Where are those good ‘ol graphic adventure games these days? You know, the ironic thing is that the most memorable bits weren’t actually the graphics, it was the soundtrack: you spent so much time trying to find the crowbar that opened the latch that released the pigeon that distracted the pirate, that you could remember every single MIDI note that was playing in the background. Maybe one of these days I’ll compile a list of game tunes - but for now, here’s a quick countdown of my top 10 fa
7 Sins Filed under: PS2 Game Reviews Tagged as: adult, Leisure Suit Larry, Monte Cristo, sex, simulation by Dan Thompson On paper, 7 Sins sounds amusing, not breathtaking or ‘legendary’, but at least playable. A life simulation game that uses a winning formula of ’sim’ style Gameplay that adds a touch of rude humour and tantalising yet addictive mini games was all the PS2 needed in its long and exhausting life, right? Despite the appeal,…
Where are those good ‘ol graphic adventure games these days? You know, the ironic thing is that the most memorable bits weren’t actually the graphics, it was the soundtrack: you spent so much time trying to find the crowbar that opened the latch that released the pigeon that distracted the pirate, that you could remember every single MIDI note that was playing in the background. Maybe one of these days I’ll compile a list of game tunes - but for now, here’s my personal list of top 10 favour
Police Quest Collection List Price: $19.99 Publisher: VIVENDI JEUX PC Salesrank: 3150 Released: 2006-09-15 Our Price: $14.99 Platform: Windows XP Availibility: Costumer Rating: Features: Police Quest 1 - In Pursuit of the Death Angel Police Quest 2 - The Vengeance Police Quest 3 - The Kindred Police Quest 4 - Open Season Customer Reviews: Police Quest My son loves this game. He has been playing it everyday so that means he really likes it. Great Ga
Leisure Suit Larry Collection List Price: $19.99 Publisher: VIVENDI JEUX PC Salesrank: 2748 Released: 2006-09-15 Our Price: Platform: Windows XP Availibility: Costumer Rating: Features: Special Edition Collector’s Tin EXTREMELY Rare Artbox w/ 10 color markers, 4 crazy crayons, mini watercolor set Wild stamp pad Wacky neon eraser Customer Reviews: It’s the Original These are the original games complete with the lowest possible resolution and frequen
Leisure Suit Larry is the title character of a series of adult adventure games written by Al Lowe and published by Sierra On-Line from the 1980s to the present. The character, whose full name is Larry Laffer, is a balding, dorky, double entendre-speaking, leisure suit-wearing (but still somewhat lovable) "loser" in his 40s who spends much of his life trying (usually unsuccessfully) to seduce attractive women.
Overview
Originally stemmed from ideas of Sierra's first adventure game Softporn Adventure created by designer Chuck Benton, the "Larry" games were one of Sierra's most popular game series during the genre's heyday when it was first released in the mid 1980s. As such, they remain well-known among fans of the type today. The series stands out among Sierra's catalog in that they are the only games the company produced that contain significant sexual themes.
In general, the games follow Larry's escapades as he attempts (and mostly fails) to convince a variety of young nubile women (rendered with increasing sophistication throughout the series) to have sex with him. A common link between the games are Larry's explorations of luxurious and cosmopolitan hotels, ships, beaches, resorts and, more commonly, casinos. One of Larry's trademarks is his manner of introducing himself: "Hi, my name is Larry; Larry Laffer", a reference to James Bond's introduction style, "My name is Bond; James Bond."
Because of the nature of the games, the first and third episodes of the series featured an age verification system, which consisted of a series of questions to which the authors reasoned only adults would know the answer. However, many of the questions were U.S.-centric and this frustrated some non-United States gamers. Also, the multiple-choice questions did little to deter adolescents with some patience and a notepad. (The verification system could be skipped by pressing Alt-X in episode one, or Ctrl-Alt-X in episode three.)
After the gleefully seedy first game, the series - despite becoming infamous for its saucy content - gained somewhat of a reputation for not actually featuring all that much raunchy material when analyzed, particularly the mid-entries to the series. This became even more evident in later years, when more genuinely racy games appeared on the market. At most, the raunchier moments were usually hidden as Easter eggs. Things began to become racier again toward the end of the series, particularly in the (original) final installment, Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for Sail!.
In Shape up or Slip Out!, Love For Sail!, Casino, and Magna Cum Laude, Larry is voiced by Jan Rabson. Larry Lovage, the protagonist of Magna Cum Laude, is voiced by Tim Dadabo.
In March of 2007, Vivendi announced Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail! for the mobile phone. However, this version will be a remake of the previous game where the player plays Larry from the Magna Cum Laude game. It is also announced that parts of this game will take place in a plane.
Rumors: On the Howard Stern radio show on November 27 2007, comedian Artie Lange mentioned that he had just finished recording some dialogue as a character named "Big Al" in a new Leisure Suit Larry game.
On January 17, 2008, Sierra Entertainment announced Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust for PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and mobile phones.
May 20, 2008, Artie "Baby Gorilla" Lange, of the Howard Stern show, announced he completed recording his character Big Al for the game. His salary was thirty thousand dollars for three hours of work (although he said the work took "about an hour and a half"). Howard and his staff were amazed.
Adventure games
Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (1987 - remade 1991)
Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) or Leisure Suit Larry 2 (1988)
Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals (1989)
Leisure Suit Larry 5: Passionate Patti Does a Little Undercover Work (1991)
Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! (1993 - CD version in 1994)
Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for Sail! (1996)
Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude (2004) (Without involvement of Al Lowe)
Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail! (Mobile Phone version)
Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust (2008)
Other software
The Laffer Utilities (1992) (A parody of the Norton Utilities package)
Leisure Suit Larry's Datebook (1992) (Mentioned in a 1992 Sierra Catalogue as "Larry speaks! Custom Larry screens pop on to tell you about meetings, birthdays, work habits, and hard-drive hygiene! Let Larry organize your life. Scary, huh?" however was never released. In fact, according to Al Lowe, he did not know it existed and had no plans to make it.)
Leisure Suit Larry's Casino (1998) (Larry Laffer, the protagonist of the Leisure Suit Larry adventure series, is running a casino. Leisure Suit Larry's Casino offers 5 casino games, 3 party games, a full gift shop, 3 restaurants, 3 bars, and a few surprises. Also featured an online component which allowed for players to upgrade their hotel room, and participate in other online only activities.)
Leisure Suit Larry Bikini Beach Volley (2006) A beach volley game for mobile phones.
Canceled games
Leisure Suit Larry 4: The Missing Floppies (This non-existent 4th game was skipped and is a often jokingly referenced in-game for the series.)
Leisure Suit Larry 8: Lust in Space
Leisure Suit Larry: Pocket Party
Leisure Suit Larry: Cocoa Butter
The collections
Several Larry collections have also been compiled:
Larry 3-Pack (1991): this collection included the first three games that were available at the time.
Leisure Suit Larry's Greatest Hits & Misses (1994): this 1-CD collection included all the Larry games up to #6, including both versions of Larry 1, the VGA version of Larry 6, the Laffer Utilities, and the original Softporn game. A limited edition print of the Leisure Suit Larry book was also included.
Leisure Suit Larry: Collection Series (1997): this 2-CD collection included everything the previous collection contained, plus the SVGA talkie version of Larry 6, a Larry 7 preview, and Larry's Big Score: Pinball.
Leisure Suit Larry: The Ultimate Pleasure Pack (2000): this 4-CD collection was, again, otherwise identical to the one before it except that it also included the 1998 Larry's Casino and the full version of Larry 7: Love for Sail.
Leisure Suit Larry Collection (2006): this barebones collection only contains the 1-6 Larrys originally released on floppies (Substituting the remake of Larry 1 for the EGA original, and excluding the full-talkie CD edition of Larry 6). According to www.Allowe.com, Vivendi excluded Larry 7 from the collection in fear that the hidden ending would give the collection an Adults only rating. However, it is unknown why the EGA version of Larry 1 is missing from the collection. Unlike previous collections, this does not come with any printed documentation (instead including PDF files containing the original manuals for copy protection purposes, and the "Runs on Windows XP" blurb on the box is justified by an included copy of freeware application DOSBox, leaving many to see this edition (And the simultaneous releases of the Police Quest, King's Quest, and Space Quest collections) as a cash-in to measure the viability of future games in the series.
Other products
The Official Book Of Leisure Suit Larry (1990) (Written by Al Lowe and Ralph Roberts, containing background information and hint guides).
(Note: The book, like other Sierra books such as The King's Quest Companion, was revised and edited so that there was a second (1991), a third (1993), and a fourth (1997) edition).
The Authorized Uncensored Leisure Suit Larry Bedside Companion (1990) (Written by Peter Spear, it contains the stories of the first three Leisure Suit Larry games, as well as detailed walkthroughs, point lists and maps).
External links
New Larry Mobile game
Leisure Suit Larry series at MobyGames
Al Lowe's Leisure Suit Larry Troubleshooting page
Al Lowe (creator) Interview - Adventure Classic Gaming
Leisure Suit Larry Series at the Open Directory Project
Al Lowe's Leisure Suit Larry page
The only remaining preliminary test video for 3-D Larry in Leisure Suit Larry 8
New Statesman article on Leisure Suit Larry's age verification system
Extensive Interview with Al Lowe
The Dot Eaters article featuring a history of Leisure Suit Larry and Sierra.
References
^ Al Lowe Downloads game history (2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
^ MSN Mobile - Bikini Beach Volley (2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
v•d•e
Leisure Suit Larry series
Video games
Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards ·Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) ·Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals ·Passionate Patti Does a Little Undercover Work ·Shape Up or Slip Out! ·Love for Sail! ·Magna Cum Laude ·Box Office Bust
Other
Larry Laffer · Al Lowe ·Leisure Suit Larry 4: The Missing Floppies ·Lust in Space
