Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust Review

By Ellie Gibson Published 3 April, 2009

No.

Version tested: Xbox 360

"Do not drive or operate heavy machinery while playing this game." That message appears on first loading screen you see in Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust. You might as well enjoy the joke, as it's funnier than anything else in the game. It's also the only joke that does not revolve around penises, vaginas or the fact that sometimes people like to put one inside the other.

It's only a joke at all because the funny thing is before long you will want to get into your car and drive as far away as you can from this game. Then you will want to use heavy machinery to crush everyone involved in its creation, from the person responsible for drawing Larry's hateful face to the person who put the staples in the manuals.

The storyline, on the off chance you give the tiniest toss, is some gibberish about movie studios spying on each other. It all takes place in the town of Tinselwood - Ha! Ha! - and there lots of unfunny film references: posters for Driving Miss Maisey's Hearse, mini-games called Bitanic and Beefcake Mountain and so on. There's also plenty of sexual innuendo. In some cases they didn't even bother with the innuendo bit; there's a movie studio called Anus Productions.

The script is dreadful. Larry yammers away incessantly and infuriatingly, saying things like, "Mission bend over, spread 'em and get ready to be accomplished long and hard!" and "I'll turn you on - uh, I mean I'll turn on the fan!" To remind you the game has an 18 rating, cut-scenes are laden with expletives even though they add nothing in the way of either exposition or humour. It's like a stupid adult version of Smurf language: "Let's sh** over to the sh**mobile and sh** back to the sh***ing castle, Gargamel!"

The voice talent has been provided by the likes of Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth and Jay Mohr, from whom you'd expect this kind of thing. But Jeffrey Tambor, aka Hank in Larry Sanders and George Bluth Sr. from Arrested Development - what are you doing, sir? Wiping the good stuff off the whiteboard of your legacy and drawing a big cock instead, that's what.

'Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust' Screenshot 2

Instead of the usual captions, here are some things Oli said while playing Box Office Bust: "It's actually physically unpleasant to play."

Speaking of which, your first objective is to scrub a load of pictures of cocks off some walls. This is about as risqué, exciting, amusing and arousing as Box Office Bust ever gets. Almost all the missions are tedious fetch quests and you spend less time doing them than you do running between them, visiting the same old locations again and again.

Larry's animations are terrible - he runs like he only had his callipers taken off two hours ago and jumps in a weird, floaty, arms akimbo way, like a monkey who's had its stomach pumped full of helium. His fingers never grab ledges properly; they just hover a few centimetres above. Sometimes he will decide he can't jump on the crate right in front of him because he doesn't feel like it, or will bounce off a wall for no good reason. Sometimes his hands and even forearms disappear into the scenery. Sometimes when I am driving on the road at night I have the sudden impulse to turn into the path of the oncoming car as I anticipate the sound of shattering glass and the flames rising out of the flowing gasoline.

It feels endless. Larry runs around the same old places, fulfilling mission objectives which are minor variations on the familiar theme of "Go and get a thing and bring it back here." The closest the game ever gets to entertaining is the package delivery mission where you get to drive the post truck; the handling is pathetic but at least you don't have to watch Larry's stupid running animation. Incidentally, when he does get out of the truck and runs into the building you don't see him carrying the package, oh no; it just magically appears in the cut-scene. Then, when you leave the building, the truck will have magically disappeared, presumably to the same place the parcel came from.

That's if you can leave. When you're inside buildings the camera is fixed, often in a stupid position. This leads to Larry getting stuck behind bits of scenery or unable to enter rooms for reasons you cannot see. You can control the camera when you're outside, but you won't want to; there's nothing to see but poorly rendered buildings, terrible textures, hilarious pixellisation and tearing.

In cut-scenes many of the characters are afflicted with a strange disease, which speckles their skin with luminous grains, and they all have frightening teeth that appear to be individually lit from within. There are even weirder characters wandering around the sparsely populated streets - some of them don't have facial features until they're a few feet away from you, at which point their nose, mouth and eyes pop out of nowhere. The game box informs us Box Office Bust was built with "Unreal Technology".

It's not even worth addressing the issue of whether Leisure Suit Larry is sexist. It's impossible to care. It's certainly not sexy. At least the terrible Lula 3D had actual tits and sex in. This game just has clothed women with beachballs stuffed down their tops and the kind of innuendo that hasn't been seen since the Carry On films, which they haven't made since 1978 for a reason. (Yes all right Carry On Columbus but everyone knows that doesn't count and should be locked away in a concrete bunker to be forgotten for the rest of time along with fascism, dreadlocks on white people and Box Office Bust.)

'Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust' Screenshot 4

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Let's review some of the words used in this article: hateful, toss, stupid, tedious, terrible, dreadful, pathetic. That about sums it up, but just to be clear: do not buy this game. You will not only want your money back, you will want reimbursement for the electricity consumed by your Xbox 360 in the six minutes it took to realise you had made a horrible mistake. It's impossible to understand why Codemasters plucked this from the rubble of the Vivendi-Activision merger, like a shellshocked Blitz victim retrieving the dead cat instead of the family jewels.

At least they're only asking GBP 19.99 for it, but that's GBP 19.99 more than Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust is worth. It's not funny, it's not fun to play and it's less erotic than psoriasis. As the Smurfs would say: **** off, Larry.

2 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (131) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • conners #1 3 years ago

    I do wish you'd stop sitting on the fence Ellie.

    Really.

    Oh and First!

  • TheDudesRug #2 3 years ago

    Ah, bust, I get it.

    ¬_¬

  • estoo #3 3 years ago

    So... not a fan then Ellie?

  • brappbrap #4 3 years ago

    Fantastic.
    Negative reviews are without a doubt some of the most fun things to read.

    Surprised this managed a 2/10.

    Better than.... umm....somthing that got 1/10 I guess?

  • sneetch #5 3 years ago

    "Wiping the good stuff off the whiteboard of your legacy and drawing a big cock instead, that's what."

    Ouch. I'll be avoiding this one.

  • elhozzo #6 3 years ago

    so, more of a rental then ?

  • Olemak #7 3 years ago

    Short straw again eh Ellie?

  • PearOfAnguish #8 3 years ago

    With a strapline like that you know it's going to be a good read.

  • AphoticCosmos #9 3 years ago

    Ellie do you think your employers are being sexist and make you review all the shitty, unfunny sexist games?

    Call Discrimiclaim lawyers today!

  • Cannibal #10 3 years ago

    Better than Golden Balls then?

  • spookyzombie #11 3 years ago

    Don't even rent it. It's the worst 360 game I've played in 2009 so far.

  • Chufty #12 3 years ago

    Is this genuinely bad then? I can't really tell from an Ellie review. I remember playing some leisure suit larry games 15 years ago but can't remember how bad or good they were.

  • UKGN_Zoidberg #13 3 years ago

    An entire review without a single mention that this comes from Team 17 who have fallen a long way since the Alien Breed and Worms. Perhaps only a new Alien Breed or, even better, a XBLA version of Arcade Pool???

    If you're reading this Martyn Brown, that's spelt P-L-E-A-S-E!

  • DFawkes #14 3 years ago

    Best subtitle ever.

  • mkreku #15 3 years ago

    My childhood hero :(

  • bad09 #16 3 years ago

    "Perhaps only a new Alien Breed or, even better, a XBLA version of Arcade Pool???"

    Can't remember his name but a while back someone from T17 confirmed Alien Breed is happening on the forums.

    Anyway shame about larry....but his games were never THAT good anyway....

  • space_ace #17 3 years ago

    it seems it's not very good then

  • miiiguel #18 3 years ago

    oh yes... this was the "innapropriate" game. So said my father. Once..., a long time ago...

    Guess it still is.

  • PearOfAnguish #19 3 years ago

    Oh dear, Team17 developed this? Doing a game unrelated to Worms must have been confusing.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/09 @ 18:07

  • Evolution #20 3 years ago

    I don't know, at least they used to be funny, enjoyable adventure games. With this and Magna Cum Laude, it seems the developers actually forgot that it was the writing that made the games enjoyable, not the fact that it was all about sex. Oh, and this is from Team 17? For shame.

  • Bearskopff #21 3 years ago

    Hi.

    I'm more of a reader of Eurogamer rather than a poster but just wanted to say good work on another great review Ellie. Not only have you saved me a bit of cash but you also gave me a good giggle as well.

    Keep up the good work,
    Bear

  • oerhoert #22 3 years ago

    How on earth is this text not an 1/10?

  • Bloodhunter #23 3 years ago

    sounds fun, think ill pick it up!

    or not.

  • MaliceMajorE15 #24 3 years ago

    poor ellie. i think she gets the bad games because she is best a delivering withering reviews. absolutly love the subtitle

  • menage #25 3 years ago

    "dreadlocks on white people"

    Second time today I laughed out loud at the internet (The first being the Zero Punctuation Halo Wars rant at the end). Classic stuff.

  • Vortex808 #26 3 years ago

    Is this what Team17 are doing these days? I seem to remember they made some good games for the Amiga many moons ago.

    Nice review Ellie, but as 'erotic as psoriasis'? I feel itchy and require a shower after just reading that! Ick.

  • the_mtfr #27 3 years ago

    Good writing. I can't believe what has become of Team 17.

  • BBIAJ #28 3 years ago

    Bought it, played it, completed it 100%, enjoyed it. There, that's my mini-review flying in the face of yet another predictable diatribe from Ellie *yawn*

    It's cheap, cheerful, and fun, WTF do you expect for £15 for God's sake!?

  • LeChuckie #29 3 years ago

    I like to play a game on Eurogamer where I try and guess whether the game is good or bad just by reading the sub-title from the review headline. This one actually made me laugh out loud.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/09 @ 19:07

  • MyPointIs #30 3 years ago

    Oh my God, Sierra is going downhill!!

    /goes back to cave

  • menage #31 3 years ago

    @BBIAJ

    There are tons of cheaper games on XBLA/PSN/da internets which would probably crap all over this . Let alone the deals I've found from last years game I didn't buy then and can now because they cost me 15-20 bucks. Why waste money on this when I can buy freaking Fable 2 or Dead Space for 3 pounds more, Why waste money on this?
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/09 @ 19:18

  • asphaltcowboy #32 3 years ago

    What would it have to do to get a 1 fgs?!

  • Santino #33 3 years ago

    it prob is a 1 really, but got bumped up to a whopping 2 because of the sexy HD, making games better since 2005(06? i can't remember).

  • Halo.Jones #34 3 years ago

    If it's bad on the 360. Believe me when I tell you it's even worse on the PS3...

    Low res textures, scenery pop up.. Bloody awful..

  • metalangel #35 3 years ago

    Is anyone surprised? As a huge old school Sierra fan, I am glad this is the only corpse that's been exhumed and raped. There are better and funnier sex comedy adventures on Newgrounds.

  • crwoody #36 3 years ago

    great review! Not a patch on the old amiga point and click versions then :p

  • fredrikpj #37 3 years ago

    Awesome review Ellie, made me laugh :D

    I bet Al Lowe is loving this :)

    Seriously, why on earth did they stop doing good adventure games like back in the good days. I miss my kings/space/police quest...


  • Gnort #38 3 years ago

    As good as Lula 3D, then?

  • Jemura #39 3 years ago

    The name Ellie Gibson, is like a another word for quality.

    Goo. goo.. funny.. Ellie goow!

  • Obiwanshinobi #40 3 years ago

    (...)
    The first mate's name was Cooper
    By Christ he was a trooper
    He jerked and jerked until he worked
    Himself into a stupor

    Friggin' in the riggin'
    Friggin' in the riggin'
    Friggin' in the riggin'
    There was fuck all else to do
    (...)

  • DrR0b3rts #41 3 years ago

    An Annie Hall reference in a game review - this is why I love EG!

  • smelly #42 3 years ago

    *SIGH* ANOTHER shit 360 game.. I'm seriously considering selling my 360...

  • mingster #43 3 years ago

    GOTY for me..

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #44 3 years ago

    Superb review!

    Hang on..how come "Shit" is censored with stars but "Cock" isn't? :-)

  • Thunderbolt #45 3 years ago

    Good review and possibly the best person for the job

    Unfortunately the Sierra of old is long dead and buried

    If this post doesnt make sense its cos I'm just back from the pun and pissed

  • Thunderbolt #46 3 years ago

    Oh and smelly stop trolling

  • paketep #47 3 years ago

    Oh, Larry, our poor Larry.

    Why isn't motherfucking Sierra dead?. Why do they have to keep releasing this shit and tarnishing our memories?. I mean the current Sierra, of course. The old Sierra died long, long ago.

  • Wayne #48 3 years ago

    Does it have easy achievements? Yes? SOLD!!!

  • rarebit #49 3 years ago

    '...and it's less erotic than psoriasis'


    damn i have psoriasis.

    i always thought i was erotic

    /walks slowly away shaking his head wondering why he has done one of those /statements.

    damn
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/09 @ 22:26

  • Vanmunt #50 3 years ago

    don't shake your head too much, people will think it is snowing...

  • Rirekon #51 3 years ago

    Genuine lol'ing here, thanks for the read Ellie! I take it those 2 points the game got where because of the awesomly funny review it got :)

  • CrumpetBoy #52 3 years ago

    One assumes the 2/10 is comprised of one point per bollock. Can you still get leisure suits?

  • coomber #53 3 years ago

    "It's also the only joke that does not revolve around penises..."

    "Wiping the good stuff off the whiteboard of your legacy and drawing a big cock instead, that's what."

    Easy trap to fall into by the look of it.

  • smelly #54 3 years ago

    >Oh and smelly stop trolling

    Im not trolling.. this is just the latest in a long line of shit 360 games.. i'm going to sell mine as i dont like shit games on my machines.

  • El-Dev #55 3 years ago

    Arrested Development, awesome.

  • metalangel #56 3 years ago

    Cutting off your nose to spite your face?

    Just don't buy the shit games, only buy the good ones (and there are plenty of those)

  • Scyrenn #57 3 years ago

    for some reason i'm quite extremely pissed off now

    so i'm gonna go fall asleep

    kthx

  • dacicus #58 3 years ago

    2/10...Wow! Someone was awfully generous...
    paketep, this isn't even done by the Sierra. Codemasters bought Larry from Activision/Blizzard when the nice corporate people decided to sell whatever they can from Sierra's old intelectual property. The final product it's just a follow-up of what Vivendi (now called Blizzard) did to Larrry, when they've decided to release Magna Cum Laudae. At that time Sierra was already just a brand, and nothing else....Al Lowe must suffer tremendously seeing how his beloved character is raped....

  • Guv #59 3 years ago

    One of the funniest things I've ever read, cheers!

  • rascoj64 #60 3 years ago

    Shame, was really looking forward to this!

  • doctorgonzo #61 3 years ago

    You know, for all that Ms Gibson appears to be forging a career out of trashing crappy games, and for all that the results are always highly entertaining, it'd be interesting to see what she makes of something that isn't unremittingly ghastly.

    Also, "less erotic than psoriasis" just put me right off my breakfast eggs, so thanks for that.

  • spadge #62 3 years ago

    I guess we expected reviews like this, with press licking their lips since day one to line up to kick at the IP. Working on other IP's as a work for hire unit always feels different to your own stuff as you generally deliver what the client wants, it was no different here in sometimes trying circumstances.

    Since it was Sierra's IP, we made the game (based on their script/direction) to specification of time/budget and content.

    In terms of the development experience, I think that like many of the titles during a difficult period in the aftermath of the merger with Activision, it suffered in a whole bunch of production ways, changes, delays, focus and direction at times.

    It's not a case of making excuses, but whilst the first half of the project went smoothly and with a great rapport, the latter half and especially lack of opportunity to really embelish the title when we weren't even sure it would be published likely hurt production values in the end. It's certainly not a case of pointing the finger, as these things happen in the games industry and it was unfortunate.

    The game content certainly isn't for everyone and Sierra's aims for he script was something more 'Superbad - The Movie' than the original Larry style - they also wanted more of a game than just mini-games as in Magna Cum Laude - and the whole aim of the game was to punctuate/deliver the script, which is either very funny or not funny at all, such is the subjective nature of comedy, especially mature comedy. Some of the stuff in there is indeed very funny - and it's all meant to be tongue in cheek, the game never taking itself particularly seriously (it takes the piss out of itself constantly).

    We knew that when we were approached (in 2006) that we were perhaps on a hiding to nothing doing a Larry game, especially with the way the hard-core attack anything slightly off the beaten path. In terms of ourselves, this was a good opportunity in terms of experience and working with a new bunch of people on what for the first half of the project, whilst Sierra were Sierra, was very rewarding and positive. It got difficult once things started to change and we lost the original production staff at Sierra, but c'est la vie. There's no ill-feeling on our part, just a shame that the momentum changed in a tough period.

    If people want to write Team17 based on this then so be it, but that's pretty short-sighted although admittedly you can only judge on what you see (we've kept 'Breed closely under wraps, mainly because of the impact we wish to make). We'll be happy to see what people make of the things we build when we're working entirely independently, without any 3rd party involvement - the first of which is Alien Breed Evolution, later this year. It'll be very interesting to see what people make of that and where they think we've fallen or risen to, then.

  • Mechstra #63 3 years ago

    All comment threads are improved by developers arriving to defend their terrible games.

  • Omroth #64 3 years ago

    Why the hell is a girl reviewing this? It's like a man reviewing tampons.

  • LetsGo #65 3 years ago

    Shouldnt a male review this? :)

  • RobotRocker #66 3 years ago

    @Omroth

    Why the hell is a girl reviewing this? It's like a man reviewing tampons.

    And the winner of Eurogamers most chauvanistic statement of the year is...

    Its a shame about this game. While Manga Cum Laude was utterly terrible and hardly worth the 5 quid I paid for the PC version. The script was really funny at times and it had the odd spark of invention in its conversation system.

    Also, good on Spadge for showing that Team 17 dont chuck their toys out of the pram after a bad review anymore (Or will Eurogamer be marching Ellie down to the shop for to buy a retail copy of Alien Breed next gen when it arrives ;P )

  • captainrentboy #67 3 years ago

    Ahh Smelly's still as awesome and predictable as ever then. I hope to God you're going to be buying the upcoming Diva Girls-Princess On Ice, Mary King's Riding School 2, Bob The Builder-Festival Of Fun and Cake Mania-In The Mix for your beloved Wii,(Isn't it strange that I can keep reeling off lists of games like that for every month of the Wii's upcoming release schedule) because they sound like the type of top titles that only the Wii can get in its back catalogue. Infact I might sell my 360 too, and then buy a Wii just so that I can pick up those gems.
    You daft bastard, you can't criticise one console's game output when the other's are largely sooo fackin' awful that 80% of its new releases aren't even reviewed anywhere, as it would be deemed a waste of time and effort. :)

  • mustardkid #68 3 years ago

    kudos to martyn for not throwing a mental, must hurt to see reviews like this, but not entirely unexpected i guess.

    Been a big fan of team17 since the amiga days and don't begrudge them for trying to make a living, they gotta do this stuff to fund the IP that we're all really waiting for.

    no pressure :p

  • Retroid #69 3 years ago

    "smelly 03-Apr-09 23:09:46
    Im not trolling.. this is just the latest in a long line of shit 360 games.. i'm going to sell mine as i dont like shit games on my machines."

    This coming from the man who owns Cruis'n & I Did It Mum (Girl Version) for Wii & DS.

    /Joey

  • bad09 #70 3 years ago

    Aahh, it was Spadge told told us about AB!

    Don't worry Spadge I doubt many will write off T17, I know i'm all over the new Alien Breed like herpes on a whore, and I'm sure many will be! (give us some info soon PLEASE!)

    Although if Larry is that bad (he was never that great anyway) I do think T17 should make up for it by bringing back T17 IPs like Superfrog, Body Blows, Project X and Assassin, don't you? ;)


    EDIT - Oh and Smelly dude, I do hope you don't bother with the profile page, 'cos if you do that is a pretty dire list!! ;)
    Edited by 1 at 04/04/09 @ 12:11

  • spadge #71 3 years ago

    Actually our 3rd party deals may well be over, just 1st party platform-holder jointly developed titles and self-published own IP stuff - one would hope a perfect balance. We celebrate 20yrs next year and I'd like to think that the new Alien Breed will be an indication of where we're heading. Quite exciting really after a generally difficult life (as other developers will likely all concur) in 3rd party publisher land, with all it's foibles. With Breed (and other stuff coming up) we've had no prodding, no milestone threats, no outside pressures (other than of our own processes) and it's made for a refreshing change - hopefully the benefits will be there to see.

  • bad09 #72 3 years ago

    20 years, bloody hell I'm old. Sounds good Spadge, I hope it works out T17 gave me some great games, and if you ask me, defined the 16 bit era (Amiga rocks, ST stinks!), lets see happen that again!

    "With Breed (and other stuff coming up) "

    Alright, spill it come on, it better be superfrog!!

    / glares at Spadge

  • actionfitz #73 3 years ago

    "You will not only want your money back, you will want reimbursement for the electricity consumed by your Xbox 360 in the six minutes it took to realise you had made a horrible mistake. It's impossible to understand why Codemasters plucked this from the rubble of the Vivendi-Activision merger, like a shellshocked Blitz victim retrieving the dead cat instead of the family jewels."


    priceless :D
    awesome review.

    (please please please let there be a Zero Punctuation review of this soon hehehe)
    Edited by 1 at 04/04/09 @ 12:38

  • beastmaster #74 3 years ago

    Superfrog ruled. Yes, do Superfrog. Kind of liked Body Blows too.

    "I'm sorry about that!"

  • Mattattattatt #75 3 years ago

    How come really bad reviews always make me want to play the game more than an so-so ones?

    Probably not for very long though :)

  • LowEnergyCycle #76 3 years ago

    What the fuck is wrong with "dreadlocks on white people"?

  • Kluff #77 3 years ago

    Another terrible exploitation of the Larry name, as expected.

    What I ask myself, how much sense does it make to develop a successor to a game that has nothing to do with it? Afaik both MCL and BOB stay away from the characters and style of the original Larry games, heck, the developers of MCL shouldn't even play them!

    Sooo....why use the name anyway? To piss off the fans?
    I don't see any common sense in there. You use an established brand name, an intellectual property because you have an audience with it that will surely buy your product, so the risk of failure isn't that high. But if it gets clear that you just misuse, exploit the name and that the follow-up product has nothing to do with the former ones......well, then you lost the bonus of using an established IP. Maybe the customers will be so uninformed that they might buy the product anyway, but they will be disappointed and angry and probably swear to never buy a product from you again!

    So why not make something totally new? Well, I guess you can't piss the fans off then, if that's a negative...
    Edited by 1 at 04/04/09 @ 15:26

  • 3william56 #78 3 years ago

    and people wonder why she likes Star Wars 1 - 3?? All this exposure to sh*t has warped her for life.

  • Widge #79 3 years ago

    I don't associate Team17 with LSL, so I wouldn't write off Alien Breed as a result. Surprised to see thats what you were up to though!
    I'd love to see T17 hit PSN with some short, sharp classy titles...

  • space_ace #80 3 years ago

    needs more parallax scrolling

  • AccidentProne #81 3 years ago

    "Sometimes when I am driving on the road at night I have the sudden impulse to turn into the path of the oncoming car as I anticipate the sound of shattering glass and the flames rising out of the flowing gasoline."

    What movie is this quotefrom? I recognised it as the sample from the start of the Jawbreaker song Jet Black and it's bugging me now.

  • Arwin #82 3 years ago

    Just give me a PSN re-release of leisure suit larry 1, 2 and 3, with the original Roland MT32 music as background music. I loooooved those games! And no(t just the) pointy-clicky either, I want to be able to type in cuss-words and get cussed back at using my bluetooth keyboard! Someone, make it happen! :)

    Either that, or give the franchise to Rockstar and let them make remakes using the GTA IV engine. Heck, with the taxis, prostitutes, bars, muggers and what-not, the games are almost the same already anyway, except the humor (and the thousands of ways of dying - I haven't enjoyed dying in any other games as much, ever - well, some deaths in Space Quest maybe but that's cheating) would undoubtedly improve over the GTA games even if they just used all the original scripts.

    How amazing was it to finally have made it to that prostitute, only to later walk gleefully on the pavement outside the bar and then collapse and die from a venerial disease? And then the underground larry factory that pops another one back out - just brilliant!

    Does anyone else think it's a coincidence that adventure gaming died along with text-input? ;) In these days of voice and text-chatting on consoles, they definitely need to bring it back. The interface is there ... use it! The PS3 pad would be perfect, including the mouse pointer thingy.

    (I could live with the VGA remake graphics by the way, using the art-style they used for LSL V as well - that wasn't bad at all. Can the original drawings be scanned in with higher fidelity? That would be awesome, also for the painted space quest onces, they were gorgeous)
    Edited by 1 at 05/04/09 @ 00:02

  • oerhoert #83 3 years ago

    spadge: interesting to hear your thoughts on this, but I do believe it's quite a serious matter to deliver substandard games. Team 17 used to be an important brand to some of us oldtimers on here, but such brand awareness and appreciation can only be kept at a high level if you keep delivering top-quality product. It has a price to push substandard games onto the market, even if that price may not be evident on the day of release.

    I guess it goes without saying that I didn't like Worms 3D or 4 all that much by the way, and Worms Open Warfare for DS was a disappointment. The Lemmings games on PSP/PS3 were fine though, and the XBLA Worms was good too.

  • Tuffty #84 3 years ago

    Funny, on the front page, Larry looks like a video game version of Basshunter. Another sex-obsessed, humourless prick.
    Edited by 1 at 05/04/09 @ 00:41

  • LosCapitan #85 3 years ago

    @ Accident Prone:

    It's from Annie Hall: A young Christopher Walken in fact.

  • Kluff #86 3 years ago

    @CountFapula: Yes.

  • spadge #87 3 years ago

    oerhört, I don't think we, nor any developer sets off with that intention. You have to be in it to understand the whys and wherefores. It was totally in our interest to try and make the best of it (why wouldnt it be?) but not every situation lends itself.


  • alpha-0ne #88 3 years ago

    Seriously why do you give a shit game so much attention

  • daftshadow #89 3 years ago

    2/10, not even close. From a male gamer's perspective, this game is at least 5/10. For one thing, the graphics for a game in this genre is pretty damn cool. The dialogue is freakin' hilarious. One of the downfalls of this LSL title compared to the previous ones is that you cannot talk to anyone besides the characters that you have to talk to for or during a mission. You can't just doodle your way up to some random npc and start chatting with them. Another major downfall is the much toned down adult humor of the franchise. Yeah, you see chicks with big boobs and tight clothes on. That's about it. And I really miss the wacky dildo character from the past LSL titles.

    If you're looking for something to past time, pick this one up for a rental. To Ellie, if you really want to review a sexist game, you should play and review BoneTown. It's just like LSL but much more adult oriented.

  • squeakyg #90 3 years ago

    I am in a strange position. I am someone who QUITE LIKED Magna Cum Laude. Sure it was just a collection of fairly poor minigames, but I thought it was a very competent sex comedy. Well-written, well-voice-acted, and genuinely funny.

    So it was annoying at the time to read all the terrible reviews. It was very obvious that the gaming press thinks it natural to hate these games, just BECAUSE they are crude sex comedies. Like the journo rulebook says: "Sex games can never get good scores. Think the worst while you play them." There were only a couple of reviewers who had the balls to go against the grain and praise Magna Cum Laude... none of them mainstreamers. Guys like Rab at Consolevania liked it.

    So...

    This review is a bit useless because it doesn't tell me the main thing I want to know:

    How does it compare to Magna Cum Laude, considering that I enjoyed the script, voice acting, and general tone of Magna Cum Laude?

  • spadge #91 3 years ago

    Incidentally, we were restricted to mainly adult script (no "tits and ass";) given that Walmart wouldn't stock the game if it had any nudity, whilst profanity is fine. We don't make the rules on this, we just had to abide by what the publisher wanted. It's bizzare I know, but them's the rules of modern US society.

  • LowEnergyCycle #92 3 years ago

    @CountFapula

    Well shit, I hope you're the model fucking human then. Oh how I aspire to look just as flawless as you.

    Might have known there'd be at least one shit-minded bigot around here.

  • Kiigan #93 3 years ago

    "it's not fun to play and it's less erotic than psoriasis"

    Oh yeah, let's have a go at psoriasis sufferers now, coz they haven't suffered enough!

    Bastards.

  • wonton #94 3 years ago

    "no"

    most epic caption ever.

  • Stompy #95 3 years ago

    "This review is a bit useless because it doesn't tell me the main thing I want to know:

    How does it compare to Magna Cum Laude, considering that I enjoyed the script, voice acting, and general tone of Magna Cum Laude?"

    I was equally annoyed when Bed Monthly reviewed the "Mystic Meditation Bed O'Nails" and gave it their worst score ever - 62%.
    The review did not even consider the question: "if you are a fan of sleeping fitfully and painfully, will this bed deliver the luxury you deserve?"

    I mean, is no-one but me stupid enough to like hateful and unpleasant experiences designed purely for the lowest common denominator? Does no-one want to see Rise of the Robots 2???

  • a_random_gnome #96 3 years ago

    I can't help but wonder when the next classic Sierra series will be brutally, err, brutalized.

  • NonShinyGoose #97 3 years ago

    GamesAsylum.com have reviewed this now too - <a href=http://www.gamesasylum.com/2009/04/04/l eisure-suit-larry-box-office-bust/>

    They thought it was a load of crud as well

  • Tiberianus #98 3 years ago

    After reading Spadge's defense of his apparantly terrible game, I was curious to see what this Studio Director at Team 17 had discussed in other posts. Sadly all that stuck out was this tirade:

    spadge:

    "Very brave young smelly. Takes guts to type such cutting remarks from the relative safety of your keyboard, I'm surprised you're up so late - however it's the weekend so mum probably doesn't mind eh. If you're ever in Wakefield and wish to relay your lovely comments to any of our actually rather fine people (not that you'd know) then you'd be welcome.

    Congratulations on becoming 'ignored'. Perhaps there's a scouts badge for it, mummy will be pleased eh.    "

    What terrible cutting remarks you may ask??

    smelly:

    ">Hmmm... Team 17, eh? Could be good...

    Nah, they cant even get something as simple as worms on the wii right...     "

    .... wtf?

    And classic last words leading up to production:

    spadge:

    "It's not mini-games.

    Actually, I think Al Lowe might actually enjoy the script and voice-acting, its really rather funny.    "

    Could send him a copy?
    Edited by 3 at 06/04/09 @ 02:41

  • Emortal #99 3 years ago

    Tiberianus, I think anyone who has invested a lot of time into something, then hearing your work sucks, will eventually snap sometime. I think he has had enough negativity aimed towards him when Team17 clearly haven't been given liberties to do what they want with the game?

    Team 17 are legends and has done a lot of great games. Worms is still going strong on our lunchbreaks..

  • Domovoi #100 3 years ago

    I wonder how 'spadge' would react if they actually released a good game again and commenters were heaping praise on them. Would he still call them out for being cowardly internet commenters, and take potshots at them? Or are commenters only idiots when they don't like what you've made?

  • Stompy #101 3 years ago

    "Tiberianus, I think anyone who has invested a lot of time into something, then hearing your work sucks, will eventually snap sometime."

    Anyone who has memories that stretch back to Amiga Power's reign of terror will recall that Team17 were, at that time, very unforgiving to magazines that rated their games truthfully.



    "Team 17 are legends and has done a lot of great games. Worms is still going strong on our lunchbreaks."

    Worms is a 'humourous' copy of a free game. I don't think that making an inexplicably popular game, that's just like a free game, but has worms with silly voices instead of tanks makes you a legend. (Also, Worms was programmed by an Amiga owner, and Team17 took interest in it and published it, IIRC).
    If anything, Alien Breed is their main claim to legendary status, along with Body Blows. Body Blows was better than the Amiga version of SFII. Worms was not even as good as the free game which it copied. Which achievement would you want on your tombstone?
    Edited by 2 at 06/04/09 @ 10:01

  • Domovoi #102 3 years ago

    "One of the downfalls of this LSL title compared to the previous ones is that you cannot talk to anyone besides the characters that you have to talk to for or during a mission. You can't just doodle your way up to some random npc and start chatting with them. Another major downfall is the much toned down adult humor of the franchise. Yeah, you see chicks with big boobs and tight clothes on. That's about it. And I really miss the wacky dildo character from the past LSL titles."

    ...exactly how many Larry games have you played?

  • Stompy #103 3 years ago

    Here is Jonathan Davies reviewing Worms for Amiga Power:

    6. It turns out that speeded-up samples are used to provide the worms with amusingly squeaky voices, with which they can say things like "Hiee-ya!", "Oof!" and "Stupid!" Do you:
    a) Cry "HA ha ha ha ha! Brilliant! Did you hear that? Excellent! And certainly not, for example, a feeble rip-off of one of Lemmings' more irritating aspects"
    b) Turn the volume down
    c) Curse the day you were born

    7. Having had your go, while waiting up to quarter of an hour for the fifteen other players to have their go, do you:
    a) Peer over their shoulders, spluttering lines like "How hard's your worm?", "I bet I have a bigger worm than you" and, "Leave my worm alone" until your cheeks begin to ache
    b) Shout encouragement to the rest of your team
    c) Die of old age

    8. Your friends all leave, and you find yourself playing Worms on your own. Do you:
    a) Entertain yourself by compiling a mental list of further hilarious 'worm' jokes with which to amuse your friends next time
    b) Grimace as the computer-controlled worms first jump about to no obvious effect for several seconds, then either blow themselves up unconvincingly or fire a bazooka across two screens against a 90mph wind hitting their target with pinpoint accuracy
    c) Knock yourself unconscious by running head-first at the wall in the hope that you'll wake up several years later to find the Worms disks have degraded to the point where they are no longer readable

  • spadge #104 3 years ago

    Actually we've had the odd good/positive review over the years. I'll obviously defend my company and it's people to the hilt, as anyone would do surely? We do thank people when nice things are said - and this happens often.

    I'm certainly not perfect and yes, I can snap from time to time, mostly getting annoyed when I deem things unjust. The Amiga Power stuff was regrettable in hindsight, but we were very passionate and very naive back then, not the greatest of combo's.

    Games, like tv, film, music and art are massively subjective. These days the most important thing is that you can download/demo/trial a game and then make your own mind up rather than hear what someone else thinks/says.

    Bang on about Worms being this and that all you like, but millions of people around the world really enjoy it. If it's not for you, then move on. I really don't get the venom people spout about something they don't like, I just don't see the point - it's not like everything we produce will be universally appealing.

    With regards to Larry, it was a case of us producing to a client brief, simple as that. In these cases we generally have a strict time/budget to work with. You'll see the difference in Alien Breed simply because we've had no 3rd party interference, same goes for the next Worms on XBLA. We've also got new stuff up our sleeves but that won't be revealed for ages yet.

    Stompy: Worms Armageddon meta-critic'd around 86% (the recent Open Warfare 2 around 81%) that's a pretty high rating for something that according to you is a "simple copy of something that's free". Your mindset is exactly what makes coming onto these boards a treat. What's your contribution to popular entertainment or do you just sit there decrying everything else as it's so much easier to do that? Stop whining, get creating.
    Edited by 1 at 06/04/09 @ 12:16

  • EvilBob_leeds #105 3 years ago

    Fair enough, but you must have known Leisure Suit Larry series was a poisoned chalice - there's not been one that hasn't been awful since EGA graphics. It's not so much a problem of it being "off the beaten track" - there's plenty of quality "off the beaten track" Sierra titles like Quest for Glory and Police Quest - the premises haven't been too good, and there's a tendancy to use cheesy sexual innuendo and half baked titliation where good puzzles and amusing dialog should be.

    And also why did you have to make Project-X so bastard hard?
    Edited by 2 at 07/04/09 @ 12:48

  • Domovoi #106 3 years ago

    The thing is, I still love Worms to this day. That's why I, and presumably a lot of people, think it's such a shame that you guys managed to produce something like Box Office Bust. Next time Team 17 comes out with something, instead of thinking "Oh awesome, that's from the guys who made Worms", I'll think "Oh, that's from those guys who used to know what they were doing but then made that godawful Larry game."

    "there's not been one that hasn't been awful since EGA graphics. "

    Actually Love for Sail was pretty decent. But yeah, was it ever really a good idea to attempt a new Larry game? Even without the benefit of hindsight?
    Edited by 1 at 06/04/09 @ 13:40

  • spadge #107 3 years ago

    We were aware that it was somewhat of a challenge, certainly, but that shouldn't stop you.

    Project-X, Alien Breed and other early games of ours were not always particularly well balanced since we were pretty raw and only tested the games amongst ourselves. Of course that's all done very differently these days. The new Alien Breed has 3 difficulty levels for a start :-)

    Funnily enough, when we did X2 (on PlayStation, not Amiga) we let Ocean's QA dept. balance the game (it had a built in editor) and they made it too hard too. We later did a version for the Japanese market (published by Capcom) which was a ton better because it was a lot easier. Half of the time it's about having good quality time to balance and iteratively tweak the games and it's a shame that it happens so seldom - the difference is usually clear between a game running to very strict deadlines and one which has had a lot of TLC.

    Domovoi - point taken, but in a few months you'll be saying "that's by the guys who made Alien Breed" - i promise. Why did we do it? Well, there are wages to pay and whilst we knew it would be difficult, we gave it a go. It wasn't a smooth experience but our people tried hard to deliver something that Sierra really wanted.
    Edited by 1 at 06/04/09 @ 13:43

  • Domovoi #108 3 years ago

    "We were aware that it was somewhat of a challenge, certainly, but that shouldn't stop you."

    Because if you had let it stop you, you wouldn't have a terrible game in your repertoire, you wouldn't have had it taint your company, and you wouldn't be having arguments with review commenters?

  • Stompy #109 3 years ago

    "What's your contribution to popular entertainment or do you just sit there decrying everything else as it's so much easier to do that? Stop whining, get creating."

    Yeah, I was thinking of making a copy of Windows Solitaire, but the cards aren't cards, they're endangered animals, and the animals have funny voices, and when you move 'em around they squabble and tell jokes, and within about 5 minutes you've heard everything they have to say.

    But then I stopped because I realised you would buy it off me for loads of money and that people would end up buying it. And I'm just not that immoral.
    Edited by 1 at 06/04/09 @ 13:45

  • Domovoi #110 3 years ago

    Wages needing to be paid: fair point. But really, wasn't there a more low profile King's Quest minigame collection or something that Sierra would've wanted instead? Why burn yourself on something so obvious like a new Larry game?

    Anyway, all this arguing actually made me kind of interested in Alien Breed. OMG, what if Box Office Bust was a clever marketing ploy for Alien Breed?
    Edited by 1 at 06/04/09 @ 13:47

  • spadge #111 3 years ago

    There was a lot of conversations about a lot of older Sierra stuff. In the end, Larry is what Sierra wanted. I don't regret it and it's helped put us in a good place, funnily enough. I've had contact with Al Lowe recently too and there was no interest from the publisher(s) to work with him, but I think he'd be better doing his original style games on maybe iPhone or something.

    For us, Larry represented all kinds of opportunities at a time when things were tough for a lot of indie developers, we certainly weren't in a position back then to turn down the work nor go into self-publishing (which we've done since). We were aware of the 'baggage' certainly, but we thought we'd give it a go. It's a very different type of game, it's purely about delivering the script, which people will choose to hate or love, it's that kind of thing.

    Larry will be one of the last 3rd party publisher things we release and in future most of our stuff will be digital with 1st parties (Microsoft, Sony, Apple etc) or self-published.

    For the record, we're in a position now where we can freely choose what we want to work on, which is really nice. That hasn't always been the case but I'm very confident of the things we've got going on now, it'll surprise a few people - in a good way!

  • Domovoi #112 3 years ago

    "Al Lowe recently too and there was no interest from the publisher(s) to work with him, but I think he'd be better doing his original style games on maybe iPhone or something. "

    See, I also think it'd be better if Al Lowe sticks to his original style games. It's just that I think that Larry games should be sticking to their original style too.

    "For the record, we're in a position now where we can freely choose what we want to work on, which is really nice. That hasn't always been the case but I'm very confident of the things we've got going on now."

    I hope that means "more confident than I was about Box Office Bust when we were making it." :)

    Anyway, good to hear things are working out. I could do with a T17 success again.

  • EvilBob_leeds #113 3 years ago

    If I might make a tiny suggestion for Alien Breed - a right stick aim, left stick move control method is really the way to go. I don't know if you've had a go at Burn Zombie Burn (out on the PSN) - it's a pretty cool top down shooter, but a combination of "aim which way you're facing" and a not enitrely intelligent lock on system make the game a bit of a pain in the arse, especially when you're trying to pick out a paricular bad guy in the midst of a horde that's chasing you. Just my 2c.

    ^^^ Agreed. Independant UK game houses are most definately a good thing. Now if we could only resurrect Sensible Software...
    Edited by 2 at 06/04/09 @ 14:09

  • spadge #114 3 years ago

    Evil Bob - that's how it works (so you can walk backwards, strafe, all sorts).

    Domovoi - there's a different mindset when you're doing your own stuff (own IP) and that of a 3rd party IP. In the latter, we're about giving the customer/client what they want. For Larry they wanted an open world game and a pastiche of Hollywood, using a more 'Superbad' style script. They hired a writer (Alan Covert, Adam Sandler's writer) and we based the game around delivering that script. In publishing circles, point & click adventures are viewed as old-hat unfortunately (I loved the Monkey Island and Indiana Jones ones, btw) so that was never going to happen. I'm watching what happens to Broken Sword on Wii/DS closely, it'll be interesting if the genre breaks out again (and Charles Cecil, who's IP it is, is a pal).

  • Domovoi #115 3 years ago

    "there's a different mindset when you're doing your own stuff (own IP) and that of a 3rd party IP. In the latter, we're about giving the customer/client what they want. For Larry they wanted an open world game and a pastiche of Hollywood, using a more 'Superbad' style script. They hired a writer (Alan Covert, Adam Sandler's writer) and we based the game around delivering that script. "

    Oh, I know that Sierra are long past wanting to do something good with their classic IP's, and are only trying to make awful games based on them nowadays, but I had hoped that established developers like Team 17 would be in the position to turn those down.

    But apparently not, due to economics. Maybe that's what saddens me the most.

    By the way, there's heaps of P&C adventure games being developed in Europe.. probably all on a really small budget, but still.

  • spadge #116 3 years ago

    Times and opportunities have transitioned since late 2005 (when we first discussed this with Sierra) and we're pretty much doing our own thing again. I wouldn't suggest we never work on 3rd party IP again, but we're definately in a good place to pick or choose what it is.

  • Tiberianus #117 3 years ago

    So in summary:

    It was just a pay check to you. The client wanted shit and you delivered?

    At least Dennis Dyack believed in his game.

  • Domovoi #118 3 years ago

    I don't want Team 17 to believe in Box Office Bust. That'd mean they'd think it's actually a good idea.

  • spadge #119 3 years ago

    Tiberanus - The team who worked on the game expended a lot of energy and enthusiasm for the project. No-one sets off to 'deliver shit' and people at Sierra were very happy with how things were going.

    Things went awry when Sierra were wound down and all their projects suffered as a result, some more so than others. Sierra had a pretty specific demographic in mind and a certain way they wanted to address it.

  • Emortal #120 3 years ago

    @Stompy: "Worms is a 'humourous' copy of a free game. I don't think that making an inexplicably popular game, that's just like a free game, but has worms with silly voices instead of tanks makes you a legend."

    Doesn't really matter if it's a copy, in that case it's a copy done right, with much more improved gameplay.
    Speaking of which, in 99.999% of all cases, which game isn't a copy of something else nowadays?
    And regarding the legend status, doesn't matter if they bought it off anyone else, it would like hiring someone into your team. At the end of the day, it said "Team 17" on the box, and that makes the game belong to them. Seriously, which amiga gamer doesn't know of Team 17? That makes them a legend, yes?
    Edited by 4 at 06/04/09 @ 18:41

  • spadge #121 3 years ago

    Single player yes, multiplayer less so.

  • dacicus #122 3 years ago

    I wonder when Team 17 will start suing over the bad reviews. You see, I still remember the Amiga Power getting that nice lawsuit from them.....
    The thing is, Team 17 can't get the excuse they didn't know in what hornets nest they get in when they've acepted to do this. After a rather disappointing Magna cum laudae, the fans were expecting something to blow their minds. And Larry wasn't exactly mainstream.
    Someone wanted to attract the console crowd throwing a bone to the old fans. Instead the results were rather something else: the old fans were totally alienated and the console crowd has really seen a lot of infinitely better titles (and i don't berate the console owners here, as I do own a few myself). This new Larry tried to attract even casual gamers, but the casual gamers are looking in games where swearing and bad jokes don't appear. It's like someone couldn't decide which market should go for. You see the market is very fragmented right now. And playing your cards right, a niche game can make profit if you know exactly which part of the market will buy the game. But it looks like the companies are cutting corners by cutting the market studies. The tremendous fun of the corporate world...
    And let's leave Sierra out of this. Because even before Magna cum Laudae was released, Sierra was merely a brand in Vivendi's portofolio. Sierra died as a company in 1999 and the oldtimers know that. We can talk Vivendi or Activision/Blizzard or Codemasters, but not Sierra.

  • Tiberianus #123 3 years ago

    After a pretty spectacular 1790 words from the studio director (spadge) at Team17, I have concluded a few things.

    1: He loves the sound of his own typing.

    1790 words on the comments page of a damning review of an obviously terrible game? If you'd spent this amount of energy on Box Office Bust....

    2: It was NOT all Sierra's fault.

    You seem determined to let us know that it was Sierra's IP, and they got you to make it to a brief (shocking?), and therefore it's their fault it sucks? No. As a developer you should ensure that the product you create is up to the standards you *should* be aiming for (especially as the studio director). You are showcasing your work to the industry after all. Or you could create a shitty game to make a few quid to finance your own projects. Saying boo hoo it wasn't our IP is .. pathetic.

    3: Saying it was the script's fault is laughable.

    Fine the script might have been terrible. Lots of game scripts are terrible. What proper game developers do is make a GOOD game regardless.

    4: Don't blame the "subjective nature of comedy..(especially mature comedy)".

    It's just a poor way of trying to cover your own arse. A 2/10 on one of the most respected game review sites in the world is still a 2/10.

    5: Blaming "the way the hard-core attack anything slightly off the beaten path".

    This just made me chuckle.

    6: Not once have you actually said you are proud of this game.

    And it's not even on the Team 17 website. Or the forum.

    7: spadge seems to think that saying "Wait and see Alien Breed!" makes me forget this review/game.

    I don't care about Alien Breed. I've never heard of it. I'm here to discuss Box Office Flop.

    8: You wrote on your blog in 2008 that your development team was "painfully aware of the critique of the last Larry game (Magna Cum Laude)"

    Not really sure what to say about this one. Good work?
    Edited by 2 at 07/04/09 @ 02:16

  • Daikon #124 3 years ago

    @Tiberianus

    After a pretty spectacular 1790 words from the studio director (spadge) at Team17, I have concluded a few things.

    You counted the amount of words he typed? Don't you have a life?

    I don't care about Alien Breed. I've never heard of it.

    In other words next to having no life you're also 16 years old and game-illiterate.

    Spadge, while I won't be buying BOB I'm definitely looking forward to the new Alien Breed.
    Now how about Superfrog for the DS?

  • spadge #125 3 years ago

    @Tiberanus - For the record - and most of my text has come in response to questions and probing from other people - I've attempted to be clear, concise and honest.

    How it works in work for hire contracts is that the publishers pays the developer on monthly development milestones. If the publisher isn't happy, then you don't get paid. Sierra/Vivendi were more than happy with what was going on, that includes our efforts on the design and direction of the game itself.

    If you actually read what I wrote, I do say this. Problems with the title occurred after the merger and there was a lot of fallout, which we had to deal with. The title had a fixed budget for development - with 40-50 people on the title, you simply can't afford to not ensure that you're delivering satisfying deliverables or you go out of business, there's a hefty graveyard out in development land. Quality is achieved from iterative design balances and improvements, as developers it's not often you get that time and the ones that do, stand out. If you're saying that the studio should have done what it could to make the game as good as possible taking the cost of those changes on it's own chin, then that's why I'm running the studio and you're in a whimsical nirvana-based non-reality. It's not as easy as you elude.

    I haven't blamed the script, I merely underlined Team17 didn't produce it or were responsible for it. The script is certainly subject to what people find amusing or not. How can it not be? We actually liked the script (which ended up being very late, along with the voices) and the game was always about delivering the script. Continuing delays on that aspect of the project meant we were always on the back foot for a myriad of reasons, that coupled with the merger issues did present a ton of production problems.

    With regards promoting the title on our own site, we tend to do this for our own IP only. Any mention of 3rd party IP and we have to get approval on all assets, what is said, etc. That's clearly not practical.

    If you don't like us, our products, what we say, then fine, move on - there's plenty more out there.

    @dascius - Vivendi/Sierra really wanted to produce a specific kind of title, in a specific time-frame. That's what they wanted. The new game is related to the old games in name only.

  • spadge #126 3 years ago

    @ Daikon, thanks for that and your kind words. Not sure if/when we'll ever come back to Superfrog, but we'll see.

  • Tiberianus #127 3 years ago

    @Daikon

    No, I don't know every game every created, and yes pasting some words into MS word taking about 10 seconds means I have no life.

    @Spadge

    I'm pretty sure that game developers who don't compromise on quality also don't live in a "whimsical nirvana-based non-reality." You're running a studio who produces 2/10 games. Then making shitloads of excuses for them on review sites. So you know, congrats?

    Who exactly do you blame for this low quality joke of a game?

    Excuses excuses excuses. I guess spaedge never learns!
    Edited by 2 at 07/04/09 @ 03:54

  • dacicus #128 3 years ago

    Actually reading the part with " there are salaries to pay", you can understand that Team 17 might have some financial difficulties and they 've had to take a project to survive. At least that's how someone can read from that statement. Team 17 it's still an independent studio, but that might not last. Don't forget that their tile catalogue it's not big at all. But they do have one very popular IP. Which it's not exactly enough to survive.
    Why I can't forgive Larry that easily?! Because I know that they can do way better. You see, I do remember Nightlong Union City. So I know that they can do better. But if an independent studio is in financial trouble, it's pretty much forced to take whatever it can in order to survive. Though in the actual economic climate, independent studios aren't exactly the main candidates of survival...

  • LowEnergyCycle #129 3 years ago

    I've actually quite enjoyed reading spadge's explinations in this comments thread. It's rare to see a developer act with a little maturity under the circumstances, and spadge's honesty is quite refreshing. I'm also pleased to hear of Alien Breed's control method. The mear mention of it's name makes me wish I still had my old Amiga.

    @CountFuckwit
    Shouldn't you be hanging around GameSpot or something? That's normally where I'd expect to see such illiterate sibling-lusters.

  • Vandit96 #130 3 years ago

    omg, cool score :D.
    I really liked LSL:Magna cum laude and i thought this will be better.
    Well, maybe next time ;).

  • berengard #131 3 years ago

    Ellie, you did not mention the part where you drive fast toward a tree or a wall and your car gets vertical and stuck, you can't move forward, backward or turn in any way. The only way to continue somehow is to hope a cop will stop you if you are being pursuited by one or just restart the mission - second option is the "funnest".

    And the part where you press a button to open the door, Larry keeps walking on ONE SPOT until the door closes

    Seriously, it looks like they wasted all the budget on making the models (which by the way came out scary) and they got left none for the testing of the game.

    And if we mention testing, the game did give me an "unhanded memory" window twice - or to describe in one word: BUGS!

    Sergey Berengard
    Designer & Programmer
    http://en.berense.org