Review: Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust - One Game That Lives Up To Its Name
Welcome Back Larry (1 out of 5)
Leisure Suit Larry has a long tradition of tasteless humor and crude jokes. It’s no surprise that the latest edition would contain the usual ribald scenery reminiscent of South Park - well, South Park meets Penthouse anyway. The storyline for this game is truly tragic. The game puts you into the shoes of Larry’s nephew, Larry Lovage. Someone wants to destroy your uncle’s movie studio, and only you can stop it. Of course, along the way you get the opportunity to oggle scantily clad women, make rude comments about almost everything, and act like a spastic teenager. The sheer amount of foul language and sexual innuendo is staggering, to the point where nothing is funny, even if you are usually a fan of sophomoric humor. The only redeeming value that could be possibly identified in this game is the length. You’ll be begging for the ride to stop long before it actually does.
How Do You Work It? (1 out of 5)
Controlling Larry through the game is pitiful, and that’s being generous. This game was put out by Codemasters, who should have known better. It’s a big publisher known for many excellent titles, but this is not one of them.The puzzles in the game are incredibly difficult to finish, and often enough it’s because of the control scheme rather than the puzzle itself.
The camera seems to have a mind of its own, so you’ll find yourself struggling to maintain a consistent viewing angle. At certain points in the game, Larry himself even remarks on how idiotic the gameplay is. For example, he complains that the game is imposing a time limit for a pointless exercise, and its hard not to agree with him. A game that makes fun of its own genre is okay; a game that makes fun of itself must do so carefully, and unfortunately this one is pointing out something they should have kept secret - or better yet, fixed before they published the game.
It Sounds and Looks Better Than It Is (4 out of 5)
The one area where this game does excel is in the visuals and vocals.
The content and gameplay may not be that great, but you really can’t argue about what you’re seeing on the screen. If you’ve made it past the first crude joke, you’ll get to enjoy some decent visuals reminiscent of many other mainstream titles. Its cartoony of course, but thats what you’d expect from a LSL title. The sounds in the game are standard, and there is actually some decent voice acting. You’ll get to hear the delectable voice of Carmen Elektra and the recognizable timbre of Patrick Warburton, to name a few. The list of voice actors/actresses is actually quite long, which is encouraging and depressing at the same time. Its great that they managed to get these noteworthy voices in the game, but its just too bad they didn’t do a better job with everything else.
Goodbye Cruel World (1 out of 5)
Overall, the game is really not worthwhile. Its a shame too, because the game’s ancestors were held in much higher esteem, while this title is sure to go down in flames. The sheer amount of foul language, poor gameplay, and lack of any real humor completely overshadows the rather decent visuals and promising voice acting. The previous games in the series - though also rather racy -combined audacity with enough wit to be favorable: not so of this entry. And even though the length is more than the average game, you’ll be wishing it was over way before it really is. Do yourself a favor and don’t venture into Larry’s new world. Your sense of humor and love of gaming will thank you.
