It's got its pros and cons but is definately worth a look...
What’s the Game About?
In Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude (LSL:MCL) you basically play a college student named Larry Lovage who tries to get on a show called “Swingles” by obtaining tokens of affection from several chicks on the college campus. The tokens of affection are obtained through a series of mini-games where you try to impress the girl and prove your worth.
What’s Good about the Game?
This game is hilarious. If you’re the kind of person who likes movies like American Pie, and finds the concept of the story of a college kid who’s trying to get laid funny, then you’ll certainly like this game. The girls (there’s about 15 of them) all have different personalities and it’s funny to see how Larry ends up with the chick (for those who’ve already played the game and are reading this, you can’t possibly tell me that the ending with Koko wasn’t unexpected or hilarious!). What’s good is that all the mini-games and cut-scenes in the game can be played back whenever you like during the game. What makes this game unique is that it IS unique. There’s no other game out there (at least that I know of) that is like this game in any regards. There's obviously content in here that isn't for kids and a lot of people find that appealing unless of course you lack a libido.
What’s Bad?
There are a few cons to this game. Anyone who plays it will find out soon that it’s basically the same mini-games over and over (and over) again which gets frustrating and boring quick. If this game was entirely about the mini-games I would have stopped playing after the first hour – but its not – it’s about Larry, his college hijinks, and the story with all 15 of the chicks. If you go into this game thinking its going to be an in depth gaming experience that’s innovative and pushes the bar higher for future games then you’ll be disappointed. The only reason why I kept playing the game was because I treated the game like it was a movie always wanting to know what was going to happen next and how things were going to end up which leads me to my next point that this game was too short. It took me less than 10 hours to finish it (for 100% completion it required about 11) but this may have been necessary for this style of game play.
Conclusion
LSL: MCL is a fun game to play when you could use a laugh but the in depth gaming experience that a lot of gamers need just isn’t there in this game. This game only provides about 10 hours of entertainment and for about the same amount of money that you would spend to buy this game I’m sure there are other games out there that would provide the same level of entertainment (if not more) for a much longer time. However this game is unique for I haven’t played any other game that was like it – and trust me, if I did I would know. It’s not everyday that you play a game like this that pushes the limits of outright being banned (and from what I heard it was banned in Australia). It’s definitely worth a rent, maybe a buy, and if you treat the game as if it was a movie rather than a game, then it’s easy to overlook its repetitiveness and lack of depth. I definitely laughed a lot (to those who’ve played the game...“is this dishwasher safe?”) and am looking forward to a sequel.