Saturday 26 May 2012

Game 19: Leisure Suit Larry 2 - Introduction


It goes without saying really doesn't it?

After just recently completing Sierra’s first game to utilise the SCI engine, King’s Quest IV, I’m immediately setting out to play the second, Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places). It’s the sequel to 1987’s Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, so from now on I’m just going to call the game Leisure Suit Larry 2. When I began this obscene task of playing through every notable graphic adventure game ever made for the PC, I can’t say I had high expectations for the Leisure Suit Larry series. The smutty adult natured themes didn’t seem like they would capture my interest and I figured I was also unlikely to be amused by the teenage boy comedy that the series is known for. Yet here we are after eighteen games have been ticked off the list, and the first Leisure Suit Larry sits very comfortably in second place behind Maniac Mansion. While I never thought I would be, I’m actually pretty excited at the prospect of trying to get Larry Laffer laid again, and to find out what hilarious stupidity Al Lowe (who wrote, programmed, produced, and wrote all music for the game) has lined up for me next.


I imagine surfing would be quite difficult with such an incredibly enormous head

There are however a couple of things that have me concerned prior to setting off on my next journey. Firstly, there’s the numerous comments that have popped up over time that reference Leisure Suit Larry 2 as having numerous dead ends, many of which are reasonably unavoidable. Secondly, while I haven’t started playing yet, I was quite shocked by the game’s intro, which suggests the story of the sequel is far removed from that of the first. I’ll go into more detail in the first gameplay post, but the game appears to have taken a slightly science fiction approach, and the story involves an arch villain orchestrating evil plots from his underground lair. It will be interesting to see whether the game feels connected to the first in tone and style, or whether Al decided to take the character in a totally different direction, perhaps due to criticism of the highly sexual nature of the original.


It's like Space Quest and Leisure Suit Larry combined

As I mentioned earlier, Leisure Suit Larry 2 was developed using the SCI engine, so the graphics and sound should have the same polish shown in King’s Quest IV. I look forward to hearing that catchy theme song without the dodgy PC speaker sound bringing the whole experience down, and can’t help wondering whether the quality of the women have improved at a similar rate to the technology used to produce them. We’ll all know soon enough! I’ve found a copy of the game and downloaded it (unfortunately GOG doesn’t have Leisure Suit Larry on the books yet for some reason), and found myself a PDF manual (from the ever reliable Replacement Docs site). The manual offers very little when it comes to story, apart from covering off what happened in the first game, but it is required to get past the piracy protection system. Strangely, I’ve started the game three or four times (trying to get a decent screen shot of the title page), and have been subjected to the same question each time. Hopefully I can just remember the one phone number, relinquishing my need of the manual altogether. Alright Larry...it’s time to put the suit back on and grace the ladies with your ever charming presence!


If he's already got the number of all these women, he ain't doing too badly!

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: I've recently written a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no points will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. As this is an introduction post, it's an opportunity for readers to bet 10 points (only if they already have them) that I won't be able to solve a puzzle unassisted (see below for an example). It's also your chance to predict what the final rating will be for the game. Multiple readers can predict the same score, but will be rewarded a decreasing amount of points if it turns out to be correct.

Example Bet:
Bet: V org lbh gra cbvagf gung lbh jvyy fgehttyr gb trg cnfg gur gerr pyvzovat ovg naq jvyy arrq nffvfgnapr. Ol gur jnl rirelbar, vg'f zl oveguqnl!

52 comments:

  1. I've made some small but significant adjustments to the Companion Assist Points Explained post, so even if you've already read it, please read the comments to get up to date. Thanks.

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  2. Also, I've added the What's Your Story? questionnaire in the side panel. Anyone willing to share for 20 points?

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    1. Writing it now! Had it in a comment, glad I noticed that.

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    2. So, was I the first one to email you?

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    3. Nope. That would be Alfred n the Fettuc. In fact, you were the sixth person to email me. :)

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    4. Yey! That's the good thing about not being on the same time zone than the majority of your readers : sometimes you get lucky ;)

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  3. Unccl oveguqnl qhqr!!! V'z guvaxvat nobhg jurer lbh zvtug or fghpx naq V znl cbfg n org ba guvf bar.

    LSL series have always sit comfortably near Space Quest in my top favorite Sierra series. This one is definitely different (and harder) than the first, but it's a great memory nonetheless.

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    1. 10 points to Alfred n the Fettuc for being the first person to wish me happy birthday. The fact that he did it in ROT13 makes it all the better. :)

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  4. Ok I'll try to place the first bet on this one. I hope I remember the game well...

    Bet : V org lbh gra cbvagf lbh jvyy trg xvyyrq ercrngrqyl ol gur znzn va lbhe pnova ng gur ortvaavat bs gur fuvc frpgvba naq jvyy arrq nffvfgnapr gb trg cnfg ure.

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    1. Oh geeze, I've heard about that puzzle actually! Can I put my bet on what Alfred said? That puzzle is famous!

      Gung vf gur bar jurer lbh ner punvarq gb gur orq naq gur fuvc vf ba sver, evtug? Orpnhfr V'ir urneq bs gung bar, zl orgf ba gung!

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    2. Oh wait, I have to gamble 10 points on that; Nevermind! I want to keep my 10 to spend, and I'm not sure if that is the puzzle I've heard about. However, if it is the one in the comments we should instead have a bet on how many times it kills you.

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    3. I'm not sure, but you may be mistaking with another one there, Cana :

      V guvax lbh'er zvfgnxvat jvgu yneel frira, jurer vg'f gur svefg chmmyr bs gur tnzr, abg n cnegvphyneyl anfgl bar gbb (vg freirf nf n ghgbevny), ohg gur vzntr vf zrzbenoyr. Gura ntnva, znlor V'z abg erzrzorevat evtug naq gur fuvc vf ba sver guvf gvzr gbb.

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    4. Awww, I am probably getting things mixed up now. And really, it was easy? Damn.

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  5. I should have given you a heads up earlier on this, but there is a fun thing that you should do. In the menus, there is an option to set a "Trite Phrase". It is defaulted to "Have a Nice Day!" which is pretty boring. This line will be used by many characters during the story.

    It would have been fun for us to have given you suggestions, and possibly voted on them, but it's a bit too late for that.

    I remember when I first played this game, my friend and I put in something that was very much an inside joke with us and also very NSFW. We laughed pretty good every time it came up.

    I have confidence that you will come up with something good. In case you don't, here's my suggestion: "Rosella smells like a whale's uvula!"

    OK, that was bad, but I really don't care. Oh, and there is a similar feature in LSL3.

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    1. Also, if the manual doesn't say it, you have the option of setting the "filth level" of the game.

      And another technical note. A certain repeating animation that gets old really fast (you'll know it, when you've seen it couple of times) can be skipped with the command "leave" or "exit".

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    2. I vote Trickster plays in on the most filthy, disgusting level there is. :D

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    3. I wouldn't have it any other way Canageek. Thanks for the heads up Ilmari. I'm about to start the game, so will check the menu.

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    4. "I EAT YOUR BRAIN"
      "Spork you"
      "Gorram"

      But the best one?
      "Burma Shave"

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  6. I can't remember if it was Larry 2 or 3 that was on the tropical island but it will interesting to see you play this none the less. I'll wait till games i'm positive i've played before guessing what score they'll give :)

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  7. And my score prediction for this one is ... 53

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  8. My score guess will be 55. I reckon technically sound, but you won't enjoy the story and overall theme as much as the first. Good luck!

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  9. I forgot to link this back in LSL1, but someone has done a pretty good remix of the Leisure Suit Larry theme music.

    Download here (From OCRemix): Larry's Funky House of Lowe: http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01677/

    Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcH9CbKkIls

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  10. Oh and I predict a score of 54 - I think it's a decent enough game that falls down due to a few very poor puzzles.

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  11. This was by far the most difficult game to complete, it took my friends and I months and we were stuck at the end for weeks.

    I am going to guess a score of 56, Hopefully the silly humor will make up for the toughness.

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  12. A quick bypass of the copy protections is 555-0724 (Al Lowes birthday). You miss the introduction using this code, but that shouldn't be a problem after you have seen it once.

    I got this from Al Lowes website he has heaps of information on larry, but don't visit it, it contains spoilers.

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  13. Bet: V org lbh 10 cbvagf gung lbh jvyy or fghpx jura gelvat gb chg gur ont va gur obggyr ng gur ibypnab naq yvtugvat gur ont. Zl sevraq naq V jrer fghpx ba guvf sbe bire n jrrx. Vg'f n cnefre ceboyrz lbh arrq gb hfr 'gur' orsber ont naq obggyr.

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    1. Honestly, I hesitated with this one... I think we all have the same dark memories :)

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    2. Yup, I would have made my bet with this one as well - nygubhtu V nz abg fher vs orvat fghpx orpnhfr bs n oht fubhyq pbhag.. Well, we all (?) suffered because of this, so why not Trickster as well :P

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    3. Hey Trixter, don't worry about my bet, again I read too quickly and saw I had to HAVE the points first to bet, doh! Anyway I think you'll get stuck nicely on this one. Nyfb vg znl abg pbhag orpnhfr vg vf n oht.

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    4. If you fill out the survey/questionnaire, then you should have points in the bank.

      If you're confident about this then I wouldn't mind backing your bet with 10 of my own points. It does sound like a good bet. (I've never played the game.)

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    5. Go ahead Zenic. I'll fill out the survey later and will probably keep the points for later rather than risking them.

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  14. Oh, a quick note to anybody interested in modern adventure games. There's currently one of those charity indie bundles going on called bundle in a box. It contains the Ben and dan games, a fun one called metal dead and several others I haven't tried yet. Well worth pay what you want for people who enjoy these games. Just google it!

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  15. The version I played of this game was the remake in AGS: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/Games.aspx/Detail/356

    It's pretty much the same game, with the only major change being a point-and-click-interface. Surely takes some frustration out of the game, but I imagine it probably also loses a lot of funny responses and other details.

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  16. I think I never finished this one - got stuck at the end if I recall correctly. The journey to that point was not entirely pleasant... including what I think was a darker tone in general. I call a PISSED rating of 52!

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  17. Happy birthday! (Didn't notice that until now).

    I am actually hesitating about the betting, because I have so much confidence in your skills. But here goes nothing! Bet: V cerqvpg gung lbh jvyy abg trg cnfg gur XTO ntragf ng gur ornpu jvgubhg nffvfgnapr (gur chmmyr jurer lbh arrq pebff-qerffvat).

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    1. This was the other puzzle that got me stuck for a while. V guvax gur tnzr unq fbzr cnefre punyyratrf urer nf jryy, jvgu gur "vzcynagf".

      I also have lot of confidence in you, so I will simulate a bet against Ilmari (as this feature wasn't yet allowed). No points involved, but just to make this more interesting - Don't let me down :)

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  18. And my prediction on the game score:

    Technically it is of the same quality as KQIV, so it will probably get the same scores for Interface (5) and Graphics/sound (6). Dialogue will probably as good as in LSL 1 (6). Puzzles of the game will be probably be its failing point, so I suppose it might get only 4 or even 3. Story and Atmosphere are two wild cards (because people usually either love or hate this game), but I'll guess both will get something around 6.

    So the overall score will be: 53

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  19. Guessing PISSED rating for 51.

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    1. oh, and happy birthday. I was going to include it in the email, but forgot. :D

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  20. I guess I'm going with 50.

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  21. Number 1 got 57, and people seem to agree this isn't quite as good. I'm going 55, which no one else has picked yet; I expect far better writing then KQIV, but a ton of points lost on the puzzles should mostly negate this.

    Also: Happy Birthday.

    Given the happy day, do we get to hear YOUR story sometime soon?

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  22. LSL2 is definitely very different in style than the first one - luckily the humor is still there, although I must have missed 95% of the jokes when I originally played it as a kid.

    I will predict 52 points for this one.

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  23. Hey looks like I've finally caught up after being linked here from the Two Guys kickstarter. Looking forward to seeing how you do, and what you think, of some more of the games I fondly remember from my youth. :)

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  24. First gameplay post coming tomorrow. Last chance for any predictions or bets.

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  25. I'm predicting 53 points for LSL2. For me, LSL2 is one of those games that's fun to remember, for a couple of good reasons, but in all honesty it was not that much fun to play.

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  26. Leisure Suit Larry 2 - Goes looking for Love in Several Wrong Places can be streamed from Archive.org at: https://archive.org/details/msdos_Leisure_Suit_Larry_2_-_Goes_looking_for_Love_in_Several_Wrong_Places_1988

    Note that you can't save in the streaming version of DOSBOX they use, but if you want to give it a go with zero set up, give it a try.

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