Throw away those leathers and gauntlets and that crash helmet. They're obsolete. Throw away your Honda 1000 as well. Because now that Full Throttle's arrived, you can race on the world's top motor-cycle circuits using only a humble little Spectrum.
Graphics, animation, scrolling, and 3D effect are all superb. The combination provides a game which give you a real taste of high-speed bike racing with, of course, none of the nasty physical dangers.
One danger you do run, though, is frustration; it will take a considerable
number of laps before you master the elementary techniques of riding, and
even longer before you can overtake many of the 40 bikes in the race.
The program give you a choice of ten race-tracks. Each one has its own perils ranging from the hairpin bends of the Nurburgring in Germany to the temptingly long straights of France's Paul Ricard circuit.
Your rider is a vivid yellow while all the others are in green. Control, with either keys or joystick, is simple - left, right, accelerate and brake. As you roar away from the start and lean into the first bend you will admire the excellent feel of your machine. Then you'll go off the track. Eventually, after a few practice laps, you'll learn the character of the circuit and know which bends to take slowly and which at full speed.
Racing is a real challenge - hit the other riders and you drop back many
places. Weaving through is nail-biting.
Anybody who played this game's predecessor, 3D Deathchase, will have
high hopes of Full Throttle's accuracy as a simulation. They won't be disappointed.