After establishing itself as a prime motivator in graphic adventure games, LucasArts is looking to break the barriers of the genre with Full Throttle. In their first major release which doesn't have a humorous twist, you play the character of Ben Throttle, a biker with a conscience. Ben's the leader of a gang called the Polecats, and he's in trouble. He's been framed for the murder of Malcolm Corley, the owner of Corley Motors - ironically, the last manufacturer of the motorcycles that are the basis for Ben's way of life. Since he didn't do it, he's now in the unenviable position of having to stay out of the hands of the authorities while gathering the evidence which will point to the real killer. However, once that's accomplished, Ben's task isn't complete. He's also got to save Corley Motors, or watch as he and his fellow bikers go the way of the dinosaurs. All in all, he's probably had better weeks.

	With this game, the developers have tried to create a truly cinematic experience. They use multiple camera angles to better show off the action, the way a movie would. When Ben climbs a ladder, you aren't forced to sit and look at his back - the camera changes to a downward view. You're right in his face, watching him wince with the exertion of the climb.

	Full Throttle is primarily a side-view 2D adventure, in much the same style as Day of the Tentacle and Sam and Max, also from LucasArts. However, the designers have used 3D-rendering techniques to produce the images of the many vehicles found in the game. Along with the aforementioned camera-angle changes, this gives Full Throttle a unique look and feel. Also contributing to this dark and gritty atmosphere are the palette - the artwork has been drawn in shades of grey, black and brown - and the ominous setting. In this game's future, social and economic decay have contributed to the end of law and order as we know it. Instead, rival motorcycle gangs rule the highways -some benevolent, and others anything BUT benevolent.

	Gameplay features a mix of traditional adventure puzzle-solving - in other words, finding and using inventory items to solve specific problems - and action. Different types of action sequences include first-person motorcycling trips, motorcycle gang battles, and a climactic showdown between the Polecats and their archrivals - the Vultures.

	Controlling Ben is simple. With each new release from LucasArts, their traditional adventure interface has been stripped of excess clutter, leaving Full Throttle with a sort of RISC version of their classic SCUMM interface. It is entirely icon-driven, and not even the equivalent of the simple cardboard box icon from Sam and Max obscures the graphic beauty of the game's screens. A few simple mouseclicks are all that are necessary to move Ben around the screen, access his inventory, and perform the basic actions found in most adventure games (look, open, take and use).

	Full Throttle is currently planned for CD-ROM release only. The game features extensive cut scenes and digitized speech for all the characters. It should be available at the end of this year or early in 1995.