Previous Next

Wouldn't you just know it! Sharp-dressed man that you are, you parachute into a gorgeous and apparently deserted tropical paradise, looking dashing in your "leisure suit", with a head full of adventure and exploration. What happens next? The first beads of capitalism are sown in the natives' heads. They form Native Inc and start erecting time-share apartments. Hngff!

Such is the plot of the adult-orientated adventure facing one Larry Laffer - the star of the game that boasts Hawaiian shirts and special pants.

This is the game that claims to be widely offensive. What a novel marketing strategy! If you are offended by ethnic humour, pixellated nudity or adult situations, you're advised by the game developers not to play Leisure Suit Larry 3. Not only are you advised not to play it, but you also have to straddle the hurdle of "the quiz" - see American age of consent box. Responsible game producers? Or perhaps it's just the sort of empty promise 0898 number titillation that is supposed to attract Loaded-reading, post-Nineties men in their droves. Hmmm.

True, there are hugely pixellated semi-naked encounters, and the odd bawdy text screen that hints at the natives' naivety and the Great White Explorer's superiority. But, unless you're particularly adept at these games, it's you - the game player - the Great White Explorer in a silly suit that runs yourself ragged in the desperate pursuit of adult humour, while the natives rake in the cash from the Great White Tourists.

This is click 'n point territory. Push the cursor across the screen and yawn as Larry dawdles (you can alter the speed, but only at a cost to the background graphics) about the jumpy screens. The character bumbles around suffering animation and crab-walking, bumping into invisible obstacles in that endearing way that only games with utterly dreadful collision detection can. Finish one screen of luscious, pixellated jungle paradise and exit to the right, wait for the traditional "C'mon, c'mon c'mon. Oh bluddy 'ell!" few seconds to access the next screen then tut as you enter the next screen of luscious, pixellated jungle from the right! "Oh! Bluddy 'ell!" Again.

Any thoughts of polishing the game go out of the window in the quest for ineffectual, grubby "adult" humour and the option to change the swear words that flash up in dialog boxes when a disaster befalls Larry to your favourite expletive of the moment. If you're buying a £1.50 fanzine, unintentional crappiness can be a virtue, but if you're after a lasting, playable adventure game for your Atari ST, it's the kind of crappiness that makes you want to grit your teeth and growl...

There are no puzzles, as such, but it's certainly a little puzzling working out how to make use of some of the props - telescopes, televisions and even doors - that would seem on the face of it to be intuitive - but there are no really complicted items like cars because the islanders, who keep financial control of the island, forbid roads. Dead handy.

It's frustrating when potentially simple games become hard for the wrong reasons, and this is one. Or perhaps this is just a well-worked plot to get your blood pressure up in preparation for when you get to the pixellated semi-naked bits.

So Leisure Suit Larry 3 is an adult game. You can't play it unless you're over 18. Or until you answer enough of the unfathomably hard questions correctly. Well, they're not unfathomably hard, but as it's an American game, most of the questions lean heavily towards society on the other side of the pond. Get enough of the questions right and you access play at the "Really Filthy" level. Get two out of five correct and you play at the "Rather Risque" level. And... there is no discernible difference in the gameplay between these two levels. Tsk!

On the whole, the idea of sacrificing gameplay, strategy and quality of sound and graphics to make the game big and full of promise and innuendo falls a bit flat. Yes, there are auto and manual game saves to you can play a long game during your lunch breaks (or take advantage of the boss key which flashes up a spreadsheet, so you can sneak a game during office hours!) but although Leisure Suit Larry 3 is big, it's not varied enough and the tropical paradise becomes dull and cloudy with scattered showers by the weekend.

1. Big game that should keep you going.
2. Maintains an air of expectation.
3. Some of the humour.

1. Dodgy, jerky animation.
2. Slow, jumpy screen update.
3. Doesn't live up to its adult hype.