Leisure Suit Larry + Telltale Games = A lovestory?
Damn!
I am now officially really tired of Sierra/Vivendi outsourcing the Leisure Suit Larry license to all kinds of crappy developers who obviously have no idea how to make a proper adventure game, let alone how to make a worthy entry in one of the best Adventure Game series ever!
Last in the line of failures was Team 17, which made Box Office Bust, a game that has received so horrible reviews I haven't even bothered to play it.
Seriously. Some executives should send a delegation from Telltale to Sierra/Vivendi now, hire Al Lowe as a freelance designer and restore the Leisure Suit Larry series to it's former glory!
Go Telltale!
I am now officially really tired of Sierra/Vivendi outsourcing the Leisure Suit Larry license to all kinds of crappy developers who obviously have no idea how to make a proper adventure game, let alone how to make a worthy entry in one of the best Adventure Game series ever!
Last in the line of failures was Team 17, which made Box Office Bust, a game that has received so horrible reviews I haven't even bothered to play it.
Seriously. Some executives should send a delegation from Telltale to Sierra/Vivendi now, hire Al Lowe as a freelance designer and restore the Leisure Suit Larry series to it's former glory!
Go Telltale!
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Seriously though, the soundtrack for LSL3 (Passionate Patti and the Pulsating Pectorals, I think it's called) is among my favourite soundtracks for an adventure game, and I'd say it's almost on par with the Monkey Island 2 and 3 - although in a very different style. The moody jazz is just so damn beutiful, and I almost get misty-eyed every time I boot up LSL3 and hear the fantastic theme playing right in the beginning of the game.
Also, an idea for the game would be have a season where every chapter has one objective that needs to be done to win a certain date/cruise/vacation/whatever - in the final chapter you win the prize. And there is the basis for the follow-up season. Kinda like LSL7.
Or heck, maybe even Al Lowe can finally make his planned LSL8 - Lust In Space.
Oh, well, it's essential for them to mess up when they decided to go make 3D games I suppose.
Are they partnered with Sierra now?
I mean, I do enjoy Leisure Suit Larry, they were pretty funny most of the time, but they kinda feel like those parody movies, you know 'Scary Movie' and stuff, with constant breaking the fourth wall and direct pop-culture reference jokes that goes on too long.
Of course, humour is a large part of the Leisure Suit Larry games, but they were also known for being notoriously hard, filled with eastereggs, and also always had a sad undertone in that Larry Laffer was always a bit of a looser.
I'll admit; Ron Gilbert is probably a better storyteller than Al Lowe, but that doesn't mean Al Lowe can't design games, or even write good dialogue!
avistew: Everyone and their uncle has their own videogame company these days - what'd you expect?
Okay, I'll admit. The only old Sierra game I've played are Leisure Suit Larry 1, 5, 6, 7, and Space Quest 6. Those are meant to be funny, and they were, but the jokes were hit and miss. Old LucasArts games are also hit and miss, but there were more 'hits' than 'misses'.
I have played several serious adventure games, such as The Longest Journey sequel, The first two Broken Sword games, Beneath A Steel Sky, and The Dig, and they were quite great. So, yeah, adventure games don't have to be humorous. But when it comes to stories where your main goal is to get laid, you'd expect it to be humorous. Now, again, I'm not saying that Sierra games aren't not unenjoyable, I just think that LucasArts games are simply more fun, and have more creative premises.
Also, the animation in LucasArts games are better.
Basically, I prefer LucasArts more, and when it comes to IPs for Telltale to use, they have better choices. But if Telltale actually did make an LSL game, I'd buy it. Telltale can make anything work.
I think Al is retired though.
I don't know. I LOVE the King's Quest series, and don't give LucasArts too much props. They did drop Sam & Max: Freelance Police before finishing it.
...but yes, Telltale can make anything work. Of that, I am certain.
Honestly it's not in a lot of ways. I'm going to throw my two cents in and say this.
Leisure suit larry is an adult game, and as much as I love telltale. I don't know if they could pull it off, and I only say this because of the past attempts at making leisure suit larry. Magna Cum Laude and Box office bust, are the worst games in the series, if telltale could pull of leisure suit larry I welcome them too.
I was talking about their old adventure games, not their business decisions, which are made by totally different people.
I agree. Or at least someone as talented as Al should be in charge. Someone who really is passionate about the series and understands the universe. Clearly, the people involved in Box Office Bust and Magna Cum Laude didn't.
"Uh... It's got dirty humor and boobs, right? Also, there's a guy named Larry" is probably how the production teams of the new games see the old games.
There's irony above somewhere...
They would indeed have to get Al Lowe involved. He's the main man for the series, plus I'd like to see him work again, he just feels so rejected now...
And get Jan Rabson back!
Damn yeah!
"In a 2006 interview, Al revealed that he was not actually retired, but had spent well over a year secretly designing a new game Sam Suede: Undercover Exposure, an action comedy game developed by iBase Entertainment, which he co-founded with Ken Wegrzyn. Unable to locate a publisher to promote and distribute Sam Suede, iBase Entertainment shut down in December 2006. Following this setback, Lowe expressed serious doubts whether he'd ever reenter the gaming industry again."
Must say Magna Cum Laude wasn't that bad at all (kind of fun), but Box Office Bust was terrible beyond words.
So I ask again; where in the world is Al Lowe?
Probably it's just me (being weird and all of that), but I imagined a "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?" game starring Al Lowe.
Maybe Telltale should get that license, and make the game, if enough people actually FIND Al Lowe, a Larry game will get made!
And Neil Ross!
(They had some great chemistry together.)
Seriously, the original "lounge lizards" was one of the very first adventure games I ever played. I remember it as the game where you spend all day at the casino. Then I learned to save each time I won, so when I lost everything I'd just do a reload.
Played the remake not that long ago. I don't know, it wasn't the same. And Eve looked completely different!
I only recently finished "looking for love", with a walkthrough at hand.
I did the same for LSL3 years ago, never got interested in playing it again.
Never played "undercover work".
But "shape up or slip out" I've played extensively! Everything about it was right up my alley. It's like things made more sense in this game. It's actually this game that made me look up the older games, which in turn kinda disappointed me.
Somehow I've always missed out on "love for sail". Perhaps some day. But Larry Lovage will never come on my desktop!
LSL in episodic game format? Sure, could work. And since it's another old comedic/cartoonish adventure game series, Telltale seems like the right company to handle it. But I'd rather they put their time and energy in something ... well, "better" is the wrong word. Perhaps "mature"? They've already proven themselves on the level they're at, but I don't want them stuck here, I want them to rise up and blow us away with some next-gen type of adventure game!
But the games really got better starting with Larry 6, and Larry 7 (actually the first one I played, when I was 10 years old) is a real riot.
I'm replaying it now, and it still holds up really well, it's obvious that they really reached the top of their game there.
You should try Love for Sail, it's really great!
EDIT: Another little update on where Al Lowe is. Looking at his IMDB page I've discovered that he supplied his voice for his own appearance in Zak McKracken Between Time and Space.
Pretty good stuff for a fan project... They got David Fox too!
Outside of the shower section, Leisure Suit Larry 3 didn't really have any actual nudity. Everything else was obscured, implied, silouetted, or covered up. You could go much much further with censorship and still keep with the spirit of the series, which is just about a middle aged loser trying to find love. I'm not a Larry fan, mind you, but I'm looking at it from a neutral point of view.
In my opinion they shouldn't even be considered Canon.
But Telltale could make something like Love for Sail.
I'm sure Al Lowe has some great ideas left!
According to Wikipedia [on Leisure Suit Larry 7];
'After many of the Larry games had gained a reputation for not actually featuring all that much raunchy content when analysed, this installment included some much more risque elements.'
Which is exactly my point?