Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti In Pursuit Of The Pulsating Pectorals! logo

Laut unserem Szene-Maulwurf Dr. Freak, geistern schon seit längerem illegale Versionen der neuen Streiche des beliebten Schwerenöters durch's Amiga-Land. Jetzt ist das Game offiziell erhältlich - immer noch erstaunlich schnell, gemessen an Umsetzungen anderer Sierra-Adventures. Also ein echter Quickie diesmal?

Wie schon vor ihm Adam und Eva, wird auch Mr. Laffer aus seinem (Insel) Paradies, das er sich im letzten Teil so mühsam erkämpft hat, vertrieben: Sein ehedems einsames Eiland verwandelt sich langsam aber sicher in eine Touristenhochburg mit riesigen Hotels, seine Frau hat ihn wegen einer anderen Dame verlassen, und zu allem Überfluß setzt ihn auch noch sein Boß vor die Tür! Aber der Mann im weißen Anzug ist ja einiges gewöhnt...

Volle fünf Disketten hat Sierra diesmal für die Abenteuer des Möchtegern-Casanovas reserviert, und natürlich fehlt auch die obligatorische "Erwachsenen-Abfrage" nicht. Nur wer hier alle Fragen beantworten kann, darf Larry in seiner vollen Schlüpfrigkeit genießen. Technisch hat sich auch sonst wenig geändert: Immer noch ist der Bildschirmaufbau quälend langsam, und auch der Parser zeigt sich um keinen Deut verständlicher als bei den früheren Larry-Adventures.

Soundmäßig ist ebenfalls wenig los (das übliche "Larry-Theme" und ein paar andere Musikstücke), aber das alles kann einen echten Larry-Fan natürlich nicht verschrecken. Denn: Wer auf zynischen, wahnwitzigen, trockenen und manchmal auch rabenschwarzen Humor steht, kommt um den verkrachten Frauenhelden einfach nicht herum! Gottseidank hat sich auch in dieser Hinsicht nichts geändert...

Neu hingegen ist eine sehr praktische Autosave-Funktion, der Umstand, daß nun die Screenfarben geändert werden können, und die Tatsache, daß der Spieler im Verlauf des Abenteuers zeitweise auch Patti, eine der vielen Damenbekanntschaften unseres (zwischenzeitlich etwas rund gewordenen) Helden, steuern muß. Ebenfalls brandneu ist... haltet Euch fest... daß jetzt endlich, endlich auch Besitzer eines unaufgerüsteten Amigas in den Genuß von Al Lowes makaberen Humor kommen - Larry III läuft mit 512K! Um einwandfreies Funktionieren zu garantieren sollte aber unbedingt sämtliche Peripherie (Zweitlaufwerk, Drücker, etc.) abgesteckt und der Rechner (zwecks Speicherentleerung) neu gestartet werden.

Gesteuert wird nach wie vor wahlweise mit Maus, Joystick oder Tastatur. Da das Programm ohne Kopierschütz (Paßwortabfrage) auskommt, steht auch der Installation auf Harddisk nichts im Wege. Sind die knapp 120 Märker in Larry III also gut investiert? Nun, für meinen Teil meine, daß die Story (vor allem gegenüber dem genialen Teil I) langsam ein bißchen zäh wird, aber was ein echter Larry-Fan ist, für den stellt sich die Frage erst gar nicht - Larry for ever! (mm)



Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti In Pursuit Of The Pulsating Pectorals! logo CU Amiga Screen Star

SIERRA ON-LINE
PRICE: £34.99

When Larry Laffer finally married Kalalau in Nontoonyt, at the end of his last caper, it seemd he had settled down to a respectable family life on the idyllic island. How then, could any of his further adventures have that same spirit?

Simple! Not only has the island now undergone a major tourist development with new attractions in the worst possible taste, but Larry arrives home one night to find Kalalau in a hot tube with her new lover, Bobbi. How could she possibly find another man more interesting than Larry? The answer is she did not. Work that one out for yourself, or buy the game!

Divorced and broken-hearted, Larry, with a sudden resolve, vows never to enter a serious relationship again. Indeed he will allow himself to be enjoyed by the many female tourists who visit Nontoonyt for a good time. And so, the little fellow clad in blue shirt and shorts, steps into a phone booth in the middle of the jungle, and changes into that famous white attire, transforming once more into Leisure Suit Larry!

Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals is far naughtier than Larry II, and like Larry I five questions must be answered before starting the game. But this time, the marks out of five determine at what level you play it. Three gives you 'Pretty Dirty', four offers 'Really Filthy', while five takes you into what you probably bought the game for: 'Totally Raunchiest'. The differences in play between these levels are fairly subtle but nevertheless noticeable - the level of the blinds in a lady's bedroom, and amount of bikini worn by a sunbather, for example.

Definitely an adult game, this, and certainly not to be bought as a gift for a twelve-year-old. This warning is well illustrated in Larry's first conquest, a lovely young lady called Tawni, found sunbathing topless on Nontoonyt's polluted beach. Larry soon finds a suitable gift to impress her, and she repays him in kind right there on the sand, fully-animated and to music! Pity about the crabs...

The game itself is not easy, and unlikely to be purely a romp for Larry. Sacked by his boss, Larry is penniless, and has to trade wits for oats. The game's narrative form is belied by the initial appearance that things can be done in almost any order, once one or two essentials are out of the way. But second visits to earlier scenes offer useful objects not available earlier, and these are triggered by definite game events.

Patti herself has not turned up yet in my game, but I was assured by author and programmer Al Lowe when I met him last year, that Patti is playable as an alternative character when she appears, and things can be seen from a different angle.

The graphics are superb, with excellent animated sequences, all accompanied by sound effects and catchy music including the now-famous Larry theme tune. The parser and vocabulary range seem to have been improved over recent Sierra adventures, although movement is sometimes rather slow, and the system would be improved immensely by the inclusion of a GOTO (location) command, to allow instant transportation to previously visited places. My only criticism is what seems to be a glitch in the SAVE GAME facility - I could only save one position (twelve are promised) before my disk was diagnosed as full.

Larry III comes with an illustrated coloured guide to Nontoonyt island, and five disks. Now that is big!



Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti In Pursuit Of The Pulsating Pectorals! logo

Sierra On-Line/Mediagenic, Amiga £39.99

After saving the tiny island of Nontoonyt from the nefarious deeds of Dr Nonookee all you desire is a quiet life with your wife Kalalau in the idyllic setting of your mansion on the island. Unfortunately, civilisation has come to the island. Where once golden sands cascaded down to azure-blue lagoons and beautiful jungles sprawled luxuriantly, hotels reach up to polluted clouds, oil taints the sea and big business has a firm grip. However, all this modernisation doesn't bother you much, if it hadn't arrived you'd still be living off the land and residing in a mud hut. Now you have a mansion and a good job at Natiyes Inc. Life is bliss... but not for long!

As with the two preceding LSL games you don't have much idea of the plot and have to play the game a while before a story unfolds. In this case, without wanting to give too much away, you find your wife in the arms of another. Thrown out on your ear it's up to you to survive using your wits alone... could be a short game!

Before the game begins you're warned that pixelated nudity is used which may be offensive to some players, you have to confirm that you want to play (a bit silly really 'cause if you didn't want to play the game you wouldn't have bought it in the first place!). You're then invited to enter your age and prove it by answering some questions. The older you are and the more questions you get right, the raunchier the game is to play.

Larry begins the quest in a spot dedicated to his defeat of Dr Nonookee. A gold plaque detailing his daring deeds glints proudly in the tropical sunshine. However, looking through the nearby sightseeing binoculars could give you a view more than you bargained for. This action, although immoral, gains points and indicates how you should behave to progress (i.e. naughtily). In fact, you're guided through the first few scenes of the game - sometimes by a not very subtle pointing finger - but once you've got an idea what's expected of you you're more or less left to your devices.

Using mouse, keys, joystick or a combo of all three, you steer Larry through his little 3-D world. A visit back home and then, following a quick change into the leisure suit we all know and love, it's off to Natives Inc where the game really begins.

Make up your mind you're not going to be offended by the game and LSL III will have you rolling around on the floor... laughing, that is. Some of the antics Larry gets up to and situations he finds himself in are hilarious.

Eventually you get to play the part of Passionate Patti who falls in love with the leisure-suited lounge lizard but, due to a misunderstanding, Larry goes off into the jungle to lose himself. Patti faces the dangers of bamboo forests, rapids, waterfalls, ravines, Feral Pigs and lesbian amazons in her quest to get her true love back.

Sierra On-Line have produced yet another excellent animated adventure... but it has its flaws. Game credits slowly fade in and out on certain screens which - as one can read this information in the packaging - do nothing but slow animation down.

Game speed gets really slow when there's a lot happening onscreen which, when all you want to do is get across a location, is frustrating. There are references to the game's creators throughout the game and, while I appreciate their skills at programming LSL III, I don't want them shoved down my throat in every other message. The ending, once Patti has rescued Larry from the amazons, is incredibly esoteric, boring to watch and play, not funny and indicates that Al Lowe (LSL III designer) had no idea how to finish the trilogy. The game is also overpriced.

Luckily these flaws are more niggly than important (I just wanted to say something bad about Sierra On-Line for a change) and shouldn't deter much from the pleasure of once again trying to save Larry from himself.