Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude

"Kid Takes After His Old Uncle!"

Finally, a game for every pathetic loser who couldn't get some no matter how easy the girls on their campuses are. Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude has you take the role of the nephew of one of the most well-known characters from the point & click era, Larry Laffer. You control Larry Lovage, a college attendee with one thing on his mind, (and it ain't studying). The problem for Larry is that he takes after his Uncle in every way, so getting to the ladies is one obstacle that's tough to get over.

For those of you too young to remember the old Larry games, they followed the original Larry on his quest for T&A. True to the series, you'll be doing a whole lot of the same here, only it's a free roam adventure title this time. When a reality dating show called Swingles comes to Larry's college, where the winner gets a "roll in the hay" with the lady of choice, he decides to follow in his Uncle's footsteps and do what and red-blooded male would have done, try to get on the show. The only way to become a contestant on Swingles is to prove Larry has what it takes when it comes to the ladies.

Most of this game consists of you having conversations with members of the opposite sex, finding money and tokens to buy new threads and objects, and the odd mini game. If that doesn't sound appealing to hardcore gamers, you should check yourself at the door. When you find one of the many ladies Larry will meet throughout his adventure, strike up a conversation. These consist of you guiding a certain reproductive seed at the bottom of the screen through a maze of icons that discern what Larry will say next. The object is to get the smiley faces, while avoiding the other various facial expressions, and hazards such as beer, (which makes it hard to control) among other things. The more you pass the conversation, the more the heart meter fills up. By the end of the conversation, if you have enough of the heart filled in, you win! What's so unique about this is how there is so much spoken dialogue and so many different things Larry can say. While smileys will keep Larry on track, other expressions will have him say something only a Jackass would say in the same situation. The humor is some of the best you'll find in any game, and the language is extremely coarse, even for a Larry game.

The game was released with two different versions, the standard version, and the uncut version for the PC. The reason behind this is because in the original version, the nudity and sexual scenes are censored. The only thing you'll see is breasts unless you shell out for the uncut version (which must be bought directly from the company). For those who decide to get the console version, there really isn't anything you'll be disappointed with as far as nudity goes. As I said before, the language is extremely strong, San Andreas strong. Trust me, the graphics may look like a 3D Bugs Bunny cartoon, but this ain't for the kiddies.

The voiceovers are excellent. Even just walking around the campus you'll hear people talking about the college football events, Swingles, and even how they beat Larry up. The conversations stay fresh as you find more and more to laugh about later in the game. Magna Cum Laude isn't incredibly long, but it's worth trying out. The more tokens and things you collect will give extra incentive to unlock all of the hidden features like "dirty mode" (girls just wear their underwear) and "nude mode" (girls are totally nude accept for the pubic area in the censored version). I enjoyed the fact that they finally made an adult game that revolves around such an adult premise, but doesn't overload the player by making it the only goal you have to achieve. The mini games are there too, but they are mostly the same type of game where you either have to push the corresponding buttons at the right time, jumping on trampolines, or something lame like throwing newspapers to get the word out of animal mistreatment for one of the girls.

If you're looking for an adult game with tasteful nudity, (tasteless = BMX XXX) hilarious voiceovers, and lots of double entendres, give Larry a chance. It pays homage to the days of old quite nicely. If you're looking for lots of gameplay and action, this isn't for you. I still recommend this game, just try to have a sense of humor, please!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/18/08

Game Release: Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude (US, 10/05/04)