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[ManaByte]

Grabbed the Xbox version this morning, and it is kind of "meh", but the game does have it's twisted funny moments.

I hope there's more sick stuff like the

Spoiler

strap-on teddy bear

Thankfully, the "free roaming" gameplay that was hyped isn't a GTA style free roaming. It is more like old PC graphic adventures where there are different areas to go to and explore.

If you've ever wanted to run around a college campus and piss on people, here's your game.

 

[fennec fox]

I bet you haven't gotten to the part where

Spoiler

Larry actually manages to have real sex with real people

yet. That's when it really started to get funny for me.

I played Larry a fair bit and liked it enough so that I was examining everything just to see what he had to say about it all. The new EGM hit the office today and LSL received low scores from the three reviewers (I didn't review it for em). I'm going to send them some irate fan mail, because I think the game's the bee's knees and no less of a game than the original LSLs were.

 

[ManaByte]

I bet you haven't gotten to the part where

Spoiler

Larry actually manages to have real sex with real people

yet. That's when it really started to get funny for me.

I played Larry a fair bit and liked it enough so that I was examining everything just to see what he had to say about it all. The new EGM hit the office today and LSL received low scores from the three reviewers (I didn't review it for em). I'm going to send them some irate fan mail, because I think the game's the bee's knees and no less of a game than the original LSLs were.

Yeah. Despite the stupid mini-games, it does capture the feel of old PC graphic adventures well. But since it was made for consoles, the mini-games make sense.

 

[Mr. Lemming]

Hrmm... now I'm interested.

 

[Superbone]

I'm not going to support a non-Al Lowe LSL. I'll buy it used for $10 down the line.

 

[xsarien]

I'm not going to support a non-Al Lowe LSL. I'll buy it used for $10 down the line.

Welcome to the club.

 

[mosaic]

Rented it. It follows in the spirit of the old games in terms of certain situations and humor, as well as the overall adventure setup, but the puzzles aren't as intricate and the game itself barely eats up 10 hours.

It's not terrible that most situations are advanced via mini games (quarters, Tapper, the DDR style dance and trampoline games, the sperm "chat" dialogue); but they're certainly far more simple than many players would like. I probably won't bother replaying any of 'em now that I've finished the game

The humor is the key to enjoying Magna Cum Laude, and it's also quite subjective. I found many of the titty jokes and pratfalls funny. A lot of people won't. I had the most fun just watching zanier and zanier situations unfold. I grinned at the beginning when Larry dropped his pants and Sallie Mae complained about him "not being Jewish." I flat out laughed my ass of at the

Spoiler

teddy bear strap-on dildo incident.

. The whole Grease take-off in the

Spoiler

gay bar

was priceless, especially with Helmut walking around wearing

Spoiler

only a G-string

. Dear lord he has a huge shlong! And sweet jesus, how can you not grin ear to ear when the

Spoiler

porno fairy appears and it turns out to be Ron Jeremy waving a huge dildo around

?

Apparently, you can use GameShark and Action Replay codes to strip off the "Censored" signs.

 

[Gantz]

I played a bit of it at my friends. It's funny in some parts. What turned me off about the game are the loading screens. There's one for every action or place you go WTF?!

 

[Catalyst]

Does this game feature uncensored nudity, like, breasts? Stupid perverted curiosity is grabbing hold of me. Don't know what there is about virtual boobs. Well it isn't like I care, I'm just curious. I'm not into these types of games.

 

[aku:jiki]

Apparently, you can use GameShark and Action Replay codes to strip off the "Censored" signs.

It's in the game as well. If you go see Larry (Laffer) at Lefty's after you've beaten it, he allows you to purchase the "nude cheat". The problem is that you have to perfect every minigame in the game to get it, and that's an enormous pain since some of them are rather buggy and annoying.

But, yes, there's nudity in the game, Catalyst. Not very nicely textured or modeled nudity, but still.

 

[Catalyst]

But, yes, there's nudity in the game, Catalyst. Not very nicely textured or modeled nudity, but still.

That sucks. :X

 

[mosaic]

You don't need to get all perfects to get the nude cheat; but you do need 269 secret tokens, which is quite a lot. There are hundreds of em hidden in paintings and such though. Searching multiple times usually gives you 3-5 apiece.

Larry Laffer's end of game nude cheat only takes nudity to the extreme that you encounter in the game. You get to see lingerie and bare breasts, but when the bottoms come off, a big "Censored" sign pops up--that, at least in the console versions, can only be taken away with a GameShark type device. Larry's nude cheat just strips the story mode models so you don't have to play mini-games to see em nekkid. They didn't pull a Sims though and neglect to model the coochies. They're adequately detailed, as folks using a cheat device or playing the Euro version can attest.

 

[aku:jiki]

You don't need to get all perfects to get the nude cheat; but you do need 269 secret tokens, which is quite a lot. There are hundreds of em hidden in paintings and such though. Searching multiple times usually gives you 3-5 apiece.

True. But who's going to know this through the game? I mean, there's a ton of other stuff to spend them on.. So at that point, for most people who play it (I assume), the only option left is perfecting most or all minigames.

Larry Laffer's end of game nude cheat only takes nudity to the extreme that you encounter in the game. You get to see lingerie and bare breasts, but when the bottoms come off, a big "Censored" sign pops up--that, at least in the console versions, can only be taken away with a GameShark type device. Larry's nude cheat just strips the story mode models so you don't have to play mini-games to see em nekkid. They didn't pull a Sims though and neglect to model the coochies. They're adequately detailed, as folks using a cheat device or playing the Euro version can attest.

That sounds...very, very odd. Are you sure about this? I mean, there are smaller purchaseable unlockables for each character model. Why would you go for a 269 token one instead of a bunch of 5 token ones throughout the game? I can't get that to make sense at all...

 

[Catalyst]

Ooo...adequately detailed? I feel like a horny teenager again. And why is "Cum" censored on sites and stuff? This isn't semen cum, "Magna Cum Laude" is Latin for "great distinction" or "compare."

 

[Dsal]

Is it just me, or do the timing of the trampoline controls actually vary from scene to scene?

It's frustrating. That circle they have there that's supposed to be the target doesn't seem to be the actual target half the time.

Despite all the gameplay bugs, it really is a well-written game at parts. I love the little extras like the Kurt Rambis' Dance Party record.

 

[Traumahound]

Is it just me, or do the timing of the trampoline controls actually vary from scene to scene?

It's frustrating. That circle they have there that's supposed to be the target doesn't seem to be the actual target half the time.

Is Larry drunk? That'll really throw off the timing for the rhythm mini games.

 

[Mecha Gandhi]

The Australian PAL version has been banned, but the forthcoming European version will be ruder than the American one. Those censored bars aren't in it. Not that makes it particularly arousing. Porn is better.

It is sort of funny in a drunken teenager type of way, but it's yet to make me laugh out loud yet. And now I'm stuck on a mission which seems technically impossible [the one with the bandcamp girl and the twiggy mascot] and it makes me angry.

This is the kind of thing I'd recommend picking up second hand in a few months time, it's a quite missable game but it's just a bit different.

 

[xsarien]

Ooo...adequately detailed? I feel like a horny teenager again. And why is "Cum" censored on sites and stuff? This isn't semen cum, "Magna Cum Laude" is Latin for "great distinction" or "compare."

Magna Cum Laude is tame. Compare it to the list of rejected LSL7 titles on allowe.com, it's good stuff.

(Hee hee. "Yank Her's Away.")

 

[mosaic]

aku:jiki -- the distinction between the nude features that the Nigel character sells and the nude code that Larry sells later on is that Nigel's goodies make it possible to see the women in their lingerie out in the open, nude in mini-games and load screens, and nude as well as free-standing models in the character viewer, whereas Larry's code makes all of the women nude as they're standing out in the open. (Silly, yes, but the price paid for taking photos of them skyrockets)

And yah, the timing on the dance and trampoline games can change based upon how far you are in the game and how drunk Larry is at the time. One thing I've noticed is that you want to press the button when the indicator is totally inside the circle or just passing to the left, as opposed to when it first touches the circle on the right side. The game is very forgiving on "late" presses but harsh on "early" presses.

 

[Catalyst]

I'll be sure to pick this game up when it hits bargain bin price.

 

[Dsal]

I'm not 100% sure, but it seems like the timing of the button presses change around even when Larry's not drunk.

I noticed that the late taps tend to work better as well, but still, if you're going to move the timing of the target around, you should make the graphical representation of the target move with it.

One of my friends was one of the designers on this. Maybe I can get the full scoop on what the timing deal is from him.

 

[mosaic]

"We rushed the game out with a few bugs." That's my guess anyway. It seems odd that there isn't more to do in some areas, and that half of the businesses are just uninteractive fronts. Makes you wonder if more was planned but time or money didn't allow for a meatier game. We are talking about VU Games after all.

Also, heh, noticed that GameNOW alum Mark Manzo is listed in the credits as one of the QA testers. I think he still freelances for Ziff now and again. Wonder how he shuffles working for a dev and writing for mags. Did EGM give the game an 11? (kidding, High Voltage doesn't make a ton of games and I'm sure he doesn't review "in the family.")