Take me down to a paradise city

Recently I had the pleasure of casting another game from my Hall of Shame. And who’s the lucky candidate? None other than Rakuen!

 Original image located here. Accessed 14th June 2020

I first became aware of Rakuen through it apparently being a tearjerker that exceeds the legendary To the Moon. That sounded like a challenge to me so I took it! But upon obtaining the game I noticed something: This was developed and published by one Laura Shigihara – a name I recognised through her contributions to the soundtrack of the afore-mentioned To the Moon. Well, if she wants to take a stab at making her own game then good for her.

But perhaps the connection to To the Moon may be telling: There are numerous similarities in both games (both made in RPG maker, both sharing a staff name and both inspiring the waterworks) that separating them presents a difficult prospect. So the real question here is: can Rakuen stand up on its own two feet?

The answer is a resounding yes.

What makes this game unique for me is that it tackles a theme rarely approached by games: The PC is a child going on a journey accompanied by his mother. You don’t see many mothers in game (this is, after all, a medium where its users have frequently uttered the words “Awwww Ma-ummmmm!”) so this game is indeed trying something different. Perhaps that many gamers today are parents themselves that we are seeing a game where a mother plays a key role - moreso considering that the story presented in Rakuen is just as much the Mother’s as it is the Boy’s.

Being a story-driven game, the narrative is effectively carrying this game but never once does it crack under the weight. It is an indeed an emotional roller-coaster dealing with issues such as loss, regret, letting go and redemption. And the technical department is no slouch either: the graphics and world building are indeed beautiful and the music is truly unforgettable.

Clearly Laura made this game because she felt she had a story to tell. And so it would seem that it was the right call to make.

Bug Hunt

Recently I beat the Alien vs Predator arcade game for the first time.

It is an unusual thing to include an arcade game in the list of games I've beaten. This is due to arcade games being of short experiences (of 1-2 hours max) compared to that of modern games (hours of double/triple digits).
But in the end, Alien vs Predator has aged remarkably well. I recall being enthused about this game when I was a kid and I find, as a adult, it still kicks arse. It's one of the best brawlers of it's day, possibly ever, and a shining example of how to handle a licensed game (if only modern game developers took notice).

Funny thing: As is my understanding, this game was based on a Alien vs Predator movie that never got made. Needles to say, I'm sure glad we got the game.

Cross the Border

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of casting another game from my Hall of Shame. Clean up your desk Borderlands 2, you're out of here!

Original image located here. Accessed 7th February 2020

According to my Steam profile, twenty five of my friends have this game - so to say that it is one of the bestselling games of the last couple of years is an understatement to say the least.

But who would dare challenge a statement? From the view of the outside looking in, there has been much said about this game: It has plenty of personality, the combat is intense, there's some decent writing and colorful characters, there's a villain you'd love to hate, this game gets so much right that it renders it's predecessor obsolete.
For me, having played this game all the way to the end credits, I can safely say that everything I'd heard was 100% true. This game was a fun ride balancing humor, quotable lines, the atmosphere of traversing a ruined world and some truly intense battle sequences (least not the final boss battle).
One can always tell when a lot of passion has been put into getting a game together and this is indeed one such case.

Funny thing though: I did enjoy Borderlands 2 but that enjoyment came from playing with some friends. I can imagine that playing it by one's self would yield a different experience but, for some reason, I'm not about to try. No doubt such a move will challenge my enjoyment of this game but, at the same time, I know very well when one needs to walk away.

But ultimately, who would dare challenge this game's status? Not me that's for sure.

I must be getting soft in my old age.

Out Came the Wolves

Happy new year! Happy new decade and the rest.
And what better way to start the new year than to announce another removal from my Hall of Shame:
Say goodbye Wolfenstein 3d!

 Original image located here. Accessed 15th January 2020

To view this game from the distance of nearly three decades presents an interesting case. It may be the grand-daddy of all first person shooters but there have been both countless of innovations to the genre and just as many technological advancements. So how does this game hold up?

Surprisingly well.

Sure there's not much to the game. Sure the 3d effect is all scaling trickery. Sure there is no narrative, only three guns and a level design that is completely bonkers. But ultimately, this game still maintains interest on several fronts:

• The level design may be insane but the mazes are compelling - enough to have me looking around every corner, wary of any baddies in hiding.
• The game is kind of tough - especially on hardest difficulty where health items are scarce and you find yourself wading through ammo clips.....
• I mentioned previously that Doom presents many an opportunity to go full desperado (ie you versus a room full of baddies) - unlike many of it's successors. But now, I think Wolf 3d does it even better than it's younger brother. 
• Its always impressive to use the gatling gun on a room full of baddies. However, now that I think about it, it does burn through ammo quickly - considering there are so many countless ammo clips around, was I being encouraged to use that particular gun?
• Some of the bosses are really tough. And fighting them becomes a tense affair. Which is quite the achievement for a game made in 1992. 

So in the end the original Wolf 3d, somehow, still holds up.
Who would've thunk it?

Secret of the Silver Blades

And for the first time this year i have the satisfaction of casting a game from my Hall of Shame: Goodbye Lunar: the Silver Star!

 Original image located here. Accessed 17th May 2019

When I was a kid I wanted a Mega CD. I didn't know of it's failings at the time (and had I known, I would've thought twice about having one) but it was the idea that appealed to me. Having this big thing to plonk in front of my lounge room TV that had all this power behind it.
However in the decades since, I have come to regard the Mega CD as an anomaly. On one hand history has written it off as a failure being too expensive, too unwieldy, plagued with shoddy FMV games and being a major misstep that signaled the beginning of the end of Sega. But on the other hand, it was something of a pioneer for CD-based consoles and, as it's defenders maintain, there are decent games if one is prepared to look. After all, there is a reason why said games go for hundreds of dollars on eBay.

And in my research, the Lunar games tend to appear at the top of the heap.

It is interesting to view this game twenty six years on and without any nostalgia goggles. The first thing that strikes me is that this game does indeed have some perosnality behind it. The art direction is impressive and the use of anime-esque cutscenes are equally superb. The famous translation from Working Designs works a treat and, even if it is well-removed from the original script, has some genuinely laugh-out loud moments. The music is also great - unsurprisingly for a Mega CD game - with the first Overworld theme and the final dungeon themes being particular favorites.
It's just as well that this game does have that personality because I found this game to be quite short. I'm used to playing long RPGs, both on the console and the computer, so Lunar, by comparison comes across as being a rather short game. Which then brings me to the next problem this game has: the encounter rate is ridiculous. Often i would be fighting one battle immediately after another. Oh sure a high encounter rate would be handy to build up money and XP, but eventually, my party so so powerful that the random battles became flat out annoying. Also problematic was the economy in this game: The best weapons are monstrously expensive and it takes a lot of grinding to get anywhere near the money required of them. Matters aren't helped with the money drop rate being low and the selling of previous powerful weapons yielding diminishing returns.
It is likely that the high encounter rate and the economy were both to compensate for a short game but who can tell for sure.

Still, I did find a lot to like about this game - after all, if it got revamped for the PS1, Saturn and GBA among others then it must've done something right. And, for a game on a system with a notorious reputation of housing some stinkers, this is indeed a diamond in the rough.
Now about the sequel.....

Homecoming

Another game has been cast down from my Hall of Shame. Clean out your desk Homeworld, you're outta here!

Original image located here. Accessed 24th October 2018 

Man has this been a long time coming. It was released in 1999, I got the game off the shelf in 2009 and then I complete it in 2018. Of course I could've waited out another year but why on earth would I do that?

Anywho, this game is nothing short of impressive - even with the time of nineteen years. I could say that the novelty of the 3d would be enough but the game truly excels with it's narrative, it's presentation and the music - notably the use of Barber's Adagio for Strings and Yes' The Ladder.

Indeed, this is game that has truly benefited from a revamp by Gearbox, adding to the beauty and immersion tenfold. 

Of course these words are typed through the perspective of a) having played through the revamp and b) the distance of nineteen years since it's original release. But what I find particularly fascinating is that time was not ravaged this game at all. It still has an impressiveness that a lot of modern games can only dream of and is still as compelling, and still quite capable of being heart rendering.  

In fact, one gets the feeling the destruction of Kharak is the PC's answer to the PlayStation's death of Aerith. 

Sky High

Another game has been struck down from my Hall of Shane. Goodbye Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter!

Original image located here. Accessed 15th July 2018

Clearly I liked the first one enough to find out what happens next.

Well what can i say about this one? There's a lot of charm to it, the dialogue is hilarious, the plot has some great twists and the boss battles are nothing short of epic. Funnily enough, I've often found with RPGs that I spend more time grinding to a point where the final boss seems like a pushover when compared to their predecessors - but this one was a rare exception. The end boss was just as challenging as some of the previous bosses that, somehow, the grinding didn't really feel like I was levelling the playing field.
Which is fine by me as I enjoy a challenge and appreciate the fact that the game was keeping me on my toes.

Ultimately though, this game has had an interesting localization history: It came out eight years after it's initial release, and the localization team, XSeed, had a series of well-documented troubles of their own to deal with. You often hear about how fans are left hanging when their favorite series comes to an abrupt end (Firefly anyone?) but you never hear (as much) about how fans are grateful when their favorite series has a proper follow-up let alone one that resolves everything.

So while I have no idea if anyone within XSeed would bother with this corner of cyberspace, may I say the following regardless:

You did good.

You put yourselves through a lot to get this game to the eager punters who have been left hanging.
You went out of your way to make sure the cliffhanger in the first game was properly resolved.
You did a Herculean task in translating a game with  a monumentally large amount of dialogue
And I, along with so many gamers, are grateful for the effort.
And you have certainly earned those big sales.

You did good.

You've been.......Thunderstruck!

On the weekend, I had the satisfaction of casting another game from my Hall of Shame: Goodbye God of Thunder!

Original image located here. Accessed 2nd February 2018

This game and myself have had an interesting history: I played the first episode when I was in High School on the IT computers but I never got to beat it. Fast forward a decade later and I rediscover the game in it's complete form but I've never been able to beat the final boss. And a decade after that, I find the game available for free on Steam. Time to settle some unfinished business, no?

Looking back at this game, I can understand what this game was trying to do: It was an attempt to bring a Legend of Zelda-esque game to mid-nineties PC gaming. It's a decent stab I will admit, what with interesting puzzles, and a RPG-like path of progression. What makes God of Thunder somewhat different is that there is basis of Norse mythology with the PC being Thor, the PC's main weapon being Mjolnir and the Big Bad being Loki (figures a trickster god would be so difficult to defeat). Having said that however this game's grasp of Norse mythology has more to do with the Marvel comic character than the actual mythos.
Also, it has to be said that the only major difference is that the humor in Legend of Zelda is significantly less corny than that of God of Thunder (at one one point an NPC says that the PC, Thor, should have his own comic book......
Finally, I'd forgotten how tough the boss battles are. So it may not come to a surprise to you, the reader, that a lot of cursing and keyboard pounding was required to defeat the Big Bads at the end of each chapter. I could say that challenge of all three was me getting my money's worth but this was a game I got for free.....

So in the end, I did enjoy this game and experiencing it now was no different than when I enjoyed it twenty-odd years ago.

Freedom isn't Free

Another game has been struck down from my Hall of Shame. Clean out your desk Oxenfree, you're outta here!

Original image located here. Accessed 2nd February 2018 

Of course, saying I've completed this game is somewhat meaningless - and people who have played this game will know why. For now, however I have beaten this game but only for the first time. Needless to say, I will return to Oxenfree sometime in the near future. 

In the meantime however, I did enjoy this game a lot. I've played a lot of adventure games and have found their strengths lie in the writing. And this is what Oxenfree understands and accomplishes in flying colors: The characters are well-written and believable, the dialogue is natural and delivered with superb acting and we have a game wherein we have teenagers acting ....well...like teenagers.

In fact, that last point really says a lot about the game,. Sure the mystery surrounding the setting was engaging, the supernatural parts were freaky, the atmosphere was abundant and the music was stunning. But at the end of the day, the MVP is the best portrayal of teenagers I have ever seen - perhaps moreso than any other game, movie or TV series.

In fact, replaying this game now suddenly feels like a substantial enticement - a sign that this game must've done something right

Can you hear the lambs Clarice?

Another game has been struck down from my Hall of Shame. Clean out your desk Nights Into Dreams - you're outta here!

Original image located here. Accessed 27th September 2017

And thus ends a journey that has been twenty-one years in the making. I still remember seeing the trailer for this game in a store and being really excited about it, what with me being a Sega fanboy sympathizer. But it is only now, when Sega's heyday as a hardware manufacturer is long gone that I'm able to play Nights Into Dreams - on the XBLA. Irony eh?
Of course, I'm not playing the Saturn version: I'm playing the HD enhanced version. I could play the original version by why would I want to do that?

Okay, sarcasm aside, this game would still have to rank as one of the most beautiful games I've ever played. And the HD Enhancement does just that: Enhances the graphics into one of the most brightest and most colorful games around. Indeed it certainly shows up a lot of modern games - and this was a game released in a the middle of a decade people tend to look back on as being full of grittiness and edginess.
I remember one of the first reviews I saw of this game the reviewer noted that the game looked like it been made by a graphics department who'd had too much red cordial - can't say I disagree.
The music is also a treat too.

Now that we have the aesthetics out of the way, how does the gameplay come across?
I like what this game was trying to do, with it's flight mechanic but the prospect of flying is hindered by the knowledge that what the player is ultimately doing is flying along a fixed path. Sure there are alternate paths but they don't seem that different. And there's no denying that the game is short - but the difficulty makes up for it. For therein lies the challenge of reaching the 'A' rating - a challenge that, naturally, seems difficult in getting. And I will admit that i was putting a lot of hard effort in only to get anything but an 'A' - to a point where I was starting to take it personally.

One interesting observation is that, given how there is a loud call for more female representation in gaming, I actually found Claris' dream easier than Elliot's dream. True: I breezed through Clari's levels and got some high scores but Elliot's dreams were more tricky and more demanding to get higher scores - so much so, I was baffled that i did really well only to get hit with  a lowly 'C' grade.
So what, playing the female character means an easier time? Clearly this game was thinking way ahead of it's time.

But at the end of the day, this game had a lot of charm and I liked it a lot. It has great ideas, great art direction and the HD enhancement really help the game. It may have been a diamond in the rough when it was first released but, when compared to a lot of it's Saturn stablemates, Nights Into Dreams is a game that truly comes across like it was made with heart and a passion to be the best game the makers could produce.
And HD enhancement gives Nights Into Dreams the greatness originally worthy of it.

Red Dead Redemption

And another game has been cast down from my Hall of Shame. Goodbye Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: the Sith Lords!

Original image located here. Accessed 22nd September 2017

This is a difficult game to assess: largely because so much has already been said about it: The dramas this game had during development, the cut content that were eventually restored via the Steam release, the gamers who have given this game a frosty reputation gamers and have since warmed up to, the challenges this game has put to the Star Wars universe, the philosophizing present within a series not known for its subtlety.

I however played this game off of Steam and it’s through the lens of seeing a broken game restored that I have viewed this game.
And I saw a complete game. Okay, sure the ending may have been a bit abrupt but seeing how much effort has gone into restoring the lost content and how it has been applied into the original game, it is difficult to imagine how the originally released game went without it.
The game I played certainly looked complete. It had a clear beginning, middle and end. There were interesting characters, solid writing and depth that was unusual for Star Wars. It may seem like a re-tread of the first game in some ways but there was enough new content and the provision of a much different perspective that this game succeeds as a sequel.

Other than that, there isn’t a lot else I can say about this game: The characters are all well-written and memorable (favourites being Visas and HK-47), the writing is top-notch, and it’s a lot fun to play. Funny how games can be seen in a much different light given the passage of time and the meddling of modders. A fresh perspective on Star Wars that is lost following Disney’s ditching of the Expanded Universe? Sadly yes. Better than the sequel? You know I think it may well be.
It’s just a shame that the series ended here and sequel hasn’t been seen beyond the MMORPG.

One question though: Considering that I completed the game on the Light Side path, does that mean that The Exile can now be Force buddies with Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Anakin Skywalker? (sure they will all come much later but still….)

Conquered

For the first time in a long time, another game has been struck down from my Hall of Shame. Goodbye Conquests of the Longbow: the Legend of Robin Hood!

Original image located here. Accessed 11th August 2017

It has certainly been a long time since I knocked one off from my Hall of Shame. Why, here we are, eight months into 2017 and here's the first one!

But no matter: This is one of the lesser known titles from Sierra's stable of adventure games. So it being a Sierra game, one kind of expects to see a mixture of good and bad. I certainly got the good - the gorgeous settings - and the bad - arcade sections that were crow-barred in - in equal amounts.

However the real strength of this game is in the writing - yes the writing is the lifeblood of adventure games but I understand what this game was trying to do: It was taking a legendary character and mythos and placing it within a realistic setting: The characters talk and act like people of the era and the plot of King Richard the Lionheart being held hostage by Leopold of Austria is historical fact. Indeed, this game is well-researched and it shows - and is all the better for it. True Robin Hood may be a combination of legend and historical figures but it see the legend with such historical accuracy behind it is a welcome change to say the least. Why, the manual lists a bibliography and clearly states what the makers of it were aiming for.
I also like how this game offers something new with a oft-used mythos. Sure we have the usual tropes - Robin's usage of disguises, helping out the poor and the scenario of showing up the Sheriff in an archery tournament - but it does it's own spin: Marion doubles as a Druid priestess, Friar Tuck goes against tradition of being a jolly figure and fond of rich living, and there is certainly an emphasis on druidism that, as far as I know, has been barely touched on in the Robin Hood mythos.
So in terms of providing a unique and historical accurate spin on Robin Hood this game is indeed a success.

Sadly this was the second and last game for the Conquest series. Which is a shame because series creator, Christy Marx, recently revealed she planned to do a third game but it was to be based on Charlemagne - a real person as opposed to Robin Hood or King Arthur (the basis for the first Conquest game). And seeing I enjoyed this game, I am only left with what could've been.....

A New Quest

Recently I had the pleasure of striking another game from my Hall of Shame. Clean out your desk DLC Quest, you're outta here!

I'm not sure if this counts as a legitimate exclusion from the Hall of Shame as the game is short, cheap and doesn't even try to hide it's intent of being one colossal joke. But hey, I made it to the end and netted a whole a lot of achievements so that must account for something.

It's rare to find a game that's legitimately funny. It's rarer still to find a game that's legitimately funny which doesn't wear out it's welcome. So is DLC Quest one of these?
Well I did enjoy the jokes, I did enjoy the commentary on gaming culture and the short nature of the game means the game doesn't wear out it's welcome. But on the other hand, DLC Quest isn't something I see myself returning to. Yes DLC Quest was entertaining but once you've seen all the jokes there isn't really that much in the way of staying power.

Still DLC Quest works as an afternoon occupier. And I'll give it that much

The Legend Lives on

And for the first time this year, a game has been cast down from my Hall of Shame. Goodbye Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (FC)!

Original image located here. Accessed 30th March 2016

It's been awhile since I last sat down and played a JRPG. True there's no shortage of them but I don't feel that such a thing is working for the genre. Allow me to elaborate: I personally feel that, as a genre, the JRPG is in a terrible state of stagnation. Nothing has really come along that has really changed the genre dramatically. In fact, I firmly believe that the genre peaked with Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 7 and everything that has followed since hasn't reached such lofty heights. Instead, the genre has been reduced to repetition and formula. Thus what we end up with is so many JRPG titles, subsequently representing quantity over quality, and the challenge of any JRPG needing to do something really special to jump out from the pack.

So in that front, how did Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky fair?

I will admit that this game certainly adheres to the familiar tropes that are so common in JRPGs: A spunky, hyperactive female lead? Check. A sullen male lead that functions as a straight man to the female lead? Check. A lot of party members including a cute kid, a martial artist, a cocky grump, a genteel type, a pretty boy and a 'big sister'? Check. Airships? Check. A sequence involving cross-dressing? Check. Ancient tech? Check. A battle system involving super moves built up by taking so many hits? Check.

So getting past the trappings of formula, is there anything left to Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky? Yes there is: Heart. It may sound corny but there is clearly a lot of love put into this game. It has a lot of charm and personality that makes Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky's adherence to JRPG formula forgivable (it should also be noted that this was the same impression I took away from Skies of Arcadia).
I really enjoy the dialogue and often found myself laughing out loud at some points. I really enjoy these characters to a point where I found myself wanting to know what happens next. In fact I think this may well be the biggest selling point for this game: It is well-written. And that's saying a lot coming from a genre that's, as stated above, stagnated badly.

All in all, I really enjoyed playing Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky and I'm looking forward to the Second Chapter - which is already in my Steam account and ready to go. And considering the trials and tribulations the localization team went through, the fact that SC is here is a miracle and one to be savored.

...Let us leave the confusion and all this illusion behind / Like birds of a feather on a rainbow together we'll find....

And another game has been cast down from the Hall of Shame: Pack your bags Leisure Suit Larry 7 Love for Sail!. You're outta here!

Original image located here. Accessed 9th October 2015

I find some interesting parallels between Leisure Suit Larry 7 and Final Fantasy 7. Namely:

• Both are are the seventh installment of their respective franchises (well.....maybe not Larry). 
• Both came out at roughly the same time (Larry 7 in October 1996, FF7 in January 1997)
• Larry got a significant graphical upgrade with it's animation and art style. FF7 drummed up a lot of buzz with it's use of cinematics.
• Both games took a successful formula and added a whole of new features on top
• And both are largely regarded as being the pinnacle of the franchises

Of course, I'm only pointing out these parallels because I find it funny. Let's talk about Leisure Suit Larry 7:
Really, the mid-to-late nineties was a strange time for Adventure games. Generally it was a given that for the past decade the genre had gotten by on the notion that solid, and humorous, writing would overcome any technical limitations. However by this time, the technology had advanced to a point where it could match the writing on equal terms. So whilst we have games like Larry 7, Curse of Monkey Island, and excellent Grim Fandango, they arrived at a point where the genre was dying off. Still, one can't refute the satisfaction of seeing a genre end on a high note. And Larry 7 certainly belongs as one of best adventure games made.

When playing this game, one thing struck me is that this is game that, clearly, has been made with passion. It's as if Al Lowe and his team realized the tools they had at their disposal and put in all their effort to making the best game they could - and it shows considerably.
Firstly, the design of the game works a treat: It is easy to move around the ship setting and never once is it possible to die or end up in in an unwinnable situation - and coming from Sierra that's saying a lot. Secondly there's the graphics: The animation and art direction is superb and, for the first time, really fits the mood of the series. Thirdly the music is great: the midi music is finally ditched and in it's place are some really snappy jazz tunes. Fourthly the voice again keeps the pace set by the previous game and never once slips up. Larry is still pathetic, the narrator is still in scene-stealing form but credit must go to the hilarious Peg (seriously, she needs her own game). Fifthly, the humor is great: there are jokes that are laugh-out funny and there are various allusions to The Simpsons and Looney Tunes. And finally there are the additional features. Gimmicky I know but they had some amusement value.

In a way, perhaps it is fitting that this be the last Larry game that Al Lowe worked on. Larry 7 does everything so right, that it a followup may be near impossible to achieve. True there was that teaser at the end of the credits of Larry 7 but such a game has yet to emerge - even when Al has suggested he's still keen to make it happen. But if Larry 8 never shows, I'm not bothered. In fact, maybe it;s better that the series end at Larry 7 (of course, there are the bastardized sequels but we don't talk about them...)

So yeah Larry 7's reputation as the pinnacle of the series is justified and it's easily one of the best entrants in the adventure game genre. It's aged remarkably well and certainly worth a go.

....We can sing in the glow of a star that I know of / Where lovers enjoy peace of mind....

And yet another game has been given the boot from the Hall of Shame. Clean up your desk Leisure Suit Larry 6, you're outta here!

Original image located here. Accessed 28th August 2015

Compare to the other Larry games, this represents unfamiliar territory for me: I'd seen the other games whether being played or witnessing the box art. This however completely escaped my notice at the time. Why, I wasn't aware there was a Leisure Suit Larry 6 until I saw Leisure Suit Larry 7 in a game store! (and considering that this is a series that lacks a fourth entrant, that's saying something).

Anywho, having played Leisure Suit Larry 2 and 3, I can safely say that this game is a definite improvement. The character designs are superb, the locales are interesting and the voice acting is superb. Maybe it was case of the technology having advanced enough to make a decent game. Or maybe it was a simple case of having better writing then the preceding games.

I did call out Larry 3 for being ambitious but in Larry 6, the general goal is more scaled back (ie, attempt to sleep with as many women as possible). And that in turn provides a sense of focus. As a result, the jokes are great, the problems are solved through logical means and there is a clear beginning, middle and end. Leisure Suit Larry 2 and 3 may have been meandering but that doesn't seem to be the case here - and Leisure Suit Larry 6 is all the better for it.

And it's good to see that the unwinnable situations are less in number. True, I fell foul of two of them when playing this game and had to start over, but it's good to see that Sierra at this stage were starting to realize this flaw and were taking steps to correct it. True one could suggest that the games LucasArts were churning out may have made Sierra nervous but 'A' for Effort.

In addition, special mention must go the voice acting. Larry sounds pathetic and the ladies certainly have plenty of character that stretches beyond a character portrait. But the real star is the narrator, sounding smug, snarky and taking great delight in commenting on Larry's pathetic existence. Indeed, seeing as so many voices are spot on, it makes a fascinating contrast to the likes of Metroid Other M and the outrage it inspired when the previously silent character of Samus Aran was given a voice. 

All in all, Leisure Suit Larry 6 may have completely escaped my interest first time around - so it;s funny to see it turn out to be a such a superb game. And then, from Leisure Suit Larry 6 comes Leisure Suit Larry 7....

Bond. Azure Bonds.

Another game has been struck down from my Hall of Shame. Goodbye Curse of the Azure Bonds!

Original image located here. Accessed 24th August 2015

Boy has this been along time coming: I recall playing this over twenty years ago on my C64! True it was well and truly on the way out by then but I still played it and enjoyed it. After all, it was in the same series of the legendary Pool of Radiance so it has to be good, right?

This may sound strange but I compare Pool of Radiance to Super Mario Kart in that the first game introduced the concept and did it so well that the successive games haven't really done a lot to add to it. And that is the main problem I found with Curse of the Azure Bonds: It may have introduced two new classes, the Paladin and Ranger, as well as Dual Classing (keep in mind this was based on 2nd AD&D edition rules) but somehow it seems smaller then Pool of Radiance.
I recall Pool of Radiance being full of large areas to explore. In Curse however, the same area size is still present but there seems to be less of them. Also many of the areas are divided up. Case in point: The opening area, which is split between the city of Tilverton (where the PCs start the game) and the Thieves Guild. Now according to the background, Tilverton is a major city - it has a large temple and is visited by royalty. But for such a city it certainly seems small. And the Thieves Guild also seems small - especially when the thieves in question seem organized (one can imagine the thieves in Kovel Mansion in Pool of Radiance sniggering at these guys). True, Curse may have introduced an overworld map but the reduced areas somehow do take a lot of the immersion away from me.

Other things of note is the inclusion of Alias and Dragonbait from the original novel, Azure Bonds (for the unfamiliar, they're the two characters on the box art above). Sure they weren't much help but it was great to see them and have them join my party. It was also great to see Akabar, Olive, and Nameless too.
Also, the last battle was one tough nut to crack. It took me several attempts due to me being swamped by the Margoyles and the Priests of Bane. But when I finally managed to wipe them all out, the Big Bad, Tyranthraxus, turned out to be surprisingly easy to defeat. Anticlimax much?

Grumbling aside, I did enjoy Curse of the Azure Bonds. True it's part of the Gold Box series and I played those games a lot when I was a kid but seeing it now, it holds up surprisingly well. This goes to show that a well-designed game can outlast the march of time.
Also it's fun to see the same party I took all the way through Pool of Radiance return and go to even greater strengths.
Furthermore it's always pleasing to complete a game I started playing over twenty years ago :)

...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.