LEISURE SUIT LARRY III: PASSIONATE PATTI IN PURSUIT OF THE PULSATING PECTORALS

 There is, by this time, probably no single character in computer fiction as
widely known or loved as Larry...Larry Laffer, a/k/a Leisure Suit Larry. This
perennial loser has gone from Lost Wages to Los Angeles to Nontoonyt (pronounced
"None-tonight") Island. Every time he completes an adventure, we assume that
this balding, clumsy software salesman has found the relationship of his dreams.
But we're always delighted to learn that no, things have not worked out
perfectly, and there are more adventures to be had. This time, though, Larry's
only half of the story; the other half belongs to Passionate Patti, lounge act
extraordinare, whose brief appearance in LEISURE SUIT LARRY II foreshadowed this
second sequel, LEISURE SUIT LARRY III: PASSIONATE PATTI IN PURSUIT OF THE
PULSATING PECTORALS. (This review is based on the IBM-PC version; Atari ST
version notes follow.)

 Larry fans will be glad to know there are just as many ridiculous visual gags,
obnoxious jokes, poor-taste situations and slaps to the Moral Majority as in the
previous games, and that LSL3 is undoubtedly the raunchiest of the lot (though
never downright disgusting or graphic). What's new and unusual is that you'll
switch characters partway into the game, assuming the role of Passionate Patti.
Patti's a classy lady, resourceful and always elegant, and if this were real
life, you'd ask yourself, "What does she _see_ in him?" But this isn't reality,
this is the imagination of the cheerfully demented Al Lowe, author of the
series.

 When we last left Larry, he was alive and well on Nontoonyt Island. Having
fortuitously defeated the evil Dr. Nonookee, Larry is given half the island and
the hand of Chief Kenneewauwau's fabulous daughter, Kalalau. But civilization
encroaches: Condos, malls, casinos, and health clubs dot the forest, imported
souvenirs are sold on the beach, and Nontoonyt becomes not so much an island as
a package deal. Natives, Inc. is the conglomerate overseeing this
commercialization, and it's owned and operated by Chairman Kenneth
(Kenneewauwau).

 Larry's happily ensconced in the marketing department at Natives, Inc. He's put
on a few pounds, too. But as the game begins, Larry's world is shaken to its
very core: Kalalau, in a dramatic and particularly cruel change of heart, throws
Larry out. (Does this situation sound familiar?) Chairman Kenny takes the
opportunity to relieve Larry of his employment. So Larry begins life anew,
homeless, without a penny in his polyester pocket, surrounded by the island's
contingent of very beautiful women.

 Should Larry correctly solve the usual puzzles, he'll eventually meet and woo
Patti. Then, after a climactic romantic encounter, a horrible misunderstanding
wrenches the two apart. It's here that you'll switch identities and assume the
role of Patti in her quest to be reunited with Larry...Larry Laffer. Caution: Do
not be misled by the marketing blurb on the back of the box: "...the first
Sierra game every to allow you to switch roles and see the story from another
point of view." You do _not_ have any control over which character you play, or
when.

 Patti's part of the game is somewhat different in tone that of Larry's. She has
comparatively few puzzles to solve, but she does have a maze and an arcade
sequence to float through. The maze is easily mappable (and the solution, for
those without the patience to map, is cleverly integrated into the manual). The
arcade sequence, which features a playing field straight out of GRAY'S ANATOMY,
is also pretty simple as long as you use the save/restore interface.

 Patti's portion of the plot seemed briefer and even more linear than Larry's.
I'd like to have seen a story that was 80% Patti and 20% Larry; as it is, it
seems more like 75% Larry and 25% Patti. The whole game is linear to begin with;
you very often can't solve a problem in one location until you complete an
unrelated puzzle in another area. This is definitely the most frustrating aspect
of the game.

 Another aspect I had a problem with: There are a lot of locations in the manual
that correspond to locations in the actual game. That's fine. But there are a
lot of major references to places you can't get to in the game, which can be
confusing -- especially since one of the locations that _is_ available is
extraordinarily difficult to find.

 There's also a claustrophobic feeling surrounding this particular outing. In
LSL1, you could zip around town to many locations in the taxi. In LSL2, you went
from L.A. to a steamship to an island to an airplane to another island. In LSL3,
you spend practically the whole adventure on the same little island, with
similar scenery throughout. I missed the variety of locales and the sense of
expansiveness that other LSL games provided.

 The graphics in LSL3 are Sierra's usual good job, but again, because of the
dense jungle all around, I missed the grand, sweeping vistas so plentiful in
LSL2. The music (on the Roland MT-32) is excellent; there are dozens of superb
sound effects that constantly surprised and delighted me.

 I enjoyed the puzzles for the most part, and although I didn't find any of them
especially difficult, I didn't find any of them wonderfully clever, either. The
ending is hilarious enough to make up for the fact that it's suspiciously
similar to SPACE QUEST III's ending. There's an insular feeling in some Sierra
games, as if you need to be familiar with the company and the company's other
products in order get the joke. That happens more in LSL3 than in their other
games, but perhaps it's an understandable element in a sequel to a sequel.

 LSL3 is very funny from start to finish -- cute and clever, but not much of a
groundbreaker. It's breezy and easy to play and builds to a great (if totally
bizarre) ending. As in LSL1 and LSL2, you have the impression at the end that
"they lived happily ever after." This time, I _would_ like to see Larry live
happily ever after. I love Al Lowe's broad sense of humor and I'd enjoy seeing
more work by him (possibly even involving Larry). But the LEISURE SUIT LARRY
series seems to have run its course, and perhaps it's time for something
completely different.

 In the IBM version, there are 12 disks: four 3-1/2" disks and eight 5-1/4"
disks. You'll need about 2.5 megabytes of space on your hard drive if you want
to install the program there (which is recommended, but not necessary). The game
is unprotected, although the manual is absolutely required, as it's full of
important hints and clues (some of which are mandatory for completion of the
puzzles). It requires 512K (640K on the PCjr); a processing speed of 8Mhz or
higher is recommended. Mouse and joystick are both supported, as are the Roland
MT-32, Ad Lib, Game Blaster, IBM Music Card and quite a few other sound boards
(as well as the internal IBM speaker). CGA, EGA, MCGA/VGA (both in 16-colors)
and Hercules Monochrome graphics are available.

 ATARI ST VERSION NOTES

 For all practical purposes, the Atari ST version of Sierra's LEISURE SUIT LARRY
III: PASSIONATE PATTI IN PURSUIT OF THE PULSATING PECTORALS looks, sounds, and
plays identically to the IBM-PC version described in the main review. The
graphics and animation are excellent, and the game is easily controlled with the
mouse (movement, menus) and the keyboard (command entry).

 The LSL3 package for the ST comes with four 720K disks and an indispensible
instruction manual (for all versions). Since there's no copy protection, the
disks can be backed up onto floppies, or copied to a hard drive. I have no idea
if 360K disks are available from Sierra, but it's safe to say that only the most
demented person would want to play the game with a single-sided drive and eight
disks. In fact, with well over two megs of data, LSL3 is more than the last word
for those who don't have a 720K drive; it's a strong argument for a hard drive
which -- while not strictly necessary -- certainly speeds up the many screen
loads. Monochrome monitors are supported, as are Roland MT-32 and Casio CZ-101
synthesizers.

 Sequels need hooks to keep a series alive and well, and the role-switching of
LEISURE SUIT LARRY III does the job. LSL3 has enough raunch and silliness to
please fans and delight newcomers. It might even be sufficiently obnoxious to
irritate the covens of censorship nuts running around these days; if it does
annoy them, let's all give Sierra a round of applause. As for Larry Laffer and
the LSL series, I tend to agree with Josh: Larry should now be allowed to retire
gracefully and live in bliss with Miz Right.

 LEISURE SUIT LARRY III: PASSIONATE PATTI IN PURSUIT OF THE PULSATING PECTORALS
is published and distributed by Sierra On-Line, Inc.

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