[therabidfrog]

Originally Posted by CrimsonBlue

Uhm, they didn't exactly tone down the sexual content, did they? In fact, I felt it's quite the opposite, plus made it a lot more immature. If we compare it to music, The old LSL games were Frank Zappa, whereas this new one is one of Adam Sandler's ridiculously disgusting songs.

True. Crude sexual jokes are all over this thing, but they talk about the lack of nudity like it was a special feature. Some actual T&A would be the only reason to stick with this thing. Not to mention the camera goes nuts when you double jump next to a wall making it hard to get on buildings to trophy hunt.

[therabidfrog]

CrimsonBlue have you played this up to the Wild West shoot out sequence? Is it possible to even beat this part?

[OriginalGagBonkers]

I didnt buy the game{or dont plan on it} but I saw some videos of it on youtube. Im pissed what they did with Larry..... They turned him into a lovable a loser and they made him into a bum.

[therabidfrog]

Originally Posted by OriginalGagBonkers

I didnt buy the game{or dont plan on it} but I saw some videos of it on youtube. Im pissed what they did with Larry..... They turned him into a lovable a loser and they made him into a bum.

I did like the Larry from the last game better, but I can see why they changed him given the more action and platform oriented game play.

[CrimsonBlue]

Originally Posted by therabidfrog

CrimsonBlue have you played this up to the Wild West shoot out sequence? Is it possible to even beat this part?

I'm sorry, but I didn't torture myself for long enough to witness that.

[OriginalGagBonkers]

Originally Posted by therabidfrog

I did like the Larry from the last game better, but I can see why they changed him given the more action and platform oriented game play.

I was talking about what they did with the original Larry....they made him into a bum in this!

[therabidfrog]

Uninstalled!

[J-MAN]

Having never played a LSL game I wondered which one you guys would advise I play first? I'm not a fan of reeeally old graphics and text reading instead of speech so I thought maybe number 7?

This game looks awful though, what a sad thing they've done. Anything for money.

[Ariel Type]

Originally Posted by CrimsonBlue

The old LSL games were Frank Zappa, whereas this new one is one of Adam Sandler's ridiculously disgusting songs.

It's actually from one of Adam Sandler's ridiculously disgusting colleagues.

[thejobloshow]

Hey guys, I rejoined this forum so I can specifically comment on this game - I have been a huge Larry fan and from that I came to love Sierra - it cannot be understated how Ken Williams pioneered amazing concepts in video and computer gaming that are still underused today, like promoting the game designer as auteur.

In trying to make sense of this latest disaster and keeping a calm head because the glory days of Sierra have been over for a while I couldn't help but feel some level of deep sadness with the following contrasts occurring in the gaming world - As you know there is going to be a Ghostbusters Video Game and the creators of that game were able to secure the original movie cast; not just to star, but to write the actual story and dialogue! Additionally, the Ghostbusters video game takes place in 1991... not 2009 with new college aged Ghostbusters... It just feels really unfair, and is an indication of the laziness of Codemasters in creating Box Office Bust. Let's look at the game....

Problem 1. It completely misses the point of the series.
The Larry games are essentially about a loser interacting with a collection of girls, failing to attract all but the last one after bribing her with his inventory items. Each girl is like a new level in the game - Box Office Bust completely abandons this premise. Chasing girls was the only remaining factor from the Larry games that would still attract old fans - there is no motivation for me to play this game now. I do not care about the mole affecting Laffer Studios, I'm more worried about the moles ruining my teenage memories. (Al Lowe already tried attempting to give the Larry games a deeper plot with Larry 5 and it was, he would admit, a failed experiment - although IMO LSL5 still has plenty of lols, which brings me to my second point...)

Problem 2. Where are the lols?
The swearing didn't really put me off Magna Cum Laude - comedy has changed (thanks to Leisure Suit Larry mind you) starting with Austin Powers, There's Something About Mary all the way to Judd Apatow today. (Judd Apatow is a good example because I felt 40 Year Old Virgin and Superbad were more faithful to LSL than Box Office Bust) The game characters in BOB feel really flat - they're uncharismatic, unattractive and deliver each pun with a sense of laboured ennui. There is a definite feeling of going through the motions, and this relates to my final point...

Problem 3. It feels old and tired.
I am surprised by this, but BOB makes Magna Cum Laude look like a respectful tribute to a classic franchise. If I was presented with these two games at the same time I would think BOB was made several years ago when game companies were trying to think of creative ways to translate 2D characters to a 3D environment... It's a platform game! You can DIE in this game! What a step back that is! Essentially, Codemasters missed the mark and thought the lols and interest would come from a celebrity all star cast - I think Codemasters or Team 17 did not know who to make this game for. I would love to see the team behind this mess try to justify how the game's failure wasn't their fault in order to keep their jobs - I imagine you will hear excuses like "Larry's time has passed" when we were never given a Larry game in the first place.

As some of you may already know, Al Lowe has released game design documents on his website of the wonderful games he had created over the years - I was reading the game design document for Love For Sail! today and it struck me how accurate it was in predicting the success behind a Larry game. Had Team 17 or Codemasters have read this it might have prevented this game from completely descending into disaster:

What has made the Larry games successful?
1. comedy; funny, outrageous, silly, slapstick, bawdy, titillating
2. babes; saucy, sassy, sexy, but they usually come out on top.
3. puzzles; fair but not difficult
4. appeal to males' prurient interest, sense of humour, and feelings of superiority over Larry
5. appeal to women; They've all dated a jerk like Larry.
6. initial purchase may be for the babes, but people return for the humour

What haven't the games been?
1. Pornographic
2. Technological breakthroughs
3. Large

Topics to consider:
1. The marketplace is crowded. No room for another 'okay' game. Needs "wow!" factor. Needs new look.
2. women 25% of past sales; we'll lose them if there's too much video or realistic women or graphic sex
3. it's a parody, not a simulation. Can we afford actresses with great bodies who can also do comedy?

[oerhört]

I think you're going off of unfounded expectations.

Why is it wrong that you can die? Why is it wrong that it's a platform game?

People should stop thinking about Leisure Suit Larry like it's theirs. It belongs to whoever holds the license, and they're free to do with it whatever they like.

If it hadn't been for the weak controls (at times horrible), the weak camera (at times horrible), the weak framerate (at times horrible), the mediocre dialog (at times horrible) and the uninspired gameplay (at times horrible), I would find little wrong with the game itself. The approach is sound, and turning Larry into a cute platformer is not the worst of moves (although hardly exciting stuff).

The problem lies in the execution, not the concept.

[OriginalGagBonkers]

Although I disliked the way they changed Larry laffer, I thought the game was alright. I wouldnt say its perfect but its a decent game to say the least. I liked it how they changed Loveage's design of character. but in manga cum laude I disliked how he looked ALOT like the original laffer....Why couldnt they thought of this design in the first place?

BTW Larry Laffer sounds like a gameshow host.

[thejobloshow]

Originally Posted by oerhört

I think you're going off of unfounded expectations.

Why is it wrong that you can die? Why is it wrong that it's a platform game?

People should stop thinking about Leisure Suit Larry like it's theirs. It belongs to whoever holds the license, and they're free to do with it whatever they like.

If it hadn't been for the weak controls (at times horrible), the weak camera (at times horrible), the weak framerate (at times horrible), the mediocre dialog (at times horrible) and the uninspired gameplay (at times horrible), I would find little wrong with the game itself. The approach is sound, and turning Larry into a cute platformer is not the worst of moves (although hardly exciting stuff).

The problem lies in the execution, not the concept.

Well firstly, I don't really care who holds the license if you make a bad game I will call you out on it. Secondly, I only bring up the fact that it was turned into a platform game to indicate my problem with the game being old and tired.

The Neverhood spun off quite an awesome little platform game for the original PlayStation, Skull Monkeys, that delivered well because it felt fresh and had all the enthusaism of the original title - my issue is not with the genre bending.

Translating Larry to a platform/GTA style game in this instance has this overarching feeling of being lazy with the game design - even rushed. The plot might have interesting, even though it was already attempted and failed with Larry 5, but the concept was weak from the get go. This is why it reminds me of these games made ten years ago cashing in updating old titles to 3D like Bubsy 3D or Earthworm Jim 3D. To be fair, Sierra did the same thing with the transition from EGA to VGA.