ST Format


Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti In Pursuit Of The Pulsating Pectorals

Author: Rob Steel
Publisher: Sierra On-Line
Machine: Atari ST

 
Published in ST Format #15

Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti In Pursuit Of The Pulsating Pectorals

Following his less-than-daring exploits to save the island of Nontoonyt from the clutches of evil Dr Nonookee in Leisure Suit Larry 2, Larry Laffer has disgarded his leisure suit for a loud shirt, funky shorts and shades. The island has gone through major changes too and has become a bustling resort crammed with casinos, hotels and tourist traps.

Larry is married to Kalalau, Chief Kenneth's daughter, and in the spirit of flagrant nepotism is Vice President of Marketing for Natives Inc, the island's major company. Everything is going really well... surely it won't last.

Before play commences you're required to input your age and correctly answer five questions to prove it. The more answers you get right, the raunchier the game is to play. If pixelated nudity turns you on then I suggest you have an encyclopedia and a dictionary of American slang handy to look up some of the answers.

Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals!

For the first few locations a not very subtle finger points Larry in the right direction so he can quickly find out how his life is about to take a turn for the worse. His wife runs off with a Harley Davidson-riding lesbian amazon slot machine repairer and he's given the boo from his executive post by Ken.

All Larry has to his name are his credit card and a dowry from Kalalau of hundreds of acres of useless forest. A quick change into the leisure suit we all know so well and Larry sets off to put his life back on the rails and dive back into the gene pool.

Talking to other characters on the island is the secret of success. Tawni, the girl on the beach, is really helpful if Larry is generous to her and she points the way to progress. The basic aim is to chat to people, work out what they want and try to provide it.

Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals!

Timing is important because some objects don't appear until their locations have been visited more than once and certain locations and characters are only accessible at particular times.

However, just getting from one location to another takes an age; even a very small amount of animation on-screen, such as the fountain outside the casino, slows down play enormously.

Effects

The graphics in this latest Sierra game are well up to their usual standard. The blown up pictures of the voluptuous girlies are extremely well-drawn and these make up for the time it takes to actually see them. The rudeness of the pictures depends upon the level set at the beginning of the game, but even at the raunchiest level there's nothing here to really offend anyone.

Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals!

The small graphics of Larry humping the various women are so small they're about as stimulating as a Viz cartoon, but at least they're amusing if nothing else.

A series of tunes plays throughout the game. If Larry manages to have sex with one of the girls his theme tune plays and the scene closes. There are a few spot sound effects, but nothing astounding. If you own a Casio CZ-101 you could plug this in and listen to synthesized sound.

Verdict

It's not until you finish Leisure Suit Larry 3 that you realise how small the game area is, consisting only of around 35 locations. The playing environment is as limited as the author's so-called humour, which can be extremely naff, so have a sick bag handy.

Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals!

The box states you need a dual-sided disk drive, so single-sided drive owners take not: you won't be able to play this game, even if you do have a MByte of memory. Another point to bear in mind is the price; at just under £40 you could buy your own three-piece.

Leisure Suit Larry 3 just takes far too long to play, not because it's challenging, but because screen updating and frequent disk accessing is so slow. Other games feature screens full of incredibly fast animated action, so why can't Sierra get Larry to walk at a decent pace past a three-frame "animated" fountain?

Frustrating and painfully slow gameplay makes you lose all desire to get Larry's life back on the rails. You'll probably find yourself hoping Larry catches a fatal dose of VD and puts us all out of our misery.

Rob Steel

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