Luckless love machine Leisure Suit Larry is making a big return this summer in his original incarnation, with none other than Al Lowe himself at the wheel.
Gamers of a certain vintage will recall, probably fondly, the fumbling adventures of Larry Laffer, the most desperate-to-get-laid videogame character of a generation. He sprung to life in the mid-80s and soon became one of Sierra’s most famous and popular videogame characters, although his last two appearances – Magna Cum Laude and Box Office Bust, which featured neither series creator Lowe nor the original Larry Laffer character – were both embarrassments.
But the upcoming revival by Replay Games is doing things a little differently, bringing back not only the original Larry but also the man who made him famous. The new game is actually an old game: the 1991 remake of Larry’s original adventure in The Land of the Lounge Lizards, which upgraded the blocky 16-color EGA/Tandy graphics to stunning 256-color VGA.
“It’s no fun telling people who want to play your games that their only recourse is to pirate them,” Lowe said. “Finally, Larry leaves his digital dungeon to delight those too young (or too smart) to play it way back when.”
“So many people enjoyed and were influenced by Larry’s original adventure that it’s an absolute pleasure to bring the smooth-talking charmer back to his legions of fans, a whole new generation of players and unimpressed women in bars and nightclubs everywhere,” added Replay CEO Paul Trowe. “Working with Al means you can be sure the game is exactly how he intended it to be seen. It plays as smoothly as one of Larry’s pick up lines.”
That’s a bit alarming, but I’m optimistic that it’ll all work out for the best anyway. Platforms aren’t yet known but the new, old game is expected to come out later this summer.
