A sequel to a cult adventure game that never got made. Publisher had a reason to cancel Full Throttle: Hell on Wheels

In April 2002, point & click adventure games had long since passed their peak of popularity. Nevertheless, many franchises that once triumphed in this genre could still be found in publishers' catalogs.

Various companies tried in different ways to adapt them to new times and new player preferences. One of such attempts was supposed to be Full Throttle: Hell on Wheels. Attempts were ultimately unsuccessful, but were they certainly doomed to fail from the start? Let's delve into this case and try to answer this question.

Hell of changes

Full Throttle was a classic adventure game, in which the gameplay was based on conducting conversations and solving puzzles. However, even in the title, LucasArts was experimenting with action elements, such as the need to engage in duels on the road.

However, these arcade elements were only to come into play at full speed in the second installment of the series. Full Throttle: Hell on Wheels was announced as an action-adventure game, in which some puzzles were supposed to appear, but from the information revealed by the developers, it was clear that this time they intend to focus on fast and spectacular action.

Full Throttle: Hell on Wheels. Source: LucasArts / Unseen64.

Old world and old friends

The creators once again took us to the world of the future created for the needs of the first installment of the series. Classic vehicles were replaced by anti-gravity machines, and justice was more about the law of the jungle than traffic rules.

The main character of the game was supposed to be Ben, a motorcyclist well-known to the brand's fans, loyal to tradition, and leading a gang of similar adventurers, known as Polecats. This time, the main protagonist and his crew were supposed to find the culprits of a terrible crime. Someone destroyed the main and side roads in the territory of El Nada. While at first it appeared that his rivals from the Hound Dogs gang were responsible for the chaos, it was eventually revealed that the entire plot was on a much grander scale, and the devastation of routes in El Nada was merely a part of a big conspiracy.

Apart from Ben, other old friends would return, such as his mentor, Father Torque, as well as Maureen Corley, the heiress of Corley Motorcycle Company. Altogether, during the adventure, we would meet "over 50 characters" and have lots of "funny" conversations with them.

First strength, then reason

Ben would travel the world not only on his Corley motorcycle but also on Mo's machine, and on an airship. The adventure would lead us through various locations. The devs promised that there would be "over 35" levels in "20 unique environments," including truck parking, an oil refinery, a junkyard, and an airplane graveyard. Also, among the places waiting to be visited, there would be a cool motorcycle bar called Kickstand.

As I mentioned earlier, although puzzles were supposed to appear in the game (in an unspecified form), the main focus would be on fighting enemies. We would kick some butt on the battlefield (especially with Ben's steel-toed boots - those would definitely hurt), punch some enemies, and use melee weapons. The protagonist was also supposed to use elements of the environment in the fight, so in addition to guitars, bottles, or chains, he would hit enemies in the face using chairs, among other things. The role of health elixirs would in turn be taken up by... beer.

Full Throttle: Hell on Wheels. Source: LucasArts / Unseen64.

Development and cancellation

In a press release published in May 2002, LucasArts assured that Full Throttle: Hell on Wheels was coming to PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The game was supposed to be released "in the winter of 2003." At first, everything seemed to be going according to plan with the production process. As reported by Sean Clark, the director and designer of the game:

So the core of the game was ready, and all that was left for the devs was to fill it with content. So what went wrong? Officially, we don't know. In August 2003, it was announced that the game had been canceled. As stated by Simon Jeffery, the head of LucasArts:

Between the lines, it was clear that Full Throttle: Hell on Wheels didn't meet LucasArts' quality standards. Additionally, it was unofficially said that the publisher wasn't satisfied with the quality of the graphic design, which deviated from the genre standards, and also the fact that without Tim Schafer, the new Full Throttle was not the same anymore. Without a doubt, the death of Roy Conrad, the actor who voiced Ben in the first installment of the series, also had an impact on the fate of the project being described.

What happened next?

It's just a pity that, out of concern for the fans, the publisher almost completely buried the franchise, which no one returned to for many years. It wasn't until 2017 that Double Fine Productions got the chance to remaster the first game in the series. They did a great job and gave us Full Throttle Remastered.

Full Throttle Remastered. Source: Double Fine Productions.

Full Throttle: Hell On Wheels

cancelled

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• Overview

• adventure games
• LucasArts / Lucasfilm Games
• cancelled games
• Necro Gaming