(re: Larry: Magna Cum Laude)
Having first learned about sex from LSL1 (okay, maybe that’s pushing it, but I was certainly too young to be playing it), I’ve been anticipating this game for a while. It’s really too bad that Sierra didn’t involve Al at all and led him on, I think it’s obvious when you play the game that he didn’t have anything to do with it.
Without comparing it too much to other Larry’s, I can say that the game is quite funny. Unfortunately, you’ll miss quite a bit of the humor because you’re too busy guiding sperm around obstacles. And there are definitely plenty of homages to the Larry of old (Lefty’s Too, multiple jokes about 16 colors, a bulletin board featuring past ladies). The mini-games are pretty repetetive, but fortunately, they’re not annoying or overly tedious. And you can always do some drinking (in game) to make them more challenging if you need.
Now, the lack of Al’s influence… I guess it comes down to the fact that this game relies much more heavily on the “Adult” aspect of Larry. That is, the entire game is littered with vulgarities and overly crude jokes. Much of what I love about Larry is that while it’s adult in nature, it doesn’t try to push that envelope or say “Hey, this is an ADULT game. Yeah, for GROWN ups, not KIDS.” Al Lowe can be funny without resorting to American Pie-type jokes. The humor in the new game is definitely Al influenced, but it’s obviously imitation.
That said, I am enjoying the game. I have about 30% completed and have heard you can finish the game with less than 80%. In all, as long as you KNOW you aren’t getting a point-and-click adventure game, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. (And they do reference point-and-click as well.) Hope you enjoy, and I’m interested to hear other thoughts.