Full Throttle 2 archived preview

Note: production on Full Throttle 2 was stopped on August 7, 2003.

Since LucasArts announced Full Throttle 2 in May 2002, the company has given little information on the game, and only a handful of screenshots have been released. More details are expected at the next E3 games show, but since there is always a high level of interest in LucasArts games, we're presenting a round-up of what we do know so far.

Full Throttle 2 is, obviously, the sequel to the classic 1995 LucasArts biker adventure. Much like the previous game, Full Throttle 2 will contain various action sequences. This time perhaps even moreso, it is speculated, as the 3D engine allows for more types of gameplay. Full Throttle 2 promises to offer "a humorous original story, furious bare-knuckle fighting, and the thrill of high-speed biking".

Leading the development effort is Sean Clark, who is taking over the torch from Tim Schafer. Sean Clark is one of LucasArts' foremost designers, having been involved in the design of The Dig, Sam & Max Hit the Road and Escape From Monkey Island. A couple of months ago, PC Gamer conducted a brief interview with him. When asked about the game's genre orientation, he said "FT2 is an adventure game at its core but we're using action elements as a means to create more immersion. [...] The first game tried to address this desire, but was limited by the technology available at the time. If that leads people to call the newer game a hybrid, or bemoan that it isn't a 'pure adventure,' so be it. Regardless of how you classify it, FT2 will be fun and unique."

Sean also had a couple more details to share on the story: "Ben, the leader of a biker gang, gets himself entangled in a greedy plan to destroy a town and, more importantly to Ben, all the roads. In the process of preserving this dingy corner of the world he meets, greets, and beats up a menagerie of tough and gritty characters, and goes toe-to-toe with a variety of other gangs. Oh yeah, and he gets to blow up a lot of stuff, too." If this short blurb can tell us anything, it's that the story is likely to be a slight departure from the original. Where the original saw Ben framed for murdering in a plot to take over Corley Motors, it appears that Ben will now have to deal with some kind of ... err ... road destroying ... guy? Suffice to say, it will be interesting to see where the story of Full Throttle 2 will take us.

Full Throttle 2 has some of the same graphic artists who worked on Escape From Monkey Island, and as such the characters have gotten a bit more comical than the original. Although the gloomy atmosphere of the original has been carried over to Full Throttle 2, the graphics appear to capitalize more on the humor of the game. To see the game in motion, you can download this shakycam recording, or check out the game trailer mix at LucasArts' website.

In his profile for LucasArts' 20th Anniversary celebrations, Sean Clark gives a little progress update, describing a test environment they've just completed. "At this point, we've got a complete design, a fairly complete game level, and we can run Ben around, pick fights, and engage other characters in discussions about such pressing topics as "I need a beer," and "Where's the bathroom?" The next several months of development will mostly revolve around content creation, feature implementation, and dialog writing."

We'll have more on Full Throttle 2 as information becomes available.