Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards

The Good
Playing the first Leisure Suit Larry alongside this one, I found that the original was so much better. The wacky graphics slowed down action and gameplay. For instance your own character on screen gets in the way when you want to click on the bar stool, etc. How bizarre that it was faster to type in commands in the old version than in the newer point & click. The casino room was particularly slow. Perhaps the system might have been considered a little less harshly when it was released, though it is lacking even for 1991. The blackjack game was nicer though essentially the same, just a bit tidied up.. but it was a great loss that the blackjack table animation had been kicked and it looked instead like a slot machine. The one saving grace is the music which is very very nice in comparison with the bleeps of the Eighties.

The Bad
On playing, I expected it to be preferable to the original 1987 version but I was totally wrong. The worst thing was the inaccuracy of the mouse pointer: when changed, for instance, to a glove to use objects, it often missed the spot you would expect to hit. And the glove didn't look like a glove. Other inventory images, e.g. the wine, did not look like what they were meant to be. The controls were irritating at times.. The cursor responded to my earlier movements at one point as I try to obtain an object - the drunk says "oh, well if you don't want it..." and the object is obliterated. What can I say except to play the original, it is so much better in terms of control. This lacks the mature humour of its predecessor, which is odd for something which was essentially a replication. In the older version there is an awesome death sequence which is really rather humorous and turns the tables on the "instant death" which adventurers at this time would complain about. In this new version it is painful to watch through this slow sequence and it destroys the joke. What was really insulting was the remarks of the programmers that thought they were witty by criticising your current score in the game.

The Bottom Line
As a stand-alone game it is good, but play the original and you will have a far more enjoyable experience. This surprised me as I played them both for the first time side-by-side and yet the older version had more character and better playability.

The Good
After Sierra was done releasing one or more of their major “Quest” titles, they thought of remaking the original games using their newer SCI engine, which provides support for VGA graphics and Sound Blaster. The result is the same quality as Leisure Suit Larry 5.

If you haven't had the chance to play the original Leisure Suit Larry from 1987, here's the lowdown. In the game, you play as Larry Laffer, a 40-year-old man who is yet to lose his virginity. He vows to spend one night in Lost Wages, trying to score with three different women. The game was designed by Al Lowe, who wanted to make an adult-only game based on Softporn Adventure, the only text adventure released by Sierra.

As such, the player is asked six questions only an American adult would know, with the six question relating to the brochures that come with the game. Even if they enter the three-key cheat that allows them to bypass the majority of the questions, the player is still asked the “copy protection” question. Whatever sex scenes are present, there is a “Censored” sign covering the characters, and I think this is another safety barrier in case children lie about the age and discover the cheat keys.

The typing interface has been replaced by a point-and-click interface, which can be accessed by a colorful icon bar at the top of the screen. As well as the look, talk, pick up, and walk icons, you now have a zipper and taste icons. These icons have a special purpose, and I enjoyed clicking both on different things and laugh at the amusing messages. There are brilliant hand-drawn graphics, and the animations are top-notch as well.

LSL1 provides a fair dose of humor. I stood outside Lefty's Bar long enough to let a poodle take a whiz on my foot. Likewise, the flasher at the wedding chapel is actually two midgets standing on top of each other. The highlight, however, is getting reconstructed after getting attacked by a thug in the alley, where everything is done inside a blender rather than at Sierra's headquarters (which is a bit of a shame, because the original's was better).

The soundtrack is excellent, and it blends in with what you are doing most of the time. My favorite piece of music comes when you are traveling inside the taxi, as well as when you are looking inside the convenience store. If you like the music in this game, you can play most of them by using the jukebox inside Lefty's, but at a price. The sound effects are right up there with those from Leisure Suit Larry 5. You don't get the bodily function sounds when you press the function keys, but who cares?

The Bad
Catching a taxi between locations is quite expensive, and unless you are prepared to win at least $1000 at the casino, you will find yourself running out of money real fast. Also, the game can be quite short, especially if you know how to pick up women in real life.

The Bottom Line
This is a great Sierra remake that takes Larry Laffer in the Nineties, complete with stunning graphics and sound. However, the problem that exist in the original version are still present here. If you brought a PC in the Nineties, chances are that you already played this version. But if you happen to own one of the compilation packs, you will get the best of both worlds. Play both of them, and decide which one you like best.

The Good
Larry's animations are so cute - especially when he dances! Even when so many women hurt him, he doesn't become sad, continues to laugh. He also looks very funny. He has a huge head and a big nose, but he is very short.

There are many ways to die in the game. Those ways are also very funny. There is always a feeling of surprise. Sometimes I wanted to die on purpose just to see the funny animation or message. And after Larry dies it's so weird and funny to see how he gets a new body. And it's funny he has bad breath and always has to use the breath spray.

The graphics are so good, compared to the original version, only four years passed, and the progress is amazing!

There are some women in the game, large, beautiful portraits - they all have different expressions, very sexy!

The music fits the game very well. It's also funny in its own way.

The Bad
You can't really see how they make love!..

...Okay, just a joke.

There is actually no really good story in the game. Just a series of funny things. That's it.

The Bottom Line
Very funny, quite sweet, not too complicated. This is my first adventure game, recommended by my man!