Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (PC) Review

Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards is an adventure game. An old-school adventure game. A very, very old-school adventure game. After finally getting to run it via a DOS emulator, most gamers, even those who were "there" when this got released, will be slightly alienated by the way this is played. Instead of a simple point-and-click control scheme, Larry, our loser protagonist, must first move near the object of his affection (alive or not), and then fiddle with it (in more ways than one) with the use of typed commands. Therefore, one must type OPEN DOOR in order to open door, or USE CONDOM in order to… err, safely open a "door."

In other words, this is pretty similar to the text adventures of old, but with a visual feedback added to the whole deal. The weird thing? While there is a VGA version available that improves the graphics by tenfold (although the original still has a strong retro charm), and adds a helpful, icon-driven verb interface, it destroys part of the "heart" of this naughty odyssey - its humour.

The pleasure here often stems from how funny this can be, and this becomes even more obvious in the original version, since one can experiment with a variety of input commands and get all sorts of responses, most of which disappear in the 1991 upgrade. Furthermore, and quite surprisingly for an adventure that deals with a middle-aged dork's struggle to lose his virginity in a city that's a parody of Las Vegas, the humour is pretty good, and not what you would expect of it…

Yes, the joking is simple and all about puns, double-entendres, and suggestive wordplay, but it's also nothing more than that. In fact, those expecting something overly vulgar or heavy handed, as is expected in most sex-themed video games, will simply be disappointed as Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards is actually quite "polite" for what's on offer - especially in terms of visuals.

Unfortunately, while decent gameplay-wise, a great puzzle-solving fanfest this is not, and there are definitely some better (and longer) alternatives available. For starters, this is a product from a bygone age where it's possible to screw up (pun not intended) and ruin a play-through - not just because this is one of those Sierra adventures where you can actually die, but mostly because it's easy to throw away or misuse a key-item.

Besides that, the obstacles themselves aren't always a joy to overcome. Some are too easy, some are too nonsensical, and some (the worst of the bunch) feel more like fetch quests, since they require gaining money by spending lots of time gambling. Even navigating needs some dough as Taxi rides aren't free, and the alternative is walking through a dark alley, and getting mugged by a friendly citizen of Lost Wages.

In conclusion: this is a cult classic despite its shortcomings, most of which are proof of its age (and budget). It's the start of a mixed-quality series that definitely has some titles that are worth the ride, with the seventh one, Love for Sail! probably the best …And even if you think that Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards isn't your bag, try it out, only to see a cashier mock you by shouting "This weirdo just bought a heavy-weight, industrial-gauge, spearmint-flavoured, striped, rough-cut, plain, libbed, latex, spermicidal, small-sized lubber!!!"