Customer Reviews

Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

"Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude" is the first LSL game in about 8 years, and also the first to cross over from the personal computer to home video game platforms on the Playstation 2 & XBox. As a fan of old Sierra games (even though I was too young to have played the early LSL games), I was incredibly pleased to see the series resurrected and brought to new heights!

Important note: "Magna Cum Laude: Uncut & Uncensored" has now been released for the PC, and it features full frontal nudity and none of the pesky "censorship bars" that are present in this version.

Obviously, nudity is the main selling point of this game. Anyone who says otherwise is trying too hard to justify his or her purchase. The college co-eds are voluptuous, they are animated in a sexy, often provocative, ways, and the main quest of the game is to get Larry laid. Because of the time and attention put into creating realistic (though cute in an almost-anime way), this game is more titilating than any of the "Dead or Alive" series of fighting games, more fun than any of the WWE wrestling video games that feature the strip matches, and the females are more desirable than Lara Croft ever has been.

The women are mostly stereotypical "college girls" -- we have the head cheerleader Barbara Jo Bimbo (B.J. for short), the Italian castoff from "The Sopranos" Analisa, the Russian exchange student Zanna, the hot but nerdy college professor Beatrice, and so on. Chasing after each woman requires different approaches, and the result is never the same twice. And no, Larry *does not* get with all these babes. I hate to spoil it for you, but he only has actual intercourse a few times during the entire game. But every encounter is sexy, funny, and most importantly, packed full of eye candy!

The gameplay is fun. It is not very involving and has been criticized for being mostly a string of "mini-games." That is true; however, the variety of the games keeps it interesting as you progress through the storyline. The script is absolutely hilarious, and the comedy is equal to the nudity as a selling point for this game. If you are a guy, or even a gal who likes to laugh at guys, you will laugh at Larry and the things coming out of his mouth. He rambles on a lot, gets off-topic, tries horrible pickup lines, lies constantly, and even staggers around drunk and farts. If you've ever known a man who made you laugh simply because he was, to quote Steve Martin, "a wild and crazy guy," then you will enjoy the story of Magna Cum Laude. And the voice acting is wonderful; there is not a bad actor or actress in this entire game.

Now a few words on the Mature Audiences rating: This game is about sex, (...) drinking, jokes, and other things guys find enjoyable. For some people, this is disturbing. Those people need to get a life. I can play Grand Theft Auto, in which my character is able to walk down any street and at any moment cut off the head of a pedestrian with a sword. Or gun down dozens of policemen, only to enter a cheat code and get away with it all at the last possible minute. Yet somehow, the ESRB (game ratings board) finds Larry's girlfriends more offensive when they drop their shorts. Give us a break! Violence is much more detrimental to society & to teenagers than sex is, and yet we still can't get over our fear of pixelated private parts. It's ridiculous!

All in all, I give "LSL: Magna Cum Laude" a totally positive recommendation to anyone old enough to purchase it. It was definitely one of the best games of 2004 simply because it is like nothing else on the market today: a fun, sexy romp through college life. 5 stars! 2 thumbs up! Just buy it!

More of an attempt to create a Leisure Suit Larry Xtreme Party Games title, rather then a continuance of the classic adventure series, Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude will disappoint a majority of it's long time fans. Instead of talking to women, working out puzzles and trying to persuade them to spend some quality time with you, here you have a number of arcade games to complete to pass the game. It's the most laziest game design I'd ever seen, my heart sank when a majority of the puzzles required you to play Pong or take photos. The comedy in the game is okay, but it does wear out its welcome when most of the jokes rely on swearing and the fact they've all been done before to better effect in previous titles. Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude also has little reply value compared to its predecessors. A game like Larry 7: Love For Sail had heaps of secrets programmed into it that kept the gamers busy for months playing with shortcut keys and program files. In MCL, all you have to do after you finish is keep playing annoying arcade games until you can afford to make everyone nude.

There's almost nothing here for the long time fans except slight nudity and a few cheap references to the previous titles. Although it should be noted, Sierra tried to win the old time fans over by saying the series creator, Al Lowe, would participate in the creation of this title as a creative consultant. However, months went by with Lowe not receiving any word from the developers. People had grown impatient and evidently gave up hope on Sierra making an effort to contact Larry's creator. However, just before the release of the game, Lowe recieved an e-mail from the developers. It turned out the only involvement they intended for Al Lowe was to make him sign a waver that wouldn't allow him to criticise the game when it came out. Lowe humbly refused their offer.

If you want a game that shares the Larry series traits, look over eBay for Freddy Pharkas, Frontier Pharmacist.
If you're just after a little computer nudity, can't you find cheap Hentai instead?

P.S. The difference between the uncut version and the censored version is that the censored signs have been removed, and there's slightly more graphic version of the Barbara-Jo ending.

this game is a hoot! it is definitely the naughtiest PS2 game out there. it's terribly easy to play, but that's because it really wants you to experience it's witty (and dirty) story. you won't believe the stuff you're asked to do in this game. it's really not pornographic as in this console version "censored" bars cover up the nether regions, though the game does feature topless characters. it's about as dirty as a SI swimsuit issue. one dissappointment was that the loading screen girls, pictures of actual girls in the costumes of the game's characters, don't show as much as you might want, especially after being tittilated by the game's sex-hunt for a couple hours. but, regardless, i was cracking up the whole way through this clever, silly, no-holes-barred game. a definite rental if not a must-buy.

I've been a long time fan of LSL & have played the games since I was about 12 & snuck onto my dad's computer. I was overjoyed to see that there was going to be another outing for this series & was looking forward to it, even when I heard that the series was not going to surround our favorite hero, Larry. However when I actually played the game I was incredibly dissapointed.
Unlike it's predecessors, the game is entirely a series of minigames instead of the point & click first person interface of the previous ones. That wouldn't have been so bad except they were the same exact mini-games that repeated with each character you pursue. The plotline was actually pretty watered down for a LSL release & was obviously missing the signature Al Lowe humor that made the previous ones so popular. There were some funny moments in the game (such as the 'Summer Loving'-esque song in the gay bar), but they were few & far between. Ultimately I was glad that I'd rented it for my PS2 instead of actually buying it. I have to say that I didn't entirely expect it to be great when I discovered that it was due for the PS2 as well as for the computer, but I didn't expect it to be as terrible as it was. For people who just discovered the series, they are sure to be pleasantly surprised when they discover how much more entertaining the original games are, but for the rest of us... well, we'll always have the originals.

Okay, I've read reviews from some diehard Leisure Suit Larry fans, saying that this game doesn't share the format of the past games and didn't involve the creator. Unfortunately, I can't make that comparison because this is the first LSL game I've played.
What I can say is that this game is hilarious and one of my guilty pleasures. The reason the fun rating is much higher than the overall score is because this game is really just dumb fun, with gags above, below, and lower than low. You can spend 'secret tokens' scattered around to unlock goodies like 'naughty' loading screens, early drawings for the game, and other extras for salivating teens like 'nude' and 'naughty' modes for the game girls, strip quarters, strip dancing, strip...um, spanking, and so on. Sophistication is sweet.
Anyway, as far as I can tell, Larry Lovage, the permanent college student with a big head and a small brain, decides to prove he's just as good with the ladies as his Uncle Larry (the hero for the past games) by attempting to get on Swingles, a dating show hosted by diva Uma. To get on, he has to go through 5 rounds of girls, getting 'objects of affection' from enough to get on. There are 4 rounds with three unlocked girls and another with two, so getting 2 objects gets you higher up. The girls are all stereotypes: dumb blonde cheerleader Barbara Jo (BJ! HA!), sexy teacher Beatrice Robensenita, creepy-but-cute band chick Harriet, campus bicycle Luba, animal rights activist Charlotte, sorority leader & criminal mastermind Tilly, bookish Ione, wannabe actress Bilzarbra, and so on. Jokes of every size are thrown in, most crude and adult, most funny, and the ones that bomb BOMB.
The game is basically a bunch of minigames like quarters, smooth talking (a happy little sperm swims through, hitting good and bad pick-up lines), trampoline jumping, drink-making, slap contests, passing out of drinks, fliers, and food, and others. All of these are intermixed in the dates with the girls, and the only one that doesn't get repetitive is the smooth talking because of the thousands of things you can say (telling a farm girl one of her favorite musicians has 2 butts may not get you a romantic night).
So again, maybe all this is not LSL style. I enjoyed it, even though it's usually sexist and crude (cough, always). It's a game for friends to play and snicker at because of the various words for the male and female body parts on display. Hey, Ron Jeremy's your Porn Fairy! Come on!

This is a good game for adults only. The material is in no shape intended for kids!

This is a fun little game and pegs college life pretty well with the beer drinking, streaking, hounding girls, and so on. Larry certianly has to earn his quality time with the women. Some have refered to it as a bunch of "mini games" but, in reality, as the game progresses there are alot of different and challenging opportunities to keep the interest going.
I withheld a star only for the fact that, while you are trying talk a girl into bed you are so busy playing a version of " Simon sez" or manuvering a simling sperm passed a bunch of obstacles that can make or break your chances of scoring, when you finally do "get down" it's hard to visual enjoy the fruits of your labor.Other than this I would recomend Leisure Suit Larry, It is a fun game.

I've never played any of the others, they never really appealed to me. The graphics in here are fun. The entire story is ridiculous but its hilarious at the same time. Every time I played this game everyone in my home usually dropped what they were doing to watch. Its great fro groups or just by yourself.
If you want some stupid fun, its perfect for you. I myself being a girl, had a great time trying to pick up chicks and sleep with them while my finace watched, (he is palying next).. When the game was done, I felt there could have been more, but it was some good time none the less.

Either, you are going to like this or you are not. Learn to laugh at the so stupid it's funny, harmless toilet humor, and quit complaining about how perverted and juvenile it all is or don't. It's that simple. That being said, I have very fond memories of this game. I saw my friend playing this in about late 2004 and I couldn't help laughing. I was in 12th grade in high school at the time, so the talking to girls (Which is pretty much the purpose of the whole game) was very easy for me to get into. So it was an instant match. I bought this game for full price (Which was REALLY rare for me to do when buying games) and years later, I can say, "Yeah, I saw the game for MUCH cheaper prices later on...but the great times I had playing through this the first time and re-playing some of the mini-games was totally worth it."

Was there anything that turned me off about this game? No, I can easily say I liked it all. I would've preferred a couple more levels to walk around in or one or two more girls, but the amount here was fine enough to do the game justice. Yes there are a lot of mini games you repeat through out the game, but it's usually changed just a bit to keep it interesting. For instance, one time you'll play a button mashing type game, that's something like Simon, an old game made by TIGER for those who don't know what it is, while mixing drinks for a girl. Then later on you are (USE YOUR IMAGINATION TO FILL IN THE BLANK) someone doing the same game. So it mixes it up enough for me.

The content in the game is A+++ top notch material. What's there to be upset about? The dialogue is some of the funniest things I've ever heard in a video game. It's right up there with "Odd World: Stranger's Wrath." Remember this line? "Up yours, Bounty Hunter! I ain't goin' no where!!!" Anyone remember that? Second, the loading screens are...AWESOME!!! Many different looking girls, that are GORGEOUS yet manage to maintain that "Girl Next Door" average, yet hot look, make up the loading screens. Thanks to the models that helped make this game so great! I wish you lots of success in your lives and careers! Umm...Wow, after describing the models... Where was I?!?! Third, the soundtrack has a few odd (but good) songs on, (like that "Lonely Girl Song") but for the most part contains a lot of hair metal tracks that just fit so well it's insane. I was born in 1986, and despite missing most of the hair metal scene, or just not remembering it, love most hair metal songs and bands. When you hear Slaughter's "Up all Night" at the end of the game...AWW! It's just an awesome thing! You have to see it for yourself to truly get what I mean. Fourth, I love the references to old pro wrestlers in the game...B'Andre the Giant, Bulk Bogan, and Bandy Bavage (Ten points to whoever can guess their real names) and just the overall feel of cheesiness, mixed in with a hint of nostalgia, and the right amount of toilet humor. Last, just playing through the scenarios is fun. Most of the endings to Larry's conquests are disappointing, yet VERY HILARIOUS. Honestly, if I replayed the whole thing it might drag a bit because I already know what's going to happen...but I'd still love it.

One other thing, I'd like to mention...and this is going to sound like it's coming out of nowhere...but this game can also be used as a girl friend tester. FIRST EXAMPLE, I have a friend who CAN NEVER EVER play this in front of his girlfriend. Even talking about it gets her very upset. SECOND EXAMPLE, I also have another friend who borrowed this game from me and he beat it and thought it was a pretty good game. His girlfriend, at the time, got very passive-aggressive upset, which means being angry but putting a veil on your true feelings despite your anger being VERY obvious,about him playing a game that had girls in with large...ATTRIBUTES. (Let's just say ATTRIBUTES instead, Okay?) Shortly after my friend played this, his girlfriend started checking his cell phone and email without his consent. She FLAKED! He dropped her after that. THIRD EXAMPLE, I beat this game and shortly after started dating my current girlfriend. She said she rented this game before and when she found out I had a copy, she wanted to play my copy and eventually beat it herself... if I remember correctly. She also saw my copy of "The Guy Game" and asked what it was about. I told her straight-up what it was all about and she wanted to help me play through it. Also, she wanted to watch my copy of Chris Rock's "Never Scared" comedy special, and she found the parts where Rock talks about women and relationships very funny and agreed it applies to most women. Whereas, one of the other guys mentioned has a girlfriend who got very offended by that comedy special. His girlfriend told him to shut it off, before it was over, and to never to show it to her again. It just proves my girlfriend didn't only like the game, but has a good head on her shoulders overall. She's a keeper!

Finally, if you are comparing this game to the older Larry games made by Al Lowe and that's what keeps your from enjoying it... STOP!!! Enjoy it for what it is! If it bothers you that bad that this isn't like the originals, just don't think of it as a Leisure Suit Larry game! Then go back and play the old Leisure Suit Larry games whenever you want and enjoy them just the same.

So what's left to do? Put "Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude" in your Playstation 2, X-Box, or PC, and take a trip down memory lane to when your number one, if not your only priority, in life was trying to talk to girls and how smooth and suave you were in all your pursuits. Then when you remember how corny you ACTUALLY were, see the corniness in this game, bust out in laughter, and see if you don't have a good time.

I ended up getting this game for very cheap, so you'll have to bare in mind that I'm not rating it as I would some $30 one I got new. That being said, the game was something I kept going back to play and I enjoyed, but at the same time something I don't think I'll ever choose to play through a second time. The game is funny and enjoyable when things go well, but there were multiple occasions I was weighing the satisfaction of throwing my controller through the screen vs the replacement costs of the TV and controller.

The conversation games are probably one of the strongest points. You have to guide your little "arrow" through a series of obstacles. When you hit certain ones the conversation goes well, while the bad ones cause you to say something inappropriate and lose "love" from the girl. Finish the conversation with the heart full and you win. This is great, the first time you do the conversation. The forth time, with the exact same dialog, gets really old really fast. Some of the obstacles you hit make you drunk, so you get sloppier in your controls, making it frustrating as you crash into more bad ones because you're weaving all over the place and lose. Unlike some of the other games, you have to go through the whole conversation even if there is no chance at all you can win.

A saving grace of the game is that you are given an option (can be disabled if you want the challenge) after three losses that the difficulty ramps down a bit. There is also a wonderful "wimp out" option where you can buy your way out of completing an game. I used this once for a painful photo shoot in a gay bar. I found after still losing on the easier mode that I didn't have much fun repeatedly snapping shots of a cartoon willy flopping around on some guy with no clue how to get the "right" pictures.

That's another big problem with the game. It throws you into a lot of games, many are enjoyable, but without much instruction into what you're supposed to do. I found at one point I was making things harder on myself than needed, because I wasn't aware of a move Larry could do.

When you add in some arbitrary levels that cost you money and make you play other games over and over just to play that game, long load times, and some sharp ramp up of difficulty mid-way through (though again, after 3 losses you can make it easier), there are just a lot of problems.

Here's the catch though, the good stuff out weighs it, if only barely. I enjoyed playing through the game. It was long enough, though another girl or two would have been nice. I'm kind if disappointed there wasn't a sequel; I might have bought it if it were very cheap. I really did have fun playing this game even with its problems. If you can get it reasonably cheap and don't feel bad taking the easy way out on a few games, it is a fun game. I saw some game review sites give it a "Decent" rating. That about sums it up.