I'M NOT A BIG, BAD, BIKER, BUT I PLAY ONE IN THE COMPUTER
A Review of Full Throttle
by Alan Chen
If I had to use a single word to describe this product it would be cinematic. The runner-up for that word would be short. Allow me yet another word (that's three if you're counting) I'd say -- cinematic, very, short.
LucasArts has brought us an excellently laid out program that does an
exceptional job of looking and feeling like you're living in a movie. For those of you on the fence buying the game, it's really a trade-off between an quality adventure and the shortness of it all. Waiting for the price to drop is a good option for those of you with the patience.
However, if you're the type of person who dreams of putting on that leather bikers jacket and taking off down a highway in a puff of hot exhaust, this is the game for you. Plus, it's a lot cheaper than an actual Harley. From when the credits roll in along side Ben atop a Harley, (ahem) Corley Motors motorcycle, the music begins to rumble right with the throb of that hog.
I didn't know wether to get out the
popcorn and candy, or acquire a bike and leave this materialistic existence behind. You'll like it, I swear -- especially if you're a fan of the heavy metal biker soundtracks like this one by The Gone Jackals. (OK, I'll admit it, I don't know who they are either, but their music made me want to go out and get some major wind in my face).
Imagine if you will a long shot of a desert roadway, smack in the
middle of I-don't-wanna-to-break-down-here Nevada. (Nevada wasn't
specifically mentioned, I simply imagined it as such) Just a voice comes on, its Ben. His low, gravelly voice starts his tale of woe that begins this adventure. From that point on I was sucked into a world where bikers kicked butt, shot flames from chromed exhaust pipes, but weren't afraid to play with little fuzzy bunnies occasionally. (BTW -- don't worry about Ben being overly sensitive. It's not like they weren't stolen).
There are cinematic sequences strewn throughout the game, all fairly extended, all riveting. Throttle has many scenes where you're playing it tough and fully into the biker role, but that would get old if it were a constant, so the toughness is broken up.
Ben
takes himself very seriously. Fortunately, you don't have to..
Finally, for those of you who are Mark Hamill fans, he's a voice in the game. Try to guess who it is. I wasn't able to without looking through the credits in the manual, but then again I didn't even read the box carefully enough to find out Mark Hamill was in there until after the ending.
The action flows very naturally to an absolutely great ending . . .
which comes far too quickly -- a result of the game's wonderful ability to put you into the story, but also because it actually was far too short. After the heart pounding, brain twisting roller coaster ride, you'll want to stay to the very, very end of the after credits, there's a scene there you some of you with a slightly off kilter sense of humor like mine will appreciate.
PS.For those of you who are Akira fans, the bike that Ben, the leader, rides is very reminiscent of the bike that the clowns used in the animated movie. Checkout those tailpipes to see my point.
For those of you teetering on the edge of silicon obsolescence you
might want to think twice before purchase.
While the hardware requirements are not the most stringent out there, the Full Throttle experience requires a 486/33 machine with a 2X CD-ROM that's MPC2 compliant (i.e. some of the cheaper 2X CD-ROM drives might give you sound and picture skips) Finally, the kicker is that you're gonna need 8Meg of RAM. It's a good excuse to upgrade though.
Gamer's Zone Scorecard
| Product: |
Full Throttle |
| Company: |
LucasArts
|
| Cost: |
n/a |
System Requirements:
486/33 or better, CD-ROM Drive 2X, 8MB RAM,
Hard Drive, Sound Card, Mouse, VGA and Keyboard.
Breakdown:
Ease of Use 3
Replayability 2
Entertainment Value 4
Graphics 5
Sound 3
Overall Score:
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