VGA, DOS 5.0 |
Full Throttle is a graphical adventure game, originally developed in-house and released in May 1995 by LucasArts. It is the tenth game to use the SCUMM adventure game engine.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The story focuses on Ben, the leader of a biker gang called the Polecats. It seems to take place in an semi-apocalyptic dark future not too far removed from that of the first Mad Max film or that of the table top game Car Wars. It begins with Ben and his gang riding down Highway 9, when they come across an expensive white hover limousine. Ben, in the lead, unceremoniously drives over the limousine, crushing the hood ornament. This excites the occupents, and they later catch up with the gang to find out who they are. Ben and his gang relax at the Kick Stand bar where he is approached by Malcolm Corley, the CEO and founder of the last domestic motorcycle manufacturer in the country, Corley Motors. Minutes later, all are laughing about Malcom's past adventures when he himself was a biker. Before long, Corley's sinister vice president Adrian Ripburger enters the bar and conveys his wish to speak to Ben in Private. He makes Ben an offer to have the Polecats make an appearance at the upcoming annual Corley Motors shareholder's meeting. When Ben declines the offer to work with the company, he is knocked out and thrown in a dumpster by Nestor and Bolus, malicious flunkies of Adrian Ripburger, who seems to have designs on taking over the company. He attempts to link up with the Polecats, whom Ripburger has coerced into escorting Corley and himself to the shareholder's meeting. Along the way, he meets a female mechanic named Maureen (or Mo for short), who later is revealed to be Corley's daughter.
Ben finds his gang in time to witness Ripburger murder Corley and pin the murder on the Polecats. As a fugitive, he is forced to cross the desert to find a way to clear his name, save his gang, and prevent Ripburger from turning Corley Motors into a minivan producer. He crosses paths with a number of other motorcycle gangs: the speed-addicted Vultures (of whom Mo used to be a member), the brutal Rottwheelers and the enigmatic Cavefish. He arrives at the shareholders meeting in time to catch Ripburger announcing his new control of and plan for the company. He and Mo expose Ripburger as the murderer, and broadcast the last will and testament of Malcolm Corley, who names Mo as the rightful successor to his company. Ben is able to free his gang, and the game ends with Ben riding off into the sunset, leaving Mo. The game was admired for its polished look and involving storyline; its only major criticism was that it was of insufficient length.
[edit] Technical information
Full Throttle was released only on CD-ROM, featuring a full voiceover soundtrack. The project was led by Day of the Tentacle creator Tim Schafer, who was also its writer and designer. Weak points of the game included its linearity and short duration, elements that brought the game in comparison to LOOM. It was also one of the few LucasArts games to use externally recorded music, courtesy of the Gone Jackals. Certain tracks from their then current album, Bone to Pick, were featured in the game. The track that supported the game's introduction was a shortened version of "Legacy", the album's second track.
[edit] Interface
The game introduced a new verb coin system interface: holding the left mouse button over a recognisable item would bring up a graphic menu rendered as a flaming skull (similar to a tattoo design, as would befit a biker), with icons featuring a fist ("use" or "hit"), eyes ("examine"), tongue ("speak" or "taste") and boot ("kick"). After the menu appears, the player then selects one of these icons for the desired effect. The inventory (a horizontally stretched skull with a wide mouth containing the items) was invoked by right-clicking anywhere on the screen. This interface was later reused (for second and last time) in The Curse of Monkey Island.
It also contains a portion where the player is required to drive down canyon roads, combating enemy bikers. The fighting is done using fists and kicks, and later chains, planks, and other crude weapons. This portion is done using the INSANE engine. Its use in Full Throttle caused some problems since INSANE was intended for photorealism, in contrast to the game's cartoony style. The rendered environment had to be scaled down to match to the rest of the game world.[citation needed]
[edit] Cast
Full Throttle employed several skilled voice acting professionals, such as Roy Conrad, Kath Soucie, Maurice LaMarche, Tress MacNeille, Hamilton Camp, Steven Jay Blum and Mark Hamill. Full Throttle was the first computer game to employ mostly SAG-registered professional voice actors instead of relying entirely on in-house talent, and also featured a few pieces of licensed music. The Gone Jackals provided some of these pieces.
[edit] Sequel
Two attempts have been made by LucasArts to make a sequel to Full Throttle. The first attempt, entitled Full Throttle II: Payback, both began and ceased development prior to 2000.[1] In 2003 however, development on the second attempt Full Throttle II: Hell on Wheels began. Sean Clark's Hell on Wheels made it much further through development than Payback. A video teaser was released and an interactive demo was shown at E3 that year, but shortly afterwards this game was also cancelled.
[edit] Trivia
- Ben's entire name is Ben Throttle, but didn't appear as such anywhere in the game due to fears of legal action being taken from the Biker Mice from Mars animated television series, which features a character by the name of Throttle.[2]
- To obtain the sound of Ben's motorcycle, the sound designers recorded an engine revving and spliced in a lion's roar.
- In the demolition derby sequence, one of the drivers bears a significant resemblance to George Lucas, the founder of Lucasarts.
- Various posters of Max the psychotic bunny from Sam & Max can be seen throughout the game.
- The game setting drew some inspiration from Mad Max, where outlaw biker gangs rule the highway in an aftermath of a semi-apocalyptic world.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Tiller, Bill. Interview with Ellesar; Fallen_Angel, qrious. Adventure Advocate. 2006-07-04. (Transcript). Retrieved on 2006-07-06.
- ^ Schafer, Tim. Trivia. Kickstand. Retrieved on 2006-12-25. “Okay, here's the first thing I have to clear up: His name is Ben Throttle. We just couldn't say that in the game because we were scared the people who made Biker Mice from Mars would sue us because their rat biker guy was called Throttle. But now Biker Mice from Mars is dead! So let it be known, Ben does have a last name.”
[edit] External links
- Full Throttle at MobyGames
- Full Throttle at the Internet Movie Database
- The Kickstand fansite at The International House of Mojo
- ScummVM, a program to play Full Throttle and other SCUMM adventures on modern computers.
- The Gneech's Full Throttle page
- Lucasarts' Full Throttle: The Movie (Edited by VMGD)
