From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude
Developer(s)	High Voltage Software
Publisher(s)	Sierra Entertainment
Release date(s)	October 5, 2004
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	BBFC: 18 (uncut version) ESRB: M ESRB: AO (uncut version) PEGI: 18+ (uncut version) OFLC (New Zealand): R16 (uncut version) OFLC (Australia): RC USK: 18
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox
Media	CD-ROM

Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude is a 2004 computer game, part of the Leisure Suit Larry series.

Contents 1 History 2 The Girls 3 System 4 References 5 External links

In 2003, a surprising announcement was made by Sierra Entertainment, now a division of Vivendi Universal Games: the Leisure Suit Larry franchise was being revived with an eighth game, called Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude. This is the first game in which Al Lowe is not involved in any way, as this game was created by game developer High Voltage Software, Inc. (http://www.high-voltage.com)

The new Larry game does not star Larry Laffer, but a new character: his nephew, Larry Lovage. There are numerous homages to the earlier Larry games: Larry Laffer is the tutorial guide and giver of questionable advice for Larry Lovage; Larry's computer is playing Leisure Suit Larry 4: The Missing Floppies ("the best game of its time"); and secret tokens featuring the likeness of the Where's Dildo? character from Larry 7 can be collected. The loose storyline of the game is that Larry wants to appear on a dating TV show called Swingles, but he must prove his worth before he is allowed on air.

Ione - A genius who goes to the same college as Larry. She is a tall girl who wears glasses and a green sweater.

Harriet - A enthusiastic girl who plays in the university band.

Analisa - A feisty, outspoken Sicilian girl.

Bilzarbra - A tall, busty African-American woman who works at the local grocery store. She dreams of becoming an actress.

Luba Licious - A funloving girl who enjoys being drunk.

Beatrice - A teacher at the college.

Barbara Jo - A archetypal dumb blonde.

Zena - A stripper with pigtails.

Zana - A Russian foreign-exchange student.

Koko- A girl whose job is a mime.

Sally Mae - A loud Jewish cowgirl.

Morgan - A geeky girl who enjoys Dungeons & Dragons and streaking.

Tilly - A snobby British girl with fiery red hair. She has a resemblence to actress Haviland Morris.

Uma - The host of the television show "Swingles." She often ridicules Larry.

Sweet Lou - A chubby woman who runs the local grocery store. She has a strong Southern accent and brags about being promiscuous with male celebrities.

Like many other current games (such as the Grand Theft Auto series), Magna Cum Laude has a free exploration mode where Larry can walk about campus and interact with students and personnel on the premises. In this mode, Larry can search for hidden money or tokens, strike poses to impress girls, and take photos which can later be sold to collectors. At several locations on campus a minigame can be entered, usually by "activating" an object or a person (starting a conversation). The player must win most of the minigames in order to advance. Minigames started by a conversation usually increase the affection of one of the girls; other minigames can provide money or increase "confidence".

There are several different minigames, and variations on them:

• Chat: the player must steer a sperm icon through a course of "hot spots." Green hot spots result in a good conversation, whereas red spots result in inappropriate and humiliating (but amusing) topics.
• Dancing: a rhythm game similar to Dance Dance Revolution where the player must press the right buttons on time
• Trampoline: a variation of dancing, where Larry is bouncing on a trampoline
• Serve: a variation of the classic arcade game Tapper, where food or other items must be passed to each row before the queue reaches Larry
• Quarters: a drinking game where coins must be tipped in a glass to get the other player drunk

Other minigames included are panty raids and evasion, where Larry must escape other people by running along a set course. Typically in order to "win" a girl, multiple of these games must be played in succession.

There are two versions of Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude. The "tamer" version has an ESRB Rating of M (Mature) while the other version, entitled Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude Uncut, has an ESRB rating of AO (Adults Only). The major difference between the two is that the uncut version contains full frontal nudity and sex scenes with the genital area obscured. The uncut version also includes more video and art than the censored version.

Reviews of the game were mixed, with most praising the game for its humor but panning it for its gameplay (Al Lowe denounced Magna Cum Laude vigorously, emphasizing on his website that he took no part of its creation after being promised so[1]).

Game character "Luba Licious" appeared nude in the October 2004 U.S. edition of Playboy magazine as part of a feature called "Gaming Grows Up."

In late 2005, Target department stores (through online vendor Amazon.com) began accepting pre-orders for a sequel to Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude entitled Leisure Suit Larry: Cocoa Butter. This new game was being developed for personal computer, Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox, and Sony Playstation Portable systems, however it has since been cancelled in development. This would have marked the first time a Leisure Suit Larry title would have been produced for a handheld gaming system.

• Official Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude website
• Official Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude - Uncut and Uncensored website
• Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude at MobyGames
• Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude - Uncut and Uncensored at MobyGames
• Al Lowe on MCL
• Reviews (with sources) for the writing in Magna Cum Laude
• The dark side - Article considering four controversial video games including LSL Magna Cum Laude