There's No Better Video Game Protagonist Than Ben From Full Throttle
The archetypal adventure game protagonist is someone goofy and unassuming who accidentally stumbles into danger, then has to rely on their wits to get out of it. Characters like Broken Sword's George Stobbart, Monkey Island's Guybrush Threepwood, and Day of the Tentacle's Bernard Bernoulli find themselves in potentially life-threatening situations they are not equipped for. But, against the odds, their ingenuity and creativity helps them through it.
Ben from classic LucasArts adventure Full Throttle is not one of these characters. This is not so much a point-and-click adventure as a point-and-kick adventure. Where nerdy, endearing bookworm Bernard would solve a problem by cleverly combining a series of unlikely items in his inventory, burly, badass biker Ben would rather just hurt it. Full Throttle is a game where more than one puzzle is solved by simply kicking it really hard with his boot.
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The game makes its intent clear from the very beginning. Presented with a locked door, seasoned adventure game players will start dreaming up elaborate ways to unlock it, scouring the area for puzzle-solving items. But the solution, refreshingly, is simply violently booting it off its hinges. "I, uh, fixed your door," he tells the stunned barman inside, in the wonderfully deep, gravel-soaked monotone of late actor Roy Conrad. "It was sticking."
The lesson here is: never lock Ben out of a room, because he will find a way in. But the beauty of Full Throttle is that its easy riding, leather-clad hero isn't just a thug. He's smart, good natured, and, when he has to be, sensitive. Beneath the hard exterior and the asphalt-scuffed leathers, he's all heart.
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