3 ms·

His criticisms of Full Throttle were completely unfair, this is a one game that doesn't have any flaws at all. Well, maybe it is too short, if you play it for t

His criticisms of Full Throttle were completely unfair, this is a one game that doesn't have any flaws at all. Well, maybe it is too short, if you play it for the second time. One such criticism is his bashing of the second arcade puzzle (the demolition derby) - he complained about the objective being "unclear". How can it be "unclear" after the player is given a briefing on what to do and is constantly bombarded by voice instructions during the whole event?!

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
It doesn't take much effort to find other dissenting opinions: "The problem is that Full Throttle is still a SCUMM adventure game, but layered with bizarre action sequences that have aged like a tuna sandwich someone left in the back of the fridge for two decades. A few motorcycle fights mid-game are awkward but bearable, but a late-game demolition derby sequence is just about as obnoxious and unplayable today as it was 20 years ago." [0] A guy I watch on twitch played Ocarina of Time for the first time a year or so ago. I love that game, having played it to death in my childhood. He hated it. I asked him why. He then proceeded to enumerate all of the ways he hated it: Navi's interruptions, time-wasting animations and transitions, and of course the entire water temple [2], to name a few. I had to tell him that yeah, every single one of his criticisms was entirely valid. I love the game anyway. Is it nostalgia? Maybe in part [2], but I think it's also possible that the things I really enjoy about it outweigh the things I dislike. Either way, it doesn't make his criticisms any less valid. It's possible Maher's criticisms aren't very fair, I don't know since I never played Full Throttle. But I will say that I highly doubt that's the case from having read his other work. [0] https://www.pcworld.com/article/3190569/full-throttle-remastered-review-a-new-coat-of-paint-doesnt-quite-hide-this-games-age.html https://www.pcworld.com/article/3190569/full-throttle-remast... [1] If you played OoT and don't know why people hate the water temple, it's because you played on the 3DS, where they made some changes to make it less confusing and tedious. [2] He also hated Outer Wilds, and once again I found no flaw with his criticism but love the game anyway.
dbalatero 5y ago
I'm a huge Lucasarts fan and I played FT for the first time last year. I found it to be the weakest adventure title and found his criticisms mirrored a lot of my experience. I found a lot of the puzzles and gameplay (particularly the action-y ones) not very fun as well. So, YMMV.
djur 5y ago
I grew up with Full Throttle and like it more than he does (mostly because I really enjoy its aesthetic and humor), but I didn't see a single criticism in his article that wasn't spot on.
WorldMaker 5y ago
In addition to the other comments in the thread, it is useful to point out that even the game's manual itself was critical of the action sequences, especially the demolition derby and went out of its way to point out the key sequence to just skip them. (As a player, while I've grown more tolerant of the motorbike action sequences than I was as a kid who didn't play much in the way of action games, I can't say if I've ever completed the demolition derby "properly". Just can't find the interest in me.) (Personally, I still think more games should have a "I'm bored with this action sequence / boss fight, please just skip it" button and hold up this aspect of Full Throttle as one of the best parts of its design, even if it was offered mostly as an apology that they didn't quite get what they wanted from the aging SCUMM engine in terms of action.)

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago

It doesn't take much effort to find other dissenting opinions: "The problem is that Full Throttle is still a SCUMM adventure game, but layered with bizarre action sequences that have aged like a tuna sandwich someone left in the back of the fridge for two decades. A few motorcycle fights mid-game are awkward but bearable, but a late-game demolition derby sequence is just about as obnoxious and unplayable today as it was 20 years ago." [0] A guy I watch on twitch played Ocarina of Time for the first time a year or so ago. I love that game, having played it to death in my childhood. He hated it. I asked him why. He then proceeded to enumerate all of the ways he hated it: Navi's interruptions, time-wasting animations and transitions, and of course the entire water temple [2], to name a few. I had to tell him that yeah, every single one of his criticisms was entirely valid. I love the game anyway. Is it nostalgia? Maybe in part [2], but I think it's also possible that the things I really enjoy about it outweigh the things I dislike. Either way, it doesn't make his criticisms any less valid. It's possible Maher's criticisms aren't very fair, I don't know since I never played Full Throttle. But I will say that I highly doubt that's the case from having read his other work. [0] https://www.pcworld.com/article/3190569/full-throttle-remastered-review-a-new-coat-of-paint-doesnt-quite-hide-this-games-age.html https://www.pcworld.com/article/3190569/full-throttle-remast... [1] If you played OoT and don't know why people hate the water temple, it's because you played on the 3DS, where they made some changes to make it less confusing and tedious. [2] He also hated Outer Wilds, and once again I found no flaw with his criticism but love the game anyway.

dbalatero 5y ago

I'm a huge Lucasarts fan and I played FT for the first time last year. I found it to be the weakest adventure title and found his criticisms mirrored a lot of my experience. I found a lot of the puzzles and gameplay (particularly the action-y ones) not very fun as well. So, YMMV.

djur 5y ago

I grew up with Full Throttle and like it more than he does (mostly because I really enjoy its aesthetic and humor), but I didn't see a single criticism in his article that wasn't spot on.

WorldMaker 5y ago

In addition to the other comments in the thread, it is useful to point out that even the game's manual itself was critical of the action sequences, especially the demolition derby and went out of its way to point out the key sequence to just skip them. (As a player, while I've grown more tolerant of the motorbike action sequences than I was as a kid who didn't play much in the way of action games, I can't say if I've ever completed the demolition derby "properly". Just can't find the interest in me.) (Personally, I still think more games should have a "I'm bored with this action sequence / boss fight, please just skip it" button and hold up this aspect of Full Throttle as one of the best parts of its design, even if it was offered mostly as an apology that they didn't quite get what they wanted from the aging SCUMM engine in terms of action.)