Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded – Review

There’s a lot to be said about Larry Laffer’s life as a gaming character. The man used to be an icon, showing the world early on how videogames are more than fancy, digitalized kids’ toys. Then, sadly, his persona went on to show how a great franchise could fall in the blink of an eye.

Then there’s Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded, a game that takes us back into the past, to Larry’s most celebrated adventure. The question is; does it hold its own in 2013?

Story

A quick summary for those who missed the original Land of the Lounge Lizards -the original on which this adventure was based-. Down on his luck with both money and women, Larry Laffer goes on a well-earned trip to Lost Wages, the digital equivalent of Las Vegas.

Larry is planning on finally losing his standing record of 40 years without sex or any other form of intimacy.

This is basically the entire point of any Larry-game, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that a remake of the first game follows that same, err, plot.

Graphics

Truth to be told, Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded looks absolutely stunning. A great amount of work has gone into carefully creating a high definition version of Lost Wages.

Yet, compare it to the original -picture below- and it’s still easy to recognize everything. Lefty’s Bar made me recall fond memories of secretly playing the Land of the Lounge Lizards as a little kid.

It’s nostalgia, only prettier.

There is a downside though. As gorgeous as all the set pieces look, it’s difficult not to notice the absence of dozens of animations. Click on a random object and the game’s narrator will describe Larry’s latest embarrassing move. Which, in no way, translates to actual on-screen movement.

Sound

Reloaded exchanges all of Land of the Lounge Lizards’ basic chiptunes for a fully orchestrated soundtrack, featuring bombastic music, suitable of Larry’s carefree way of life.

One complaint I have is that the music tends to loop too quickly. So expect to get frustrated quickly when you’re hearing the same track for the umpteenth time.

Gameplay

Those who played the original game will immediately notice the difference. Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded drops Land of the Lounge Lizards’ chatbox that had you type in every single command, instead employing a more “modern -I’m using that term very loosely here- point & click-system.

You’ll be clicking a lot by the way, It’s never really clear what items Larry can use and which ones will never display even the slightest hint at moving.

Also worth mentioning: the entire inventory system is as archaic as it gets. There is no simple way to choose an item and drag it outside your inventory -God forbid you could actually click anywhere but the inventory when trying to leave it.

Even as a remake Larry is showing his age in many other ways. The puzzles, which were already pretty vague in the original game, haven ben made longer to add a little more spice. That’s not the result though, instead you get frustrating riddles that never really make it clear what needs to be done. It’s a trap many point & click games fail to avoid, but it’s even more damning when it happens to a franchise that’s already been through the motions once before.

Then there’s the whole slot-machine mini-game, the only way to earn money in Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded. Yes, money, cold cash that’s required to pay the taxi driver. Who you’ll rely on. A lot.

Sadly playing the slots makes you lose more money than it earns you, demanding you save and -pun not intended- reload in order to actually get things done.

What’s left is a blast from the past that relies on some decent juvenile humor, but fails to handle what it set out to do.

Conclusion

In my preview, I mainly judged Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded on its value as a nostalgia-trip. Make no mistake, this game is just that, a great way to relive fond memories from an age long past.

Other than that, this is just another mediocre point & click game, that fails to live up to both its own legacy and to plenty of recent games that did know how to satisfy your pointing and clicking needs.

Gromple

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