Summary
An essentially disappointing entry in the Larry adventure franchise.
The Good
Larry 5 represents a new angle for the Larry games. While the previous three featured your standard Sierra adventure art and design (characters that looked as real as a jumble of 16-color pixels could), Larry 5 eschewed realism for a cartoony, lighthearted feel. This new breed of aesthetics definitely works in the context of the game world-unlike in previous Larry adventures, nothing is ever REALLY meant to be taken at all seriously. This, coupled with Al Lowe's typically engaging sense of humor and flair for puns, makes Larry 5 at least an entertaining ride.
The Bad
When played back to back with Larry 3 (the precursor in the series), it's easy to see Larry 5's main weaknesses. As the first Larry game to abandon the parser interface in favor of the mouse-driven icon interface, a great deal of interactivity just seems to be lost. This can probably be best attributed to the programmers' inexperience rather than to any inherent flaws in the interface itself. And, as other reviewers have noted, Larry 5 is pretty easy and shouldn't take too long to breeze through. Finally, the ending is quite a letdown (a continual problem with Larry games, it seems).
The Bottom Line
It's everything you know about Larry, plus icons and a new look. But really, don't start here if you're a Larry virgin-you'd best play the first three games to truly experience the genius of Leisure Suit Larry.
