Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude

The Good
Like other MobyGames reviewers, and no doubt countless of other players, I jumped at Magna Cum Laude solely because I was thrilled to see what I thought was another Leisure Suit Larry sequel finally being released.

However, playing it, I discovered that Magna Cum Laude's good points are few and far between. The humor, while a vast letdown from the famous Larry style, is still enough to rise a smirk now and then. And, let's face it, there's nothing bad about naked women, no matter how they're drawn. Also, the concept is a tried and true great one - college dork sets out to get laid in a campus full of sexy sorority sluts. But as far as good points go, the buck stops right about there.

The Bad
When people ask me what Magna Cum Laude is, I simply tell them, "It's Leisure Suit Larry for the console generation!". That oversimplification doesn't justify how vastly this game doesn't deserve the Leisure Suit Larry brand for countless reasons, but it highlights what I believe to be this game's first and foremost failing: in place of witty dialog, thought-provoking puzzles, a fun and interesting storyline, and a bevy of colorful locations, Magna Cum Laude has.. well.. a lot of fast button pushing.

The "puzzles" or "quests" in this poor, sad game, consist of rapidly beating your keyboard (that's like a gamepad, but with more buttons, console kids!) in sync with a beat or rhythm, ala the Dance Dance Revolution series of games. That, with little to no exceptions, is what the ENTIRE game is comprised of.

Let me say this again another way for emphasis. Here are some examples of the challenges in Magna Cum Laude, and their solutions:-

Puzzle: Get a girl drunk so she will sleep with you. Solution: Push the arrow keys in rapid and repetitive sequence.

Puzzle: Jump on a trampoline to impress the athletic girl. Solution: Push the arrow keys in rapid and repetitive sequence.

Puzzle: Wow the ladies with your moves on the dance floor. Solution: Push the arrow keys in rapid and repetitive sequence.

I'm sure you get the drift. In a nutshell, leave your wits at home when you play Magna Cum Laude - all you'll need is your reflexes.

The Bottom Line
If you grew up with Leisure Suit Larry, if his antics over the years have amused and delighted you, if you've waited ten years for an eighth Larry sequel to continue the legacy... then do not ever play this game.

However, if you're one of the millions who make up Generation Z, if you love your console machines with all your heart, and the oldest game you can remember growing up with is Grand Theft Auto (Vice City, that is - not those old top-down ones the weird old folks play!), then Magna Cum Laude is perfect for you. You'll get to see boobies, AND do those phat fully sick combo moves that are all the shiznit these days.

Sigh.

The Good
The use of minigames breaks up the gameplay, giving some fast-paced action. The environments are well drawn and highly interactive, with a lot of secrets hidden all around. The secret token system for unlocking extras adds a bit more playtime.

The Bad
The minigames get very repetitive, especially near the game when you must accumulate money to move along the story. Since money, confidence, and drunkeness are all a factor, they eased up on the difficulty of the main quests. The game is almost too easy when compared to the older counterparts. There really aren't any puzzles in this one, you just follow where the game tells you to go, and play a few minigames to advance the story.

The Bottom Line
This game may be one to rent and play through, but it also may be a big disappointment to fans of older Sierra adventures who crave the puzzle-solving of Larrys past.

The Good
This is a fun 3D running and chasing game, full of mini-games that range from whack-a-mole types, to tapper-like games, to quarters against beautiful ladies, and the most original of all, the conversation game, where a little sperm chases green icons, and every time it misses, Larry says something really hilarious. Two things that are noticed immediately is the cartoony look of Larry and the sexy look of the girls, and the voice acting is just excellent, the jokes are really good and memorable.

The Bad
As said before, it is very repetitive mini-games, and THOSE loading screens! about 10 secs on the PC version, they are nice, but every time you change of scenario, you have to wait about 10 secs on a loading screen, and the difficulty gets very high as you advance, considering the little difference between games, it gets a little boring after a while, for that you have the option to 'wimp out' at the cost of some 'secret tokens'

The Bottom Line
This time it's not about Laffer, but about Lovage, Larry Lovage, the original swinger's nephew. Larry learns about a new show called 'Swingles' and decide to stop being a lousy loser and take a chance for himself scoring with various ladies. There are the typical college girls: the band geek, the cheerleader, the rock chick, the country chick, the slutty chick, etc, every one with her own set of mini games with hilarious consequences.