There are few reasons to review Full Throttle as far as the actual game goes. Odds are any reader of this site already have played it, literally decades ago, and have made their minds up about it. Maybe you loved the story, but detested the action sequences. Perhaps you found the setting fascinating, but the puzzle ho-hum.
Hey, I guess I just reviewed the game right there. Those are my main feelings about the game, and this polished remaster does little to change that.
As per usual with Double Fine’s take on classic Schafer games, this is not a remake, but rather a polished up version of the original. I’m very much in agreement with them about going that direction. You get a different take on a classic game, but it’s still the same game.
It’s fascinating how the higher resolution graphics change the look of it, much more so than Day of the Tentacle and Grim Fandango. A lot of the grittiness is lost, and instead we get a 90s MTV cartoon feel. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, particularly seeing we almost had a Full Throttle animated show back when MTV was the Adult Swim (or whatever the kids watch these days) of its time. Switch back to the original graphics if you want the original look.
There were things I had forgotten about the game. It has been about 15 years since I played the original, after all.
The music truly is top notch, be it The Gone Jackals’s rocking Bone to Pick, or Peter McConnell’s soundtrack, which is a whole lot more Grim Fandango than I remember. The animation, 90s limitations aside, are great. Who doesn’t love Ben’s running style?
As far as dialogue and humor—Full Throttle is not a comedy game, obviously, but it is funny—goes, everything is more Monkey Island than Day of the Tentacle. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it. Both games are dark, but funny, with fully fledged worlds, begging to be explored. Knowing—canceled sequels aside—Schafer wanted to take a sequel and explore more of the world and its mythology, it’s certainly easy to get your mind wandering about the greater Full Throttle universe, and that makes playing this a whole lot more interesting.
And yes, I’m getting more into the classic review mode here, which speaks a good deal about the game, and how successful the story and universe are. That doesn’t mean the puzzles or action sequences are particularly amazing. Both are frustrating and meh; perhaps a result of technology not being up to par with the developers’s ambitions.
Getting to play the game again on modern platforms is great, though. It’s a fun, badass game, and I’m ready to give it a second whirl. Commentary? It always spices things up, just like the previous Double Fine remasters.
Does any of this matter? You’ve already bought the damn thing, but in case you haven’t, a cleaned up version of Full Throttle is certainly worth your time.
A review by Remi, because Zaarin didn’t stick to his promise of doing this. ¬¬