I'm not sure, but I think I lead a very sheltered life..Have you ever heard of this game? It doesn't sound like Monopoly to me.
Programs: 'Larry' Series Is Still Behaving Badly
Wed Nov 3, 2004 10:55 AM ET
By Gene Emery
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Reuters) - As founder and president of PRUDES (People Revolted by Unnecessary Depictions of Eroticism and Sexuality), I am shocked -- shocked! -- by "Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude."
The new computer and console game from Sierra, Vivendi Universal and High Voltage Software has no redeeming social value. Its only goal is to use various minigames to strip down beautiful cartoon women so Larry, a vertically challenged symbol of sloth and sexism, can engage them in some horizontal hokey pokey.
"Magna Cum Laude" has swimming sperm. It has a talking penis (but gives it a rather small speaking role). It has porn fairies. It's filled with frat-level humor. It has buttons devoted to making the hero urinate or break wind. It has spanking.
PRUDES everywhere should be warned about this game.
This is the seventh adventure in the 17-year-old Leisure Suit Larry franchise. Until now, all have featured Larry Laffer, an unfashionably dressed guy with a whiny voice and a monk-like bald spot "covered" with three combed-over strands of hair. Larry thinks he is God's gift to women. Women know better.
The sixth game -- misnumbered "Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for Sail" because a "Leisure Suit Larry 4" was never released -- came out in 1996. It was set aboard a cruise ship, the P.M.S. Bouncy, where clothing was optional, and included a scratch-and-sniff card, a perverse parody of "Where's Waldo," and a Bill Clinton robot that told jokes like, "Do you know what I say to Hillary right before sex? See you in an hour, honey!"
These games have not marked a crowning achievement in societal development.
In "Magna Cum Laude," Mr. Laffer plays a minor role. Instead, the star is Larry's short, big-headed nephew, Larry Lovage, a student at Walnut Log Community College.
Young Larry may have more hair, but he is just as socially inept as his uncle, trying to entice women with lines like "Your legs must be tired because you've been running through my mind all night" or "Excuse me, what's your favorite position on extramarital sex?"
But while earlier installments of the Leisure Suit Larry series played like an adventure game where you needed to find objects to solve different puzzles, "Magna Cum Laude" is mostly a collection of minigames that must be won before you can woo one of 15 or so stereotypical beauties, such as the animal rights fanatic, the down-home country girl, or the Italian stunner with a mouth like Tony Soprano.
As Larry talks to them, you have to move a swimming sperm up and down so it crosses green icons and avoids red ones. If you score high enough, the conversation goes well and you get to move onto the next minigame. Hit too many red icons, and the woman loses interest in you. You'll have to try again.
The conversations are the funniest part of the game because Larry will say anything -- and I mean anything -- to impress a girl. Unfortunately, players may miss some of the humor because they'll be too busy trying to steer their sperm.
My success with these minigames depended on which version I played. On my PC, the conversation game was tough; I did much better using the Xbox thumbstick. In the strip trampoline game, where you're supposed to push arrow buttons in time to the music, the Xbox responded badly, but I had no trouble on the PC.
Fortunately, if you can't win a game, "Magna Cum Laude" lets you buy your way past it with one of the tokens scattered around the terrain.
In true Leisure Suit Larry tradition, just when you think you're about to score in the sack, something bad usually happens. Security walks into your bedroom. Your new girl only wants to make love if you're dressed like a bundle of flaming sticks. Or your attempt at romance suddenly ends with a flashback to "The Crying Game."
The version available in stores is rated for ages 17 and older because of nudity, use of alcohol, strong language, strong sexual content, and mature humor. "Immature humor" might be a better description.
There is almost no below-the-waist nudity. Anytime someone drops their briefs or panties, a big "Censored" sign covers their abdomen. But you can find at least one exception if you change the controller settings while looking through the peephole in the side of the sorority house. (There may be others; we at PRUDES are still looking.)
And last week, Vivendi made the surprise announcement that an adults-only version, without the censored signs, was available on line.
So, having already shelled out $50 for the Xbox or PlayStation 2 versions (or $30 for the PC title), Larry lovers are being asked to fork over another $35 for "Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude -- Uncut and Uncensored."
Finally, maybe these fans will be shocked as well.
(Gene Emery is a columnist who covers science and technology. His Internet address is GEmery(at)Cox.net. Any opinions in the column are his alone.)
I can certainly see why!..from me
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