...Let's fly way up to the clouds / Away from the maddening crowds....

And the hot streak continues with another game cast down from the Hall of Shame - yep, after something of a lull for the first half of the year, I'm on fire! And who is out on their arse this time around? Why, it would be Leisure Suit Larry 3!

Original image located here. Accessed 29th July 2015

Having played the first three Leisure Suit Larry games in order, it is interesting to observe the progression the series has taken. While the first game has this nasty reputation of being 'the game with sex in it', I however understand the satire that was being put in place: Larry is, no matter how you look at it, is a loser and his attempts to get laid always end both successful and with him being humiliated. Therefore it's funny how this satire is often missed by most people - still, the first Larry game sold enough to warrant several sequels (along with a more recent revamp) so more than enough people may have noticed.

But it would seem that that the Larry in the sequels is a different one from the first game. It would seem that Larry(s) in 2 and 3 is less a sleazeball and more a bumbling-yet-lovable loser. In Larry 2, Larry was looking for love (as the title suggests) and he does succeed in Larry 3 with Passionate Patti. Okay sure Patti comes at the end of several conquests but the conquests in question are handled in a more lighter manner with Larry's acts being interrupted by pure happenstance.
And as for Patti, I'm not sold on her. She comes across as beautiful, flirtatious and having been 'around', so why would she have an instant attraction to Larry? It would make sense for Larry to have an instant attraction to any woman who gave him the time of day as he's been established as a loser. So what did he do to win the attention of a woman who's made out to be sexy, confident and self-assured? I can see the argument that Patti was included to add some balance but I don't know: if anything, her presence seems a more no-win situation. Why, imagine how much outrage would've occurred if Patti was a mirror of Larry: A horny but hopeless nerd abused by the men she tries to hit on.

Beyond the writing though, there are still some glaring design flaws. While the parts controlling Patti were different, it was however dull compared to the rest of the game. And whilst the timed puzzles from the previous are gone, they are however replaced with an intruding arcade sequence (ergh!). And the controls are still as disagreeable as ever - funny how many of the Sierra games in the eighties tend not to age well. 

Some say that Leisure Suit Larry 3 was an improvement over the misstep that was Leisure Suit Larry 2. But I'm not convinced: If anything, I found the humor of two far better than three.
I don't know if the changes Al Lowe brought about in 3 was through the outrage caused by 1 and 2 but I guess you can't please everyone

.....Cantare, Whoa oh oh oh....

And yet another game has been cast down from my Hall of Shame. Pack your bags, Leisure Suit Larry 2, you're outta here!

 Original image located here. Accessed 27th July 2015

And much like it's predecessor, this was a game I originally encountered through witnessing it being played by my friend at the time. And once again, it is interesting to play this game myself given the distance of two decades worth of time.

Compared to it's predecessor, this game does indeed feel like a step down. Indeed, it is here that many of the criticisms associated with Sierra Adventure games rear their heads: Timed puzzles, situations that leave the game unbeatable and working towards a goal that is never made clear (thus making puzzles being overcome largely through trial and error). 
Furthermore I'm not sold on the graphics. One might say that they were a product of their time but the sprite of Larry looks nothing like the dude on the box art. Indeed, Larry looks more like a creep than the lovable loser he eventually grew into. Granted that was kind of the point in the original game but it is jarring to see how this character evolution started from. Moreso when Larry's character portrait makes him look like he's in his fifties.

Grumbling aside however, the jokes are still funny and the writing is still top-notch - even with the passage of time. It's just a shame that the writing has to share room with some glaring design flaws.
I often hear how people grumble how modern games play like the design team and the writing team were operating in separate rooms, segregated from each other. Funny how I got that same impression from a game made in 1988...

Volare, Ooooh Ohhh...

Another game has been struck down from my Hall of Shame: Goodbye Leisure Suit Larry 1!

Original image located here. Accessed 22nd July 2015

This is not the first time I have encountered this game: I recall watching a friend play it back in the early nineties in glorious EGA graphics and both us giggling at the smut like any other easily-amused eleven year old boy. And even then this series had a reputation of that 'game with sex in it' - which would guarantee interest from any eleven year old boy.

So it therefore becomes interesting to view this game from the perspective of an adult. And once you get past the sex it becomes clear: This game is actually really funny. It has great jokes, lots of fourth-wall breaking, jabs at Sierra (among others) and some truly absurd moments (the convenience store scene is still funny years later). I myself was fortunate to play in the enhanced VGA mode and the graphics were full of character that add considerably to the lunacy.
And that's really the strength of the game. It's really funny. In fact this really seems like a great bait and switch: offer sex and deliver something of actual substance.
Beyond that however the game does show some wrinkles with it's design: It's short, there's only five locations, there's a timer attached with certain puzzles and there are situations that can result in an instant loss. I guess that's par for the course when playing a Sierra game but really it shouldn't be.

Grumbling aside this game was a right laugh. Sure the design's dated but the humor hasn't - and that is saying a lot in gaming.

R.I.P. Satoru Iwata

The gaming world has been shock to the core with the recent passing of Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Whilst there are plenty of other people talking about his life and achievements here on cyberspace I however will offer my own thoughts on the man:

I am still the owner of the Wii. Whilst I used it more for the Virtual Console than the Wii games, I wouldn't have had one if it wasn't for Satoru Iwata. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have discovered, and played, so many games that escaped me the first time around. And for that I thank him.

In addition, credit must be given to Satoru Iwata who was able to run a massive gaming company AND still be passionate about games. I think we can all learn something from that.

Die For Your Queen

Over the past few weeks I've been playing a lot of Long Live the Queen.

This is certainly an entertaining game. I've seen plenty of anime to pick up all the jokes and references and there certifiably is suspense in seeing how the choices the player makes effects the hapless Elodie. Indeed, it says a lot when a small Steam game is more engaging than some huge twenty-gig-size monstrosity.

It's an entertaining game to be sure but so far I've achieved more successful coronations than I have deaths
And I can't shake the feeling that I'm playing this game wrong.

The Small One

Well there's no point in putting off any longer: Let's talk about the announcement of the Final Fantasy 7 remake. Yep, one of the big announcements of E3 is that there will be a FF7 remake regardless of my assertions that it shouldn't happen and we're better off without it. Well the egg is well and truly on my face: It would seem that someone at SqueeEnix saw my rants and decided to blow a lot of time and effort just to make me look small.

Bastards.

Ultimately though, this is the end result of years of pleading with SqueeEnix to do it and they've finally acquiesced. This the end result of people falling head over heels in love with Advent Children to a point where they forgot how the characters originally acted. This is the end result of people choosing to forget certain parts of the game. This is the end result of people acting like the JRPG genre ended with this game. This is the end result of people acting like Final Fantasy ended with this game. This is the end result of people acting like the entire RPG genre ended with this game.

So here's what I want to know: if this the end result then who is the winner here?
Yes the promise of a remake is well and good but it seems everything that was in the game originally will be included. So, like it or not, we will see Cloud in a dress, in all his HD glory.
Some may say that some changes should be made (ie the script and Barrett being a racist caricature) but still others would cry foul saying the game should be preserved as it is (warts and all). If all parties can't be pleased then the hard-fought victory isn't much of a victory then isn't it?

Then perhaps it is time we moved on

Dance to the Music

Recently I had a go at one of those dancing games. You know the kind: the one that requires to move about and having the players movements being picked up by a Wii mote.

Needless to say, I kinda sucked at it.

That's not to say I gave it my best shot but somehow I failed to register a high score. One could say that flailing my arms about like a nutter tends to do that....

Let's Get Smashed

Last weekend I saw, for the first time, the latest iteration of the Super Smash Bros. Yep, I saw a bunch of people huddled around a Wii-U and playing it...

...to be honest I can't see much difference between it and Brawl...