Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude

"More Skin Than A Bag Of Porkgrinds"

What has happened in the world today? It seems it has taken a turn for the worst. With released like BMX XXX, The Guy Game, and the soon to be released Playboy Mansion game, sexuality is at an all time high. Has the women's liberation movement died out so quickly? Is the exploitation of women in this country a norm? Wait….what do I care…I'm a man. Show me the…..

YEOWCH….My wife just smacked the back of my head.

Leisure Suit Larry is about a guy who looks 40 years old in a 12 year old body. His quest you may ask, why it is to be popular and to score more times than Kobe Bryant on a Friday night….mmmm double puns. Larry starts out in his college dorm room with a little dream sequence, which I must say is absolutely hilarious. Who knew God was into Bling Bling? Not long after your dream of popularity you'll realize that Larry is just a big loser.

The first thing you'll notice about Larry and his little world is the graphics. They are very bright and cartoon like, which gives you the feeling of you're about to have a really good time. As for the character models, they are smooth and well done. Between the hair, facial expressions, and general movement of the characters they seem realistic even if they are cartoonish.

The absolute high point of this game is the dialogue. Not only are the voice actors very good at their job but also the script is an absolute gem. Larry is so corny you can't help but laughing. On the other hand the characters at his college are funny because they are so stereotypical. Most of the groups from punks to jocks are represented including the hacky sackers. There is one major issue I have with the dialogue. Most of the good stuff, I'd say 50-75% of it is done while you are doing a mini game and therefore are too distracted to really enjoy it.

The mini games…awww yes. I don't really know if you can consider them mini games as they basically are the game. Whenever you interact with a potential horizontal monkey dance partner you'll be forced to go through a series of games. Let's take for example are first encounter. First you'll need to talk to this little hayseed. While talking to her you must navigate a male zygote through a side-scrolling maze where you must pass through green icons while avoiding the red ones. Successfully doing this will earn you secret tokens and advance the “story.” Those secret tokens can be used later to unlock special pictures among other things. After the little conversation you'll need to mix her a drink to get her “in the mood.” You must now do a Simon Says like game where you have to press the button that is on the screen. Doing so successfully will mix a super drink and warm her up to your advances. Once again you'll get your tokens for completing the goals. Next she'll want to do some dancing, turn on the radio and you'll have to do another Simon Says mini game and do the things she calls out. Now, she'll want to go take a nap….good job dummy! You'll once again have to go through your little conversation mini game to talk her out of it. Did that? Well no you get to play quarters. You'll move the left analog stick back then forth to try to get the quarter in the glass, first to get drunk loses. Finally, after winning in that you'll get the BIG prize or not …women are such a tease I swear. As you can probably tell the game gets a little repetitive. Did I say a little, I meant A LOT. The humor of this game will barely keep you from slipping into a coma.

There is one last issue this game has. I don't know about you but I am beginning to hate a word in the English language. No, it's not restraining order, it's LOADING….. I hate that word, but it's VERY prevalent in this game. Between every mini game you'll have to LOAD… The only thing that keeps that unbearable is the real women that are nearly naked but even that can only keep you occupied for so long.

Overall, just like this review, the game play of Leisure Suit Larry is repetitive and stale the longer you go through it. This game is pretty funny but loses its sense of humor within an hour or renting. Little boys will have their hands full with this title while more mature men –Crickets Chirpping- if there are any out there will find this game lacking in most departments.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/04