Leisure Suit Larry

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Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for Sail!
Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for Sail!

Leisure Suit Larry is the title character of a series of adult adventure games written by Al Lowe and published by Sierra On-Line from the 1980s to the present. The character, whose full name is Larry Laffer, is a balding, dorky, double entendre-speaking, leisure suit-wearing (but still somewhat lovable) "loser" in his 40s who spends much of his life trying (usually unsuccessfully) to seduce attractive women.

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[edit] Overview

Originally stemmed from ideas of Sierra's first adventure game Softporn Adventure created by designer Chuck Benton[1], the "Larry" games were one of Sierra's most popular game series during the genre's heyday when it was first released in the mid 1980s. As such, they remain well-known among fans of the type today. The series stands out among Sierra's catalog in that they are the only games the company produced that contain significant sexual themes.

In general, the games follow Larry's escapades as he attempts (and mostly fails) to convince a variety of young nubile women (rendered with increasing sophistication throughout the series) to have sex with him. A common link between the games are Larry's explorations of luxurious and cosmopolitan hotels, ships, beaches, resorts and, more commonly, casinos. One of Larry's trademarks is his manner of introducing himself: "Hi, my name is Larry; Larry Laffer", a reference to James Bond's introduction style, "My name is Bond; James Bond."

Because of the nature of the games, the first and third episodes of the series featured an age verification system, which consisted of a series of questions to which the authors reasoned only adults would know the answer. However, many of the questions were U.S.-centric and this frustrated some non-United States gamers. Also, the multiple-choice questions did little to deter adolescents with some patience and a notepad. (The verification system could be skipped by pressing Alt-X in episode one, or Ctrl-Alt-X in episode three.)

After the gleefully seedy first game, the series - despite becoming infamous for its saucy content - gained somewhat of a reputation for not actually featuring all that much raunchy material when analyzed, particularly the mid-entries to the series. This became even more evident in later years, when more genuinely racy games appeared on the market. At most, the raunchier moments were usually hidden as Easter eggs. Things began to become racier again toward the end of the series, particularly in the (original) final installment, Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for Sail!.

In Shape up or Slip Out!, Love For Sail!, Casino, and Magna Cum Laude, Larry is voiced by Jan Rabson. Larry Lovage, the protagonist of Magna Cum Laude, is voiced by Tim Dadabo.

In March of 2007, Vivendi announced Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail! for the mobile phone. However, this version will be a remake of the previous game where the player plays Larry from the Magna Cum Laude game. It is also announced that parts of this game will take place in a plane.

On the Howard Stern radio show on November 27, 2007, comedian Artie Lange mentioned that he had recorded dialogue for a character named "Big Al" in a new Leisure Suit Larry game. On May 20, 2008, Lange confirmed that he had completed recording dialogue for the game. His salary was thirty thousand dollars for work which took "about an hour and a half", amazing Howard and his staff.

On January 17, 2008, Sierra Entertainment announced Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust for PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and mobile phones. [2]

[edit] Adventure games

The first incarnation of Larry
The first incarnation of Larry

[edit] Other software

  • The Laffer Utilities (1992) (A parody of the Norton Utilities package)
  • Leisure Suit Larry's Datebook (1992) (Mentioned in a 1992 Sierra Catalogue as "Larry speaks! Custom Larry screens pop on to tell you about meetings, birthdays, work habits, and hard-drive hygiene! Let Larry organize your life. Scary, huh?" however was never released. In fact, according to Al Lowe, he did not know it existed and had no plans to make it.)
  • Leisure Suit Larry's Casino (1998) (Larry Laffer, the protagonist of the Leisure Suit Larry adventure series, is running a casino. Leisure Suit Larry's Casino offers 5 casino games, 3 party games, a full gift shop, 3 restaurants, 3 bars, and a few surprises. Also featured an online component which allowed for players to upgrade their hotel room, and participate in other online only activities.)
  • Leisure Suit Larry Bikini Beach Volley (2006) A beach volley game for mobile phones[3].

[edit] Canceled games

[edit] The collections

Several Larry collections have also been compiled:

  • Larry 3-Pack (1991): this collection included the first three games that were available at the time.
  • Leisure Suit Larry's Greatest Hits & Misses (1994): this 1-CD collection included all the Larry games up to #6, including both versions of Larry 1, the VGA version of Larry 6, the Laffer Utilities, and the original Softporn game. A limited edition print of the Leisure Suit Larry book was also included.
  • Leisure Suit Larry: Collection Series (1997): this 2-CD collection included everything the previous collection contained, plus the SVGA talkie version of Larry 6, a Larry 7 preview, and Larry's Big Score: Pinball.
  • Leisure Suit Larry: The Ultimate Pleasure Pack (2000): this 4-CD collection was, again, otherwise identical to the one before it except that it also included the 1998 Larry's Casino and the full version of Larry 7: Love for Sail.
  • Leisure Suit Larry Collection (2006): this barebones collection only contains the 1-6 Larrys originally released on floppies (Substituting the remake of Larry 1 for the EGA original, and excluding the full-talkie CD edition of Larry 6). According to www.Allowe.com, Vivendi excluded Larry 7 from the collection in fear that the hidden ending would give the collection an Adults only rating. However, it is unknown why the EGA version of Larry 1 is missing from the collection. Unlike previous collections, this does not come with any printed documentation (instead including PDF files containing the original manuals for copy protection purposes, and the "Runs on Windows XP" blurb on the box is justified by an included copy of freeware application DOSBox, leaving many to see this edition (And the simultaneous releases of the Police Quest, King's Quest, and Space Quest collections) as a cash-in to measure the viability of future games in the series.

[edit] Other products

  • The Official Book Of Leisure Suit Larry (1990) (Written by Al Lowe and Ralph Roberts, containing background information and hint guides).

(Note: The book, like other Sierra books such as The King's Quest Companion, was revised and edited so that there was a second (1991), a third (1993), and a fourth (1997) edition).

  • The Authorized Uncensored Leisure Suit Larry Bedside Companion (1990) (Written by Peter Spear, it contains the stories of the first three Leisure Suit Larry games, as well as detailed walkthroughs, point lists and maps).

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Al Lowe Downloads game history (2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
  2. ^ Leisure Suit Larry® does Hollywood with new comedic adventure video game in 2008. Sierra Online Games (2008-01-17). Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
  3. ^ MSN Mobile - Bikini Beach Volley (2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
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