Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust
Preview
Save Larry!
by T3HDX
previewed on PC
Larry’s at it again…
When Vivendi and Activision merged and continued under the name Activision-Blizzard, quite a few titles formerly under development at Vivendi’s many studios got dropped. Some games such as Brütal Legend and Ghostbusters: The Video Game have since found new homes. Sierra’s Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust’s future is still unsure. With this preview we hope to show some support for Larry’s endlessly hilarious antics.
After a long, hard semester in advanced studies of female anatomy, Larry Lovage –descendant of the legendary Larry Laffer- decides to take a summer job working for his Uncle (Laffer) at his movie lot. Tasked with odd jobs, he is asked to uncover a mole from a rival studio that threatens to broadcast the studio’s secrets. With this information, the other studio is planning a hostile takeover of Larry’s Uncle’s studio and Larry is the only man who can stop this from happening.
Activities of Choice?
Box Office Bust has some changes in store for fans of the series and takes a different approach as compared to Magna Cum Laude. Developer Team17 has been working hard to tie together comedy and animation styles, along with creating new game and dialogue mechanics. They have also chosen a new art style that sees Larry now being hand drawn, giving Larry a more cell shaded and cartoony look than any of the previous titles.
In Box Office Bust you are also free to roam and explore the movie lot, undertake missions or generally just do whatever you feel like. There is a diverse range of challenges and game styles within the game. To give you an idea of just how diverse: game play elements include shooting, racing, exploring, platforming, puzzle solving and an occasional fist fight.
When Larry achieves something or discovers a secret in the game, it will unlock a load of new and cool things such as new costumes, lifestyle enhancements and of course new missions and even some new abilities.
No Nudies
Executive Produce John Melchior believes that nudity is a mask for poor game play. Fans of the series might be disappointed to hear that there will be no nudity in Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust. In the old days it was “Taboo” to see nudity in games. In this day and age you can find nudity just about everywhere, especially on the internet. According to Melchior it is losing its ‘cool’ factor and is deemed less popular. We’re not so sure, but if the choice is gameplay over nudity, we root for gameplay any day.
Though there may be no nudity, the team will still be pushing their rating boundary with themes and jokes that bring the series back to what it used to be. The game’s witty script is written by Allen Covert, who is trying to take the humour as far as possible without offending anyone. Box Office Bust features voices from top celebrities such as Jay Mohr, Carmen Electra, Atrie Lange, Dave Attell and many more.
This approach can also be found in the missions we have seen so far. During one of his missions, Larry finds himself sneaking around and taking pictures of starlets in their dressing room. The studio’s top star wants these pictures so that he can better judge who should be on his ‘to do’ list. But not all missions will have your cheeks turn red, just the decor. On another mission, somebody has replaced some of the fake machetes on the horror set. Larry must test them on stuntmen in order to find the real machetes. If the stuntman dies, well… you will have found the weapon then haven’t you? But before long Larry’s world is back to normal again as you help a former porn star who is trying to go legit by collecting her clothes from around the lot after a studio party. Life is good.
Box Office Busted?
Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust promises to be a refreshing, crazy and wacky adventure. The new art style fits well with Larry’s history, so much that we would love to see more of the game than we have now. Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust is currently without publisher but hopefully another company will come along and save this title from the abyss.
