Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Leisure Suit Larry to rise again

It's official this time.

Nobody had any idea about a new Leisure Suit Larry game in development until vague details were spurted across the internet last week, but now Vivendi has finally officially announced the return of the famous balding loser. Or rather, his nephew. Due for release late next year on PC, PS2 and Xbox, Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude (not a working title as was first thought) is being worked on by High Voltage Software, responsible for the really quite good Hunter: The Reckoning titles.

Taking inspiration from flicks like American Pie and There's Something About Mary (whether that's a good or bad thing is for you to decide), the story focuses on Larry Lovage, the original Larry Laffer's nephew. We join Larry enrolled in Community College, making predictably fruitless moves at the ladies but sees his chance when a TV dating show visits his campus. What follows is apparently an epic search for "love". Ahem.

There aren't any clues as to how the game's going to play yet, but we'd imagine it's gone the same route as many a classic point-and-clicker update with a 3D world for a freely-controllable Larry to roam about in, a la Escape From Monkey Island. In order to whet our appetites, Vivendi has furnished us with this one single screenshot, which has a monkey in it. A monkey! LOOK AT THE MONKEY!