Behind the scenes in the shadowy underground lair that is the TouchArcade command center we take time out every week to sit around a Dr. Strangelove-like war room table and toss out various ideas for new features or other ways to make the site better. One thing we’ve been talking about doing is this kind of weekly game feature. So, allow me to introduce the TouchArcade Game of the Week initiative.
The idea is every Friday afternoon we post the one game that came out this week that we think is worth giving a special nod to. Now, before anyone goes over-thinking this, it doesn’t necessarily mean our TouchArcade Game of the Week pick is the highest scoring game in a review, the game with the best graphics, or really any other quantifiable “best" thing. Instead, it’s more just us just shouting it out in the war room I mentioned earlier over what game we think is the most noteworthy, surprising, interesting, or really any other hard to describe quality that makes it worth having if you were just going to pick up one.
These picks might be controversial, and that’s OK. If you disagree with what we’ve chosen, let’s try to use the comments of these articles to have conversations about what game is your game of the week and why.
So, without further ado-
Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded
Following a successful Kickstarter just over a year ago, Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded ($1.99) is a totally revitalized version of the 1987 Sierra classic. What makes Larry so special is it’s hard to find many video games that have more historical significance to them in regards to, well, just about everything that made Larry games the legend they are today.
While Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards wasn’t the first adult game, it certainly was the first one that was popular. When it was released, the game had a highly taboo sense of mysticism to it, and I still clearly remember what a big deal it was to know someone who could get you a copy of Leisure Suit Larry. In fact, the creators now jokingly look back on just how much it was pirated, as more hint books were sold than actual copies of the game.
Playing the game is like cracking open a sealed time capsule from the late 80’s, only with better graphics and a more familiar interface. This is both a good thing and a bad thing, as the game was released in a time where using your computer for anything “dirty" was practically unheard of… Much less an entire game revolving around seducing women and “getting lucky." With that being said, sexual culture as a whole has shifted dramatically since then, and in the process, a lot of the things that made the game so provocative have since become totally normal.
We spent a considerable amount of time in this week’s podcast discussing this very point, and while Leisure Suit Larry is an unadulterated blast of nostalgia for those of us that were around for the hay day of Larry, I’m really not sure how the game will be received by those who weren’t. Regardless, it’s something everyone should have- Especially if you haven’t played it, as it might make you appreciate modern adventure games a little bit more if you understand the history of the genre… And there’s no better way to get a crash course in old school adventure games than by playing through Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded.
