Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude

The Good
I was so pleased when I first heard that Larry Laffer would be back. One of my favorite hero from the cherished 2D adventure games era to hit the shelves again ? I WANT IT ! I was even ready to accept that the main character was Larry's nephew and not THE Laffer himself. When I did play this game, the first feelings were positive : the campus background was a nice setting to exploit and was filled with promises of hilarious sex jokes, the vocabulary used was clearly adult-oriented, and the nostalgia-effect was working at full throttle. But... because there's a but (no pun intended) (really?)...

The Bad
...but Al Lowe, the creator of Larry Laffer, wasn't involved at all in this game. And instead of hiring great writers to come up with clever jokes, High Voltage Software/Vivendi tried to mimic the humor of the series without getting even close to it. It's crude, weighty, but not funny. And the gameplay is miles away from any enjoyable entertainment. It's basically a collection of painfully repetitive mini-games, where you have to press a pattern of buttons correctly, like in a musical game : it gets frustrating when you fail a hundred times just because you mixed up the A and B buttons. I'd rather not imagine how it turned out on PC without a gamepad. A gamepad... for a Leisure Suit Larry game... sigh. The dialogues, which were the very essence of Larry's games, are just displeasing sequences where you're supposed to guide a spermatozoon through a path filled with obstacles. Thrilling. The girls, who used to be, during the 2D era, beautifully drawn and gorgeous women, now looks like cartoon inflatable dolls. Not even a turn on. And the loading screens... If you still wanted to give this game a chance, despite the lousy gameplay and so-so jokes, the loading screens will definitely turn you off. Alright, the babes pictured next to the "Please Wait..." are (quite) hot, but when you see them for 10 or 30 seconds each time you open a door, it's just pure boredom.

The Bottom Line
It would be unfair to burn the game : it has its good moments, and it'll make you giggle from time to time. However, the spirit of Leisure Suit Larry is completely missing, and the repetitive gameplay will make you regret your 60 bucks. Get the complete LSL collection instead : it's cheaper, and way better.

For those who are interested in Al Lowe's view about Magna Cum Laude, check this out : http://www.allowe.com/Larry/MCL.htm