Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude Review

If I had an issue with the game, it's the simplicity and repetitiveness of some of the mini-games that just get damn near impossible to win. Slaps is particularly difficult for me, as well as some games of quarters, where you learn how much of a lightweight Larry really is. The game does have an auto-adjustable difficulty setting, where if you fail a task a certain number of times, the game makes it easier on you to move to the next task. Larry has to keep track of certain things in his travels, such as money, which can buy items that help you along your way, secret tokens, which unlock hidden features that can get some of the girls nekkid (with handy CENSORED bar across the lower naughty bits), confidence that helps you talk to some of the less...approachable girls, and drunkenness, which...well, that speaks for itself. But the fact is that any gamer worth his salt and many others who aren't as salty will be able to simply blow through this game in no time flat. (Ed. - Heheh...he said blow.)

Another issue I have is with the conversation game. The fact is there is some really funny dialogue going on, but your focus has to be on that stupid little sperm and not what's actually going on with the screen, so you're missing some of the stuff that makes the game fun. Listening to Larry try to stumble his way through these conversations is a hoot, and just for kicks, its fun to intentionally NOT hit the green icons, just to hear him slip up. There really is some funny stuff in there. You have to understand, that VUGames is a part of Universal Studios, so they have access to some good writers and voice talent, who bring the various characters to life quite well. Sure, 99.9% of them are one-dimensional, but who cares, really? They just have to be funny, and have nice tits.

So the next facet that we come to is the graphics. If the game doesn't look good, then it doesn't matter how many tits you see - it's worthless. I can say with some measure of satisfaction that the game looks fine. The models are nicely rendered, with extra attention being paid to Larry's model, whose enormous noggin can show a wide range of emotions, and the female models, who are just flat out HAWT. The game has no resolution control, so the game will run very solidly on almost any hardware platform. The ambient sounds are okay as well but nothing to write home to Mom about. What really stands out is the voice acting, which is very high quality, with both the voice actors and the script coming together for some truly hilarious moments.

All that being said, this question remains: Is this a game that is worth your hard earned thirty dollars? I can't honestly say that it is. The reason is that LSL:MCL, while a very hilarious game, is not much of a successor to the LSL crown. The original LSL games were true, unabashed adventure games that required intelligence, wit and time to work through. The fact the game also featured a boatload of comedy about getting laid was just a bonus - the LSL games were fun to PLAY. LSL:MCL is nothing of the sort. This game is little more than a treasure hunt, with more than a few repetitive mini-games you have to play to move on to the next phase. The game offers next to no challenge, and requires nothing more than quick fingers to work your way into the shorts of the throngs of campus girls everywhere. Could the game have been more challenging and intelligent with the involvement of Al Lowe and company? I can't say. But if all you're looking for is a pure, unadulterated T&A fest, LSL:MCL is for you over 17-types. And yes, I am checking ID's. Don't make me sic Leopold on your ass.