I remember just about every moment of buying “Full Throttle” as a kid. Riding in my parents van on the way to the Toys ‘R’ Us, bringing the little paper slip to the counter, and trying to catch glimpses of the back of the box under the street lights on the way home. I wanted to play it so damn bad, and it lived up to my wildest expectations. It changed my brain chemistry.

My parents had previously purchased a selection of other LucasArts adventure games, which had their own impact on my psyche, but this was the first time I had learned about a game, saved up money, and purchased it on my own accord. It meant a lot to me at the moment, and I still think about it. Heck, I even did a wistful walk through of my local Toys ‘R’ Us right before it was killed just as brutally as Malcolm Corley was.

Thanks, Mitt Romney!

Clearly influenced by the near-future apocalyptic setting of “Mad Max,” this rough-and-tumble biker game gives us glimpses of high-tech gadgetry like hover cars and smart goggles, but only as contrast to the ramshackle world of scumbums, truckers, and trailers parks.

The rich and powerful (business assholes and cops) get to fly around in futuristic vehicles while we scrounge around for recycled parts to try to fix our broken hog. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was very much what we’re dealing with now. Your parents will simultaneously have a voice assistant control all of the lights in their home while struggling to pay medical bills.

The future sucks.

I was probably a bit too young to be playing it when it released, but the fact that it was slightly out of my comfort zone helped me find out what I really liked. A radio warbling about the apocalypse as Ben kicks down a trailer door really set the tone for me as a child — it spooked me just as much as it excited me. But even back then, I could see that dingy dive bars and abandoned mink farms were the perfect places to tell a story that felt much more accessible than “Day of the Tentacle” or even “The Fate of Atlantis.”

Sci-fi stories work best for me when I can see myself and the people I know in the world. “Full Throttle” isn’t cyberpunk, but it’s definitely in the same ballpark. Even as a child, I could see myself in the mundane small-town people Ben comes across. And the fact that it seemed so plausible let my brain keep churning on the weird cults and warring biker clans where a more abstract setting would never fascinate that.

Interested in giving this busted-ass motorcycle from the ’90s a test ride? Thankfully, you won’t have to eBay a CD copy of “Full Throttle” to give it a go. Double Fine remastered the game nearly a decade ago, and it’s playable in classic and HD form on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

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Image credit: “Full Throttle Remastered,” Double Fine