Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude (PS2, Xbox)

This Halloween, I brought you guys and gals a tale of terrifying terror. A game so horrifying that you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy's worst enemy. It's called Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust and it's a sad, sorry excuse for a game. The humor was humorless, the characters were unlikable, the scenery was one-dimensional, and the controls were absolutely broken. For a current-gen game, it wasn't close to worth the already budget price it sold for at release (roughly 30 bucks) and I would really think twice about it at just about any price.

However, Leisure Suit Larry games have not always been this mind-meltingly bad. As a matter of fact, I grew up on these games! Leisure Suit Larry: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards was my introduction to adventure games at age 12 and by 16 or so I snatched up the whole collection for the PC. My favorite two games of the series are 5 and 6. LSL5 was innovative in having you spend half of the game as Larry and the other half as Passionate Patti (as well as showcasing a new art style that would be adapted and refined over the next two games) and LSL6 had voiceover work, great animation & art for its time, and humorous puzzles. Sure, the games were supposed to be for adults and had some raunchy humor and situations - but nothing in those games was ever near as explicit as one of those American Pie films. I discovered my love for the adventure genre through Larry Laffer's lovable antics and while I still enjoy a great variety of adventure games - King Graham never had to occupy a Pimp's attention by turning on scrambled Skin-e-max. That's the kind of shenanigans that only a nerdy, 70's obsessed 40-something could get into.

Leisure Suit Larry + Organ = comical caption!

Sadly, the late 90's resulted in what was once Sierra Online crumbling with big layoffs (including Larry creator Al Lowe,) Ken and Roberta Williams leaving the company and it changing hands numerous times - the future of Larry was uncertain while in the hands of new owners Vivendi. However, Larry was (more or less) resurrected in 2004 in this Xbox and PS2 college-based Larry game; Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude. The game was developed without any involvement from original creator Al Lowe and many audience members panned it for not feeling like a legitimate Larry game and for relying too heavily on minigames rather than more classic adventure strategies. I originally felt myself split on the game. Tes, the game was funny (but in a more sophomoric way that the original games were,) and to me the minigames never got too intrusive, and the new dialogue feature was actually a clever invention. Also, it seems true what they say - "absence makes the heart grow fonder." I've been without the game for years now and I miss it. I realize that my first reactions were harsher than they should have been. So let's dig into the pros and cons of the revamped Larry. Heck, at least it ain't Box Office Bust!

Ladies...there's room in my heart for all of you!

In Magna Cum Laude, you star as Larry Lovage, the nephew of that iconic loser Larry Laffer. The plot centers around Lovage's community college exploits as he tries to earn a spot on the television show Swingles. You must succeed (however embarrassingly) to gain the affection of all of the main female characters in the game in order to gain your spot on Swingles and finally complete the game. You'll run across country cowgirls, Joizy Shore foul-mouths, a mime with something to hide, a granola feminist and many other interesting college stereotypes. All-in-all the plot is not too far removed from the original Larry games meets the film "PCU." Throughout the game, you'll even receive advice from your ol' uncle Larry - voiced by none other than Jan Rabson of LSL6 & 7 fame. So what exactly is it that fans didn't dig about this new incarnation of Larry?

Uncle Larry Laffer - the shining beacon of wisdom

For starters, the minigames in MCL make up the bulk of the gaming experience. Sure, you can walk around and interact with different objects, collect coins and secret items (all adventure game staples;) but it's these conversation games and other minigames that were unfamiliar territory for gamers who were used to typing in commands for Larry and had fun hunting through a mountainous inventory to find what item will help you to enter a cruise ship or survive for days adrift in the sea. In conversation minigames you control your little ah-hem "swimmer" through various obstacles to different options highlighted by smiling emoticons, beer-steins, frowny-faces and other assorted choices. Wherever your swimmer lands during a portion of the conversation dictates what Larry is going to say next. While this was jarring at first - I've come to appreciate how clever this minigame is. It leads to a game experience that can be different every time and some really wacky Madlibs style conversations with members of the fairer sex. The highlight of the game has to be a call-and-answer version of Grease's "Summer Nights."

Hellooooooooooo Cowgirl!

Unfortunately, some of the other minigames are not quite as clever or amusing. Just as the liars dice minigame in LSL7 had me pulling my hair out - Magna Cum Laude has the dreaded quarters minigame. If you're not necessarily the most coordinated person in the world, this game can be absolutely maddening. There's also a dance-off mini game and a trampoline minigame both of which can be frustrating too - but not near as much as the quarters one. You'll run into other minigames here and there, but thankfully most of the game tends to revolve around the conversation game, which if you're a fan at all of the humor of this game; should be considered the biggest strength that MCL has going for it. Sure, the humor isn't quite as subtle as Al Lowe's - but there's a lot to love in MCL even if it's a goofy, fratboy, college humor sort of love.

Forget anything nice I said about ... anything.

The graphics and sound are really well executed here. There are a handful of licensed songs sprinkled throughout the game and plenty of fun, wacky dialogue to enjoy and the in-game score is fun and funky without being too "in the way." Since most of the game is dialogue based anyway - the background score is there without being too overbearing. The graphics are cartoony and goofy as heck - but work perfectly for the overall comedy theme. Some characters have harsh pixel edges - so don't expect top-of-the line Kingdom Hearts level graphics here, but for a 10 year old game it holds up really well and would need very little tweaking to compete with today's batch of humor-based, cartoony games. Comparing Magna Cum Laude with Box Office Bust is no comparison - this game trumps Box Office Bust in every facet. The characters don't look like deformed aliens with crooked smiles and dead eyes, the levels are cheerful and bright, the ladies are as sexy as cartoon video game ladies are supposed to be, and the camera doesn't become a nuisance with a mind of its own.

While Magna Cum Laude isn't the funniest, smartest, or best entry in the Leisure Suit Larry franchise - it certainly isn't the worst. Over time I've come to appreciate what the developers were trying to do with this game and the changes they made to the Leisure Suit Larry formula were mostly positive (aside from a few less than wonderful minigames.) I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes goofy, fun, cartoony and most of all raunchy action/adventure games. It's a fun adult-themed ride through all of the best (and worst) parts about college life and you can buy it or put yourself on the waiting list for it right now over at Lukie Games! The holiday season is upon is - buy it for someone you love (or someone you want to impress with your fine taste in gaming excellence.)

P.S. - I hear college girls love sock puppets!

Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)

I'm sure this statement won't be entirely controversial, but I hesitate just a little when I say that us gamers are a really strange bunch. I know this from personal experience, so please put down your pitchforks and torches and save them for the Sega CD version of "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." All I'm saying is, I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that most of my biggest life events have revolved around video games. I can't remember the name of the first girl I ever kissed. I think it was Alicia. Or was it Amy? Anne? Definitely an "A" name. I barely remember my first dance (though it's easier to remember because she was drunk and the song that was playing was one that I hate. "With Arms Wide Open." Bleecccch.) However, I can remember clear as day the first time I ever played "Legend of the Mystical Ninja" at my buddy James' house. I suspect many of you have similar stories for Megaman 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Double Dragon or any other _____insert game here_______.

As wonderful as those games are, they didn't have quite the impact that Konami's 1991 classic did for me. I stopped by James' house after school every day to try out the latest game he rented from the local grocery store or bought at the Toys 'R Us. On one particularly memorable day, he said "I have this Japanese game we HAVE TO play." He and another buddy of ours almost beat it in one night - it was my challenge to help him finish. While we never got to the final stage that day, I will always remember the fun we had popping enemies in the head with flutes and yo-yos and playing mini-games in the arcade.

Full disclosure: this is one of my favorite games, so don't be surprised if there are even more flowery, glowing words about this title than many of the previous ones I've reviewed. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I've seen this screen once or twice...

First, a little history. Legend of the Mystical Ninja is the American title for the Japanese Super Famicom game, "Ganbare Goemon: Yukihime Kyuushutsu Emaki." Don't ask me to pronounce that - I clearly copy-pasted that badboy in here from Wikipedia. The Goemon series of games started with the arcade classic Mr. Goemon, which I also recommend - although the gameplay is almost completely different. The only version I know of here in the states is available from the ill-fated Game Room application on XBLA. I highly recommend at least giving the free demo a spin.

To give a little more history (this time, the kind that comes from textbooks - not Nintendo Power,) the character Goemon is based on a Japanese folk hero named Ishikawa Goemon. From what history there is out there floating around, Goemon is the Japanese equivalent to our Jesse James - an outlaw, a thief, a bandit who has been given a larger than life persona that may or may not have been earned. Some legends say he was a ninja out for revenge, some say he was a robin-hoodesque figure who stole from the rich and gave to the poor - and according to Konami, he's a squatty little blue haired boy who whacks bald Japanese fishmongers with a pipe for coins and hangs around a chubby mustachioed man who loves eating and may or may not fancy the male geisha rowing the boat after your giant squid battle. I love Japanese gaming.

Breaking the fourth wall? GENIUS!

Side note: In the Japanese version of this game series, your main characters are Goemon and Ebisumaru. In the cart I'm reviewing, the characters are known as Kid Ying and Dr. Yang. This is one big ball of confusing if you wind up playing the US N64 games, as they are correctly named in those games. The scourge of "localization" also lead Konami to snip a funny sequence or two from the US release. That being said, there's a lot of humor left in the US release and I wouldn't say it is necessary to track down the Super Famicom cart just for a few tiny differences.

The controls in Mystical Ninja are easy to grasp and work pretty close to flawlessly. You control Kid Ying or Dr. Yang in this action adventure classic - running, jumping, swinging around yo-yos and flutes across levels broken up into several screens and usually an "action stage" section guarded by a giant raccoon dog (?) who gives hints or cautions you about danger ahead. I know there is also some Asian folk history behind these giant raccoon dogs (whose statues in Asian markets usually have another special feature I probably shouldn't mention in this review. Suffice to say - color me impressed) I'm just clueless as to what it signifies.

In order to pass this stage, "Raccoon Dog" says you need really big...er...sandals

Anyway, you can buy pizza to replenish health after your last hitpoint and sandals to increase your overall speed and jumping power. These sandals are a must! Hidden around most levels are bonus stages where you will need these sandals to access various prizes blocked by rock-piles. The hit detection is mostly accurate (although you'll be cursing all of the enemies and their cheap-shot flying projectiles - swearing up and down that they didn't really hit you,) but overall there aren't many hiccups in how you control Ying or Yang around the stages.

As I mentioned before, there are a bunch of hidden or bonus sections to this game that are well worth the price of admission alone. There are sections where you jump across rocks for bonus items, there are first-person dungeon maze sections ala the first couple Might and Magic games, and there are bonus games all over the place! It's hard to accurately explain in words the fun of the carnival stage. There is horse-race betting, dice, slot machines, whack-a-mole, paint race, and arcade games such as breakout and hockey. There are fortune tellers who influence your immediate future by rewarding you with goodies when you leave the store or showering you with enemies. Keep in mind that all of the fun little in-game distractions cost gold coins, so you could spend your entire wad on parlour games when you really should have picked up pizza and sandals. Just a friendly, frugal warning from someone who has spent HOURS playing the in-game minigames. It was a novel idea back in the early 90s and it still holds up remarkably well today.

The graphics and sound are both out of this world and add so much to an already amazing game. There are plenty of short cutscenes and animations in between stages that are equal parts detailed and impressive as they are laugh-out-loud funny. While this game is no Donkey Kong Country, I still would rank the elaborate cutscenes and animations as highly impressive for the Super Nintendo. The characters are just so darn cute! As stunning as the graphics are - the music is also one of the big highlights of this game. The songs are just so infectious! If you're anything like me, you'll be humming the various stage songs right along with the Megaman 3 intro and Super Mario World theme. I have heard some of these songs before outside of the game, so I believe that a few of them are old Asian folk songs - either that or someone saw fit to do restaurant muzack versions of Mystical Ninja songs. I'm betting on the former, since there are so many references to Japanese folklore and culture in this game.

Jaws 4-D: Attack of Dr. Yang!

For me, the absolute highlight of the game is the multiplayer element. I know, there are tons of SNES games that feature 2 player co-op. However, this game feels like it was MEANT to be played with a partner. I mean, you're watching/playing the adventures of Kid Ying and Dr. Yang, right?! The cutesy and clever cutscenes pull you in and it only seems natural to have both Goemon and Ebisumaru on screen when all the action is going down. Not to mention that the difficult level increases as the game progresses, so there are times where I struggle unless I've got a buddy backing me up and tossing coins or throwing stars at our opponents. If you're looking for a great multiplayer game (ya know, back when multiplayer required you to be in the same room as your partner) then look no further than Legend of the Mystical Ninja.

Not at Lukie Games! Currently only 20.97 as of this blog. Such a steal!

So what else can I say? This game and the other US ported Goemon games didn't set records with sales over here and that's a shame. I believe it's one of the top 5 essential SNES games and is every bit as good as the staples like Super Mario World, Mario Kart, Donkey Kong Country, Chrono Trigger, Legend of Zelda, Super Street Fighter II, etc. - it's just a very different game. One that I know you will enjoy if you dig a fun, comical action adventure game and especially if you can grab a friend, family member, hobo, stranger, neighbor, police officer, or teacher to play second fiddle to your little blue haired hero. Lukie games has a copy for sale NOW and you'll be glad you picked it up. It's one of the essential SNES games. Period.

Psychonauts (Xbox/PS2)

Tim Schafer is an underrated genius.

I know, I know. "Genius" is a big word. A word weighty enough to crush a cruise-liner and as misused, abused, altogether overused as an NES zappergun. However, if one were to hit pause and look at the catalog of games that have spilled from his mind and fingertips; it's truly an awesome sight. Writing, programming and/or designing such amazing games as The Monkey Island games, Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, Brütal Legend, and more. The world of adventure games owes a huge debt to him and the work he pulled off at LucasArts as well as his own Double Fine Productions.

Official Seal of Awesomeness

Sadly, adventure games are more or less a dead genre nowadays. They turned Leisure Suit Larry into a goofy, clunky, unfunny platformer (Box Office Bust,) King Graham is nowhere to be found (Though I read that Telltale Games might reboot Kings Quest) and games like Schafer's own Full Throttle and Grim Fandango should have done way better than they did financially. These are hilarious, well-written, well-designed games. So guys and gals who love a funny, quirky script and an emphasis on plot and puzzles over "bang-bang, shoot 'em ups" jump all over these games when they can find them. Or at least, they should. That's where Psychonauts comes in.

While not an adventure game according to the strictest definitions, Majesco's 2005 game Psychonauts is an action/adventure platformer that (not unlike most of the games I review here,) deserved to sell far more copies than it did. In Psychonauts, the player controls Raz, a gifted young boy training to be a Psychonaut at a psychic summer camp. Training to be a super-secret, ultra-awesome psychic agent. The camp is run by a Patton-esque general gone mad coach Oleander, groovy disco chick Milla Vodello, and cold hard scientist Sasha Nein. Raz makes friends with various other Psychodets all training at the camp and also gets training from Ford Cruller, a batty old man who walks around in various disguises throughout the game and teaches Raz his various psychic abilities.

Ford Cruller droppin' pure gaming science on you

The first thing that you'll notice about Psychonauts are the tremendous and lengthy cutscenes. Those who don't dig humorous banter, plot-crucial cinematics, and a little bit of character development need not apply. For everyone else, this game is a breath of fresh air. In some games, the cinematics take you out of the action - but not in Psychnonauts. It's like watching a really funny Saturday morning cartoon (remember, the ones that used to actually make you laugh?) and then being able to control the action at crucial times. It's not unlike the cinematic nature of Rockstar games such as Bully, The Warriors, or Red Dead Redemption if they were full of quirky, acid-trip-esque characters and hilarious back-and-forth banter.

No Psychonaut ever won a war by dying for his psychic abilities...

Controlling Raz is a piece of cake. Anyone who has played a modern 3d platformer should get the hang of the controls really quickly. Once you start progressing through the game and developing your Psychic abilities, walking around and completing tasks gets easier with things such as the levitation ball to help Raz reach otherwise tough spots. The only real downside with the controls is getting used to mapping out your psychic abilities to the controller (something that was easier to manage on the PC version.) That being said, there are many other games that require you to pick-n-choose which actions you want hot-keyed to your button layout so this should also not be too challenging for folks who are used to this sort of control scheme.

As far as difficulty is concerned, I would rank this game as easy. Like nearly all platform games, there are a couple of spots where you'll get frustrated for dying over a "stupid mistake." Should have jumped sooner, should have jumped later, etc. The game is also packed full of fun if you are the kind of cat who likes to chase down things like "psychic baggage" and other little collectables to raise your psychic ranking. The gameplay is not unlike Conker's Bad Fur Day, which also has a similar difficulty - However, Psychonauts seems to control a little smoother which helps to limit the amount of annoying pitfalls.

The graphics are colorful and the characters designs are definitely original. The various characters in Psychonauts from the camp counselors all the way to the psychodets look like they would fit in nicely in one of those animated Tim Burton flicks ala "Nightmare Before Christmas" or "Corpse Bride." Everyone's got wacky sharp angles and everything from level design to character sprites feels skewed in the most deliberate and wonderful way. As mentioned before, it feels like a wacky version of the best Saturday morning cartoons from your childhood. While the graphics may not have pushed the upper limits of the Xbox or Playstation 2's capabilities, they are more than appropriate for a game as sideways and crazy as this one.

The way with the giant lava pit. That's the ticket!

As well as crisp and game-appropriate graphics, the music is awesome and the voice acting is one of the main highlights of the game. Throughout most of the early stretch of the game, you'll be controlling Raz around the camp - accompanied by some fun, droopy country-esque music with wailing harmonicas and drunken sounding guitar licks. The score shifts into Danny Elfman territory whenever Raz slips into one of the psychic realms. Horns, orchestral stings, etc.

The adventure game genre is more or less a thing of the past. However, once in a while games like Psychonauts will come along that may have the physics of a platform game, but have the humor, heart, and soul of a true adventure game. This game was woefully ignored by the public, so here's your chance to right that mistake! At the time of this article, Lukie Games has a copy for the Xbox right NOW! It's a wonderful game for anyone who likes a fast, funny adventure-style platformer. I also recommend it to anyone who loves games like Conker's Bad Fur Day - it's a very similar game with a slightly more family-friendly shine to it.